2024 Transportation Management Benchmark eBook

Global Transportation Management Benchmark Survey 8th Annual

Discover the transportation management strategies, tactics, and technology that top performers are leveraging to capitalize on market opportunities and adapt to challenges of a constantly evolving supply chain landscape.

About the Survey

Since 2017, Descartes has conducted an annual benchmark survey of global transportation professionals to identify the strategies, tactics, and technology-thinking of top-performing organizations. Survey participants represent a wide range of industry leaders including Descartes customers and followers, trade association members, and industry publication readers to provide a balanced view of transportation management (TM). Only the last five years of results are used to keep the study relevant.

Each year our benchmark survey:

• Explores how companies view the role of TM
• Identifies key industry trends driving the market
• Examines how transportation value is measured
• Uncovers which capabilities, technologies, and competitive strategies/tactics are making the greatest impact
• Provides the outlook for future IT investment

The 2024 Survey: Transportation Management Through Disruption

2023 saw inflation decelerate and many economies stabilize. While prices remain high for many goods, consumer spending continues to grow. Disruptions in the form of the ongoing Russia invasion of Ukraine, Red Sea attacks, Israel-Hamas war, and Panama Canal drought have continued to impact global supply chains. Over the road, ocean, and air rates all saw declines in 2023 and into early 2024. Transportation leaders are focused on improving visibility and order management and are investing more in technology. Fuel costs and environmental regulations are foremost concerns in the market. Top performers continue to take more aggressive actions to become more competitive and grow, while poorer performers are more focused on cost-cutting. This report concentrates on the aggregate results, and other reports will be published that highlight differences in responses by Geography (North America vs. Western Europe) and company type (Shipper vs. Logistics Service Provider).

Growing Participation by Logistics Community

• Manufacturers / Distributors are the top business type represented (40%)
• Over two-thirds of respondents (68%) are Shippers (Manufacturers, Distributors, and Retailers)
• Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) had at 32% of respondents and are a good mix of Brokers, Forwarders, and 3PLs.
• This year’s 630 survey participants represent the logistics community and shippers from a wide variety of industries.

Respondent Business Type

What is your primary business type? (select one)

• Freight Broker
• Freight Forwarder
• 3PL / 4PL
• Manufacturing or Distribution
• Retail

Business type aggregated

Geographic Coverage

• 2024 respondents had significantly greater European coverage; LATAM & Asia dropped.

• 2024 respondents with $100M+ transportation spend increased from 2023 (17% and 12.4% respectively)

  Canada: 12%
  United States: 38%
  Western Europe: 50%

Respondent Perspectives

To get a better sense of how companies think and act, we asked respondents to rate their companies on senior management’s strategic view of transportation management. We also wanted to see how those perspectives related to overall financial performance. Based on their ratings, respondents were consolidated into groups for further analysis.

How strategically is transportation viewed by management?

How well financially is your company doing today? (select one)

• Management that views transportation management as a Competitive Weapon has grown the previous 4 years; this year saw a dip of 5%. That is likely due to the higher responses of shippers in this dataset.
• 23% of Shippers and 29% of LSPs selected competitive weapon
• Better than average jumped 13% to 55% of respondents, while other categories dropped slightly.

Industry Trends

• Industry leading financial performance increased in 2024 (2024: 24% vs 2023: 18%) for Competitive Weapon respondents and was 3.4X higher than Not Important respondents.
• 46% of Not Important respondents had poorer financial performance.

Key Trends & Practices

What’s driving TM expansion?

• Cost Reduction was the top choice (40%), with Customer Service (39%) and Growth (38%) close behind.
• Business Growth was significantly more important to Top Performers (43%) vs. Poorer Performers (32%). Similarly, Expanded Product Offerings had a large gap between Top Performers (38%) vs. Poorer Performers (18%).

Business Drivers

What business drivers are resulting in your expanded (or initial) use of a transportation management system? (select all that apply)

• Business growth
• Improved customer service
• Better leverage of staff
• Cost reduction pressure
• Expanded product offerings

Industry Changes

What industry or regulatory changes will have the greatest impact on transportation management over the next 5 years? (select three)

• Fuel Costs (52%)
• Environmental Regulations (34%)
• Carrier Charges (34%)

Overall, this data showcases the evolving landscape of transportation management and highlights the importance of strategic thinking within organizations.