Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (September 19, 2025)

By Adrian Gonzalez

“Cape Cod is not flat!”

I heard this many times last Saturday, including from my own daughter, during the Breakthrough T1D Ride in Cape Cod.

It’s true: Cape Cod is not flat. But it’s not outrageously hilly either, like Vermont.

That said, when you’re cycling for hours and 101 miles, every small incline of the road seems like a mountain.

But the weather was perfect, the course was beautiful, and there were plenty of laughs and memories made along the way. As expected, my son Matthew (the IRONMAN) and Josiah (Hannah’s boyfriend who cycled in college) finished way ahead of Leslie and me. My son Noah’s derailleur broke 20 miles in, so he had to ride the remaining 81 miles with his bike stuck in its hardest gear. He also got lost a couple of times, along with my daughter Hannah, when they missed the signs to turn and continued off course.

At the end of the day, however, we all crossed the finish line safely and smiling (see the photo gallery at the end of this post). And we were cheered along the way by many friends and family members, including our youngest daughter Rebecca who served as a volunteer for the first time.

The best part: the ride raised more than $2 million to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes! Our Logistics Leaders for T1D Cure Team raised just under $44,000, almost $8,000 more than last year, so a big thanks to everyone who donated to the cause — and to our team sponsors TranzAct Technologies, Descartes Systems Group, JBF Consulting, C.H. Robinson, and Pando, and our apparel supporter, Jakroo.

If you didn’t get a chance to donate yet, no worries because the ride season and fundraising continues! Next Friday I will cycle 100 km with teammate David Shaw from Transporeon in Amsterdam, followed by another 100 miles on October 18 with teammate Ralph Cisneros at the Santa Barbara 100 Ride in California (which includes brutal climb up Gibraltar Road — a 6.1-mile climb with an 8% grade gaining 2,551 ft of elevation).

You can help our team cross the $45K (or beyond) mark by donating here: http://www2.breakthrought1d.org/goto/ll4t1dcure .

No donation is too small; every dollar gets us closer to a world without T1D.

Thank you in advance for your support. Now, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:

Always Something New in Transportation Management: Latest Innovations by Uber Freight and Blue Yonder

A few weeks ago, sparked by project44 launching its own transportation management system, I shared my perspective of the TMS landscape (see “What The World Needs Now: Another TMS?”). Simply put, the landscape of TMS providers is much broader and diverse today than a decade ago, and many of them are marching toward becoming Supply Chain Operating Networks (SCONs).

Blue Yonder, for example, is now highlighting its “multi-enterprise network” (which it got via its $839 million acquisition of One Network in August 2024) as part of its latest TMS enhancements. Here are some excerpts from the press release:

Blue Yonder continues to enhance its industry-leading Transportation Management solution, adding a multi-enterprise network framework, machine-speed precision, and cognitive intelligence to transform transportation operations into a resilient, efficient and intelligent part of the supply chain.

Blue Yonder’s Transportation Management solution and Blue Yonder Network are now seamlessly integrated. This enables customers to efficiently manage data across different systems and trading partners, including carrier collaboration, appointment scheduling, real-time visibility (including telematics), and inbound shipment optimization and collaboration, to ensure smooth and coordinated operations. As a result, customers can adapt to changes and disruptions instantly for improved resilience, cost efficiency, delivery times, and collaboration.

Of course, AI capabilities are among the enhancements, such as the “Logistics Ops Agent that notifies users in real time of issues and opportunities and provides suggestions on how to handle them, including backhaul opportunities, shipment routing resolutions, and more, to ensure they are addressed quickly to avoid disruptions to operations.”

Not to be outdone, Uber Freight also unveiled new platform features at its Deliver 2025 conference this week. Here are some highlights from the press release:

Updates to TMS Financials: New capabilities that give shippers sharper control and visibility into freight finances, reducing dispute resolution times by up to 20% and streamlining the end-to-end AR/AP process.

Procurement Scenario Analysis in Uber Freight Exchange: A new tool within our contract freight procurement platform that allows logistics teams to model procurement strategies in just a few clicks (vs weeks), evaluating tradeoffs across cost, service, and carrier mix.

Agentic AI in action: Dozens of AI agents embedded across the platform are already driving measurable results, from cutting scheduling times by 38%, to reducing overdue load statuses by 15%, to automatically correcting shipment data errors for more accurate ETAs.

As summarized in the press release, “These updates are part of a bigger vision: a logistics platform where intelligence, automation, and human expertise work together across the entire freight journey. From transportation management and freight procurement software to always-on and embedded AI, Uber Freight is connecting planning, management, and execution within one ecosystem.”

A couple of things are clear to me:

AI will soon become table stakes in TMS. Yes, these new AI-powered solutions that vendors are announcing might not be fully baked yet, but they’re all chasing the same capabilities. Eventually, the only thing that will differentiate them will be the human names they give their AI agents. In short, AI won’t be a competitive differentiator for very long.

Shippers will soon start asking about networks and network effects in their Requests for Proposals (RFPs). The size and scope of trading partner networks, and the “network effects” they enable to drive more efficient, scalable, and innovative ways to manage transportation, will be the new battle ground for differentiation.

I’m writing this post on my flight home from Infor Nexus Connect 2025, where the power of the network was highlighted in various sessions. And next week I’m off to Transporeon Summit, where I’m sure there will be plenty of announcements related to AI and network effects (especially since I am moderating a panel discussion with shippers and carriers titled “Better with a Network”).

Like I said, there is always something new happening in the TMS realm.

And with that, have a meaningful weekend!

Song of the Week: “12 to 12″ by sombr