An industry survey has revealed that despite rising fuel costs and a run of business failures across the transport and logistics sector companies are getting system ready for the implementation of AI.
The survey published by Origin Logistics Technology indicates that fewer than half of the operators surveyed can show what their technology returns are and only one in four can see every job, its status and its cost in one live view.
Origin is a what it describes as a ” supply chain and logistics specialisation” of New Zealand software company, Sandfield, which claims to have built software for freight and logistics operators since 1989.
Origin explained that its software covers transport management, container freight stations, customer portals and finance for operators across both Australia and New Zealand and its parent company. Sandfield employs more than 190 people, which is headquartered in Auckland with team members also based in Sydney and Melbourne
The company explained that despite high fuel costs and a run of business failures across the sector, two thirds or 68 per cent of freight and logistics operators in Australia and New Zealand t expect to spend more on technology in the next 12 months, up from 52 per cent in its 2025 survey.
According to Origin’s latest survey 77 per cent of firms surveyed said that cost reduction and efficiency was the most common reason to invest,in new technology.
Origin says that getting systems ready for AI and automation was a big part of that spend with 41 per cent identifying the enabling of AI or automation as a reason to invest, and that the share of operators running AI in production has almost doubled in a year, from 15 per cent last year to 28 per cent this year.
The head of Origin, Alan Dowsett, said that AI is also changing how that technology gets delivered, saying that the cost and time to deliver integrations, prototypes and development work has improved substantially in the past six months.
The survey closed on the 4th September following six months of volatile diesel prices, and data from ASIC showing that insolvency appointments in Australian transport, postal and warehousing businesses more than doubled between the financial year 2022 and financial year 2024.
Origin also indicated that far fewer operators can demonstrate what spending on this new technology could return.
The company said that around 48 per cent off the respondents measured what their technology investment delivered and that 61 per cent said that they have full visibility across their business, but that only around 26 per cent of them could pull every job, its status and its cost into one live view now.
“Legacy systems get the blame, and the money is there to replace them, however I’m not convinced replacement is the answer to all problems and most operators already own the data, but it’s locked in systems that don’t talk to each other, and replacing one often just moves the problem,” ” said Dowsett.
“What operators can’t see, they can’t charge for or fix, and when the job, its status and its cost sit in different systems, extras like waiting time, demurrage and variations slip through without being billed, and nobody notices until month end,” he said.
“Customer service teams spend their day answering ‘where’s my freight?’ by phone and email because the answer is spread across three screens, so joining that data up and billing for the work they did, means customers can check their own jobs, and transport company people can stop having to chase the information, which is’ what keeps customers coming back.”
Dowsett said that the survey backs this up and that operators with a single live view are 56 per cent more likely to give customers full or most visibility of their operation.
The company said that many operators are planning to replace systems anyway and that 58 per centexpect to upgrade or replace three or more systems in the next 12 months, and that the transport management system is the one most often on the list.
It also said that AI is becoming part of the case, with 41 per cent name enabling AI or automation as a reason to invest, and 26 per cent saying that a current system can’t support AI or automation.
However it warns that the track record is a caution, with only 12 per cent saying that their last significant implementation landed on time, on budget and as expected.
“Where replacement does make sense it is the TMS, it’s the system of record for every transport job, so it’s where automation and AI either work or don’t, so that operators upgrading it to get ready for business growth and AI are making a sensible call, as long as the new system connects to everything around it,” Dowsett said.
Origins said that operators are clear about where they would trust AI first, with 51 per cent saying document classification and 40 per cent citing route or load planning as the two decisions they are most willing to let AI make without a person checking.
The survey also shows that a majority of 82 per cent want AI to cut manual work, as opposed to 18 per cent who indicate reducing headcount or cost as being their priority.
“The operators we talk to want their planners and admin people doing more valuable work, such as looking after customers and handling the exceptions that need a person,” Dowsett said.
“AI-powered route and load planning cuts the hours a transport planner would spend building runs and the fuel burned driving them, and AI Document classification takes hours of keying off the admin team. These provide early returns with straightforward measures,” Dowsett added.
The survey also showed that the use of AI is moving faster than the planning around it with 890 percent of the operators having staff using general AI tools day to day, and that the share running AI in production has almost doubled, from 15 per cent to 28 per cent.
It also showed that only one in five has a documented AI strategy, and that only 7 per cent can point to a clear, measured return.
“This year is different, because AI is changing how IT gets done, not just how it shows up as a feature,” Dowsett said.
“Integration that took months can now happen in weeks, and new functions can be added onto legacy systems without rebuilding them, and that a working prototype takes days, not months,” he said
“Most of the AI in this industry arrived from the bottom up, so that operators who measure their technology spend are four times more likely to have AI in production, and those who start deliberately now will be hard to catch,” Dowsett said.
Other results from the survey show that the operators who are most satisfied with their pace of change are not the ones spending the most.
It revealed that 40 per cent are satisfied and that they are not more likely to be increasing their spend than anyone else
The survey also showed that what sets them apart is how well integrated they are, and that two thirds rate their systems as well integrated, against 18 per cent of the rest, and that they are more likely to measure the return and to bring technology to customers before being asked.
“The operators pulling ahead aren’t necessarily outspending anyone,” Dowsett said.
“They’re joining things up and taking what they build to customers before being asked. This is the year for operators with a good plan to make the investment they’ve already made pay off: join their systems up and get one view of the operation,” he concluded
