Transportation’s role in the business has transformed over the last decade. Today, it is widely considered a key strategic tool enabling shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) to deliver superior customer service, gain a competitive advantage and grow the business — but that wasn’t always the case. Ten years ago, even though many organizations saw the potential, a large number still treated transportation as a basic operational function and an unavoidable cost. In this post, I look at a decade of research from Descartes to examine transportation’s rise as a strategic business capability and consider where shippers and LSPs go from here.
Transportation as a Strategic Asset
For ten years the Transportation Management Benchmark Survey has been asking LSPs and shippers how they assess transportation’s impact on the business. This extensive record shows that the perceived value of transportation has been building over the years. For example, the percentage of companies that view transportation strategically — as a competitive weapon or customer service differentiator — has risen from 65% in 2017 to 81% of shippers and 87% of LSPs in 2026.
Conversely, while 28% categorized transportation as a basic service in 2017 and 7% saw it as a necessary cost, today only 15% of shippers and 11% of LSPs call transportation a basic service, and a small 3% of shippers and 2% of LSPs view it as a necessary cost. While many companies formerly discounted transportation simply as a cost of doing business, according to the study, they now consider it an integral part of the customer experience and a competitive differentiator.
In addition, across the decade, the findings demonstrate an undeniable link between utilizing transportation as a strategic asset and achieving strong growth. Even back in 2017, the study found that companies leveraging transportation as a competitive advantage expected the strongest growth. That pattern continues today, with 86% of companies who wield transportation as a competitive weapon expecting at least 5% annual growth, and an additional 12% expecting higher than 15% growth. Similarly, 84% of companies who apply transportation as a customer service differentiator expect at least 5% annual growth, and an additional 15% expect more than 15% growth.
Technology as a Business Imperative
Our decade-long research also shows a dramatic increase in technology investment to support transportation’s role as a strategic asset. In 2017, 53% of shippers and LSPs planned to increase transportation IT spend in the following two years. In 2026, 82% of shippers and 75% of LSPs intend to increase transportation management IT spending over the next two years, with about a quarter expecting increases above 5%.
The change in strategic value placed on transportation management systems (TMS) is a good example of the growing commitment to technology. In 2017, more than a third of shippers who faced obstacles to TMS investment said it simply wasn’t a priority, while LSPs questioned the ROI. These statistics suggest that executive-level decision makers did not fully understand the strategic value of transportation management solutions. By 2026, that has changed significantly: only 4% of shippers do not use TMS today.
Furthermore, the reports tie TMS directly to business performance throughout the decade. Business growth was the third most influential driver behind TMS adoption in 2017 (56%), while reducing costs was the top driver (66%). Ten years later, growth has become the primary TMS driver for both shippers (53%) and LSPs (48%), with cost reduction relegated to third place (41%). These statistics indicate that TMS adoption has evolved into a strategic priority to drive business growth.
Persistent Gaps: Visibility, Automation and Connectivity
Technology investment alone, however, is not the answer. In the 2026 survey, only 24% say their transportation technology or service provider fully meets their needs, revealing that substantial increases in IT budgets have not alleviated major issues such as visibility, automation and connectivity:
- Visibility has remained a challenge through the years. In 2017, visibility was the most-needed capability to effectively manage an organization’s transportation, cited by an overwhelming 62% of shippers and 60% of LSPs, and visibility was the top improvement focus for shippers (35%) and LSPs (31%). In 2026, visibility is considered the greatest gap for shippers (27%) and remains a gap for 13% of LSPs as well. Delving deeper into this problem, the 2026 survey found that 38% of respondents still rely on spreadsheets or emails after delivery and 32% phone carriers for status, so there’s still significant potential for technology to improve visibility in these areas. Respondents say TMS is essential for visibility, which is considered the most valuable TMS capability over the next two years for LSPs (29%), and ranked second overall.
- Automation for improving customer service was the top priority for LSPs with 55% selecting this option in 2017, and shippers ranked it second (40%). In 2026, automation is the top gap overall (25%), and only 15% are fully automated with AI-driven insights. The survey findings also exposed a slight decline in maturity compared with 2025, which means automation isn’t rising as fast as IT spending would suggest. With regard to the technology, shippers and LSPs cite improving automation as a top reason (24%) to invest in TMS or switch providers.
- Connectivity was an afterthought in 2017 but now is an immediate challenge, largely because AI automation requires comprehensive carrier data in order to provide accurate and effective outcomes. In 2026, connectivity is seen as the second largest gap overall (23%), and integration complexity is cited as the second ranked barrier to scaling AI (38%). TMS also plays a part here — 20% see carrier connectivity as one of the most valuable TMS capabilities over the next two years.
The Next Phase of Transportation Management
The decade of industry research documents a transition from deciding whether to invest in transportation management technology to translating that investment into business value: gaining valuable insights, automating processes, serving customers better and ultimately proving ROI. As we embark on a new AI-powered era of transportation management, organizations that can translate technology investment into better execution, customer experience and business performance will be the winners in the next stage of supply chain evolution.
Max Lloyd is Director, Marketing at Descartes.
Transportation’s Evolution from Necessary Cost to Strategic Asset
Transportation’s role in the business has transformed over the last decade. Today, it is widely considered a key strategic tool enabling shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) to deliver superior customer service, gain a competitive advantage and grow the business — but that wasn’t always the case. Ten years ago, even though many organizations saw the potential, a large number still treated transportation as a basic operational function and an unavoidable cost. In this post, I look at a decade of research from Descartes to examine transportation’s rise as a strategic business capability and consider where shippers and LSPs go from here.
Transportation as a Strategic Asset
For ten years the Transportation Management Benchmark Survey has been asking LSPs and shippers how they assess transportation’s impact on the business. This extensive record shows that the perceived value of transportation has been building over the years. For example, the percentage of companies that view transportation strategically — as a competitive weapon or customer service differentiator — has risen from 65% in 2017 to 81% of shippers and 87% of LSPs in 2026.
Conversely, while 28% categorized transportation as a basic service in 2017 and 7% saw it as a necessary cost, today only 15% of shippers and 11% of LSPs call transportation a basic service, and a small 3% of shippers and 2% of LSPs view it as a necessary cost. While many companies formerly discounted transportation simply as a cost of doing business, according to the study, they now consider it an integral part of the customer experience and a competitive differentiator.
In addition, across the decade, the findings demonstrate an undeniable link between utilizing transportation as a strategic asset and achieving strong growth. Even back in 2017, the study found that companies leveraging transportation as a competitive advantage expected the strongest growth. That pattern continues today, with 86% of companies who wield transportation as a competitive weapon expecting at least 5% annual growth, and an additional 12% expecting higher than 15% growth. Similarly, 84% of companies who apply transportation as a customer service differentiator expect at least 5% annual growth, and an additional 15% expect more than 15% growth.
Technology as a Business Imperative
Our decade-long research also shows a dramatic increase in technology investment to support transportation’s role as a strategic asset. In 2017, 53% of shippers and LSPs planned to increase transportation IT spend in the following two years. In 2026, 82% of shippers and 75% of LSPs intend to increase transportation management IT spending over the next two years, with about a quarter expecting increases above 5%.
The change in strategic value placed on transportation management systems (TMS) is a good example of the growing commitment to technology. In 2017, more than a third of shippers who faced obstacles to TMS investment said it simply wasn’t a priority, while LSPs questioned the ROI. These statistics suggest that executive-level decision makers did not fully understand the strategic value of transportation management solutions. By 2026, that has changed significantly: only 4% of shippers do not use TMS today.
Furthermore, the reports tie TMS directly to business performance throughout the decade. Business growth was the third most influential driver behind TMS adoption in 2017 (56%), while reducing costs was the top driver (66%). Ten years later, growth has become the primary TMS driver for both shippers (53%) and LSPs (48%), with cost reduction relegated to third place (41%). These statistics indicate that TMS adoption has evolved into a strategic priority to drive business growth.
Persistent Gaps: Visibility, Automation and Connectivity
Technology investment alone, however, is not the answer. In the 2026 survey, only 24% say their transportation technology or service provider fully meets their needs, revealing that substantial increases in IT budgets have not alleviated major issues such as visibility, automation and connectivity:
The Next Phase of Transportation Management
The decade of industry research documents a transition from deciding whether to invest in transportation management technology to translating that investment into business value: gaining valuable insights, automating processes, serving customers better and ultimately proving ROI. As we embark on a new AI-powered era of transportation management, organizations that can translate technology investment into better execution, customer experience and business performance will be the winners in the next stage of supply chain evolution.
Max Lloyd is Director, Marketing at Descartes.
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