Investing in transport technology in response to change

40% of shippers and logistics service providers plan to invest in transportation technology to prepare for the changing industry and regulations. This is according to Descartes Systems Group’s annual Global Transportation Management Benchmark Survey.

For companies that perform best financially and where management sees transport as a competitive weapon, the percentage planning to invest in transport technology is as high as 44%. For companies that perform less well financially, the percentage is 32% says Descartes.

Real-time transport visibility

On the list of biggest IT investments in transport, real-time transport visibility gets the most attention for the seventh year in a row. Visibility is cited by 36% of respondents as the most important technology investment. Order management ranks second with 35%.

Fleet routing jumps to third place and is mentioned by 29% as an important technology investment. Remarkably, in 2023, routing still ranked 8. Carrier sourcing drops for the third year in a row as an area of investment. It is mentioned by only 20% of respondents, landing in 10th place.

Strategic value of transport

“This year’s survey again shows a correlation between business performance and the importance management places on transportation. Companies that place a higher strategic value on transportation achieve stronger financial performance and growth,” said Mike Hane, Director Product Marketing, Transportation Management at Descartes.

“The best-performing companies continue to take plenty of action to grow and expand delivery options for customers. This requires increasing investment in technology, such as visibility and order management. In contrast, the survey shows that the worst performers are more focused on cost savings and are 10 times less likely than the best performers to grow 15% a year.”

Role of transport management

The survey involved 630 logistics service providers and shippers from Canada, the United States and Western Europe. The aim was to understand how companies view the role of transport management, discover which opportunities, technologies and competing strategies/tactics have the greatest impact on transport operations, and provide an outlook on future investments in transport IT.