Survey: 40 percent of shipping, logistics companies plan to invest in transportation technology

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Forty percent of shippers and logistics services providers (LSP) plan to invest in transportation technology in order to prepare for industry and regulatory changes, according to a survey conducted by Ontario-based Descartes Systems Group, a software-as-a-service solutions provider.

The number rises to 44 percent in companies where senior leadership view transportation as a competitive weapon.

Descartes and SAPIO Research surveyed 630 shippers and members of the logistics community in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.

“This year’s study once again shows a correlation between business performance and management’s perception of the importance of transportation, as companies that place a higher strategic value on transportation realize stronger financial performance and growth,” Mike Hane, Descartes product marketing, transportation management director, said. “Top performers continue to take more aggressive actions to grow and expand delivery options for customers, which requires increasing technology investments such as visibility and order management. By contrast, poorer performers are more focused on cost cutting and are 10 times less likely to expect growth greater than 15 percent annually than top performers, according to study findings.”

The survey’s goal is to understand how companies view transportation management, provide an outlook on future investments, and uncover capabilities, technologies and competitive strategies/tactics.