With recent tariffs and higher operating costs eroding profit margins, shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) alike are seeking ways to stand out from their competitors to retain and grow market share. And according to a recent survey of more than 600 logistics-focused companies, the secret sauce increasingly lies in how companies approach transportation management.

Delving into how global transportation professionals view the role of transportation management, Descartes’ 9th Annual Global Transportation Management Benchmark Survey uncovers the capabilities, technologies, and competitive strategies and tactics making the greatest impact. The choice to leverage transportation management as a competitive asset stands out and, importantly, correlates with high-performing, growth-oriented companies.

The shift from tactical to strategic

While the ability to reduce transportation costs, increase shipping efficiency, and streamline the customer experience has always been the aim of logistics professionals, elevating transportation from a cost center to a strategic driver of customer value and business growth is becoming a deciding factor of success, especially as companies navigate today’s volatile economic landscape and rigorous customer expectations of speed, convenience, and affordability.

In fact, 81% — a record high in the nine years of the study — of the shippers and LSPs surveyed view transportation management as a differentiator or competitive weapon, underscoring transportation management’s rising role in optimizing the customer experience to fuel recurring revenue and business growth. In parallel, the survey also found that the percentage of companies that view transportation as a basic service or necessary evil dropped to 19%, an all-time low since the inception of the study.

Bottom-line benefits

How is the shift from viewing transportation management as a purely tactical function to a competitive weapon playing out in practical terms for shipping and logistics businesses? More than half (51%) of North American companies surveyed are creating or adopting leading-edge transportation strategies to stay ahead of the competition — and the approach is paying off.

Prioritizing transportation management as a strategic function translates to the bottom line, fueling financial and business growth. As in past years, the survey found that a vast majority of companies with a management team that views transportation as a competitive weapon (79%) are in an industry-leading or better-than-average financial position.

Tellingly, shippers and LSPs that view transportation as a basic service (22%) or necessary evil (21%) are 40% less likely to prioritize implementing transportation strategies than companies that value transportation as a competitive weapon.

Without a shift in mindset around transportation management, logistics-oriented companies will struggle to gain the efficiency, visibility, and data insight benefits required to generate cost savings while creating the kind of customer experience that builds loyalty and drives consistent revenue flow.

The tech factor

Aiming to increase transportation value, shippers and LSPs are taking various operational steps, including automating transportation processes to react faster to customer needs (31%), adopting generative AI tools to improve operations or enhance customer service (26%), and managing disruptions effectively (23%). These transportation management strategies and tactics are grounded in the adoption and expansion of automated technology.

Cue the transportation management system (TMS). Concerned about the impact of tariffs and trade regulations (37%), inflation and rising industry costs (34%), and fuel costs (32%) on their business, many companies are investing in, or expanding their use of, a TMS to outperform competitors and improve transportation value.

The survey revealed that business growth is the leading factor driving the expanded use of TMS technology, as companies broaden the internal and external sharing of transportation data to advance the shift toward connected, value-driven ecosystems. A sizeable (48%) of respondents cite business growth as the top TMS driver, up 10% from 2024’s third-place selection, followed by improving customer service (46%) and reducing cost pressure (38%).

This shift by logistics professionals to using transportation management as a competitive asset shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, 80% of shippers and LSPs surveyed plan to increase transportation management (TM) IT spending, with top priorities of optimizing performance management, visibility, and fleet routing.

Expanding the TMS advantage

While transportation companies leverage transportation management tools to streamline and simplify tasks such as routing, capacity sourcing, and carrier communications, TM-enabled fraud and theft prevention tactics are becoming strategic priorities for companies keen to protect margins.

Unfortunately, shippers, carriers, and LSPs are all too familiar with the growing problem of freight fraud. The American Trucking Associations reported that strategic cargo theft has risen 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021 — a painful blow to the bottom line, especially in the face of already-shrinking margins, labor shortages, and inflationary pressures.

With cargo fraud becoming a costly thorn in the side of transportation-focused companies, it’s no surprise that visibility (tracking, proof of delivery) and carrier monitoring (insurance, safety, fraud) rank as top-three TMS capabilities.

In addition, 25% of respondents value carrier vetting and identify validation as a key TMS capability. Notably, North American shippers and LSPs prioritize carrier monitoring capabilities 10% more than European respondents (33% vs. 23%), reflecting the wider nature of the fraud issue in North America.

The digital gap

While TMS technology is increasingly recognized as an essential piece of the tech stack for shippers and LSPs, significant gaps remain in automation and digital maturity. Only 17% of respondents report being fully automated, with over one-third still heavily or mostly reliant on manual processes.

According to 2025 data, this digital gap is particularly pronounced between companies with industry-leading financial performance (51% fully-automated processes) and businesses with below-average financial performance (5% fully-automated processes) that trail significantly in automation, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, and growth expectations.

Notably, companies in an industry-leading financial position use AI across multiple processes in their transportation operations — data entry, route and load optimization, freight forecasting, dynamic pricing optimization, driver safety systems, disruption management, among others — at a much higher rate than poorer-performing businesses.

Leveraging TMS technology is proving an enabler for growth and differentiation, yet there is considerable room for advancement in automation and digital maturity. Although 96% of companies report some form of generative AI use, broader AI application and deeper integration of transportation data across supply chains remain opportunities for unlocking greater strategic value.

Transportation management outlook

Shippers and their transportation partners need to rethink their approach to transportation management in order to survive and thrive in today’s volatile economic climate. The good news is that many global transportation professionals are taking steps to elevate the role of transportation in their organization from a cost center to a strategic driver of customer value and business growth.

And, backed by greater investment in transportation management technology, an industry-wide shift is underway as logistics professionals transition away from transportation in a strictly tactical role to an integrated strategy that drives AI-powered automation, efficiency, and cost savings across the transportation ecosystem.

By working to close the automation gap, scale AI adoption, and embed transportation insights into broader supply chain decisions, companies can build a more connected and strategic transportation function that delivers a distinct competitive advantage, driving higher performance and profitability.

Mike Hane is Director of Product Marketing, Transportation Management at Descartes.