Autonomous Agents Set to Revolutionize Transportation Management
Article content
Global research from Manhattan Associates finds integration difficulties and data quality remain significant hurdles for organizations looking to leverage AI across transportation management
Article content
Article content
ATLANTA — Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), the global leader in supply chain commerce, today announced the findings of its latest collaboration with international research firm Vanson Bourne. The global research surveyed 1,450 senior decision-makers* from organizations in manufacturing, retail, wholesale, consumer goods, grocery and food & beverage sectors, across North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia.
'Transportation is the backbone of supply chains, essential to ensuring goods are delivered on time to meet customer expectations,' commented Bryant Smith, director, Transportation Management Systems (TMS) at Manhattan Associates. 'Yet, managing transportation is becoming increasingly complex, pressured by demands on shorter fulfilment times, capacity and cost efficiencies, tighter sustainability regulations, and the growing necessity for access to end-to-end visibility across all operations,' Smith added.
Article content
Fragmented systems: operational visibility and efficiency still challenging
Article content
The true value of visibility extends beyond simply accessing operational data: it lies in the ability to address issues highlighted by this information and action operational improvements more quickly and efficiently. Beyond disruptions however, 60% of organizations say that enhancing visibility leads to greater customer satisfaction, through more accurate and timely updates, while 50% cite reductions in transportation costs as a key benefit of increased operational visibility.
Article content
61% of organizations anticipate fully autonomous Agentic AI, capable of acting independently to achieve specific goals within the next five years, however, only 37% have deeply integrated AI and machine learning in their TMS today.
Article content
While many might view five years in the AI space like an eon, the gap between future expectations and current usage is noteworthy given adoption is rarely straightforward: although almost half (48%) said that they already feel very prepared for autonomous agents by 2030, practically every organization (99%) reported facing, or expecting to face, hurdles, with concerns including skill shortages (49%), integration difficulties (44%) and data quality and availability issues (44%).
Article content
With many organizations seemingly well-placed to take advantage of the cost, efficiency and scalability gains afforded by autonomous agents, those organizations on the other side need to rethink their AI strategies otherwise they risk losing significant (and possibly irretrievable) market share to rivals.
Article content
Sustainability compliance: a priority and significant pain point
Article content
The push for more sustainable transportation is widespread. 69% of organizations say sustainability is either a global mandate or an area of significant pressure, with 62% already implementing Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive reporting. Navigating complex and shifting compliance requirements remains a global challenge, with sustainability compliance most frequently cited as a constraint expected to impact organizational performance over the next five years. A modern TMS can help to deliver the data visibility and functionality needed to measure progress and demonstrate compliance, vital to ensuring sustainability remains at the forefront of organizational thinking.
Article content
Smith summarized: 'Modern transportation management demands organizations balance a range of competing priorities, and the research clearly illustrates many organizations are still unprepared to meet the challenges of evolving sustainability mandates, expectations around AI and the need for more visible, actionable data insights. Looking ahead to 2030, these demands will intensify, increasing the pressure on organizations to operate transportation operations in smarter more intuitive ways.
Article content
'87% of respondents anticipate that challenges in areas such as operational visibility, AI adoption and sustainability compliance will intensify, leaving their current Transportation Management Systems struggling to keep pace. Failure to act now will expose organizations to rising costs, questions over long-term efficacy, and the risk of falling short of customer promises,' Smith finished.
Article content
Additional stats:
Article content
48% of organizations spend more than 10% of their transportation logistics budget on errors and disruptions
78% view transportation management as a strategic imperative for success and this figure rises to 86% by 2030
61% are anticipating fully autonomous Agentic AI, capable of acting independently to achieve specific goals, or minimal human oversight within the next five years for TMS
50% report challenges in proactively rerouting shipments, while 49% struggle with optimizing dock and warehouse labor scheduling
82% express strong confidence that advances in planning, forecasting and modelling will reduce freight costs by at least 5% within the next five years.
Organizations are still struggling to operationalize sustainability: only 34% say they've factored sustainability into operational planning, 30% into procurement decisions, and just 31% offer carbon-friendly fuel solutions.
While a majority have integrated their TMS with Sales and Operations Planning systems (60%) and are utilizing predictive analytics or AI (56%), far fewer are capitalizing on key enablers such as historical trend analysis (38%), automated booking and tendering (36%), or real-time demand sensing (35%).
Article content
*Methodology:
Article content
Vanson Bourne surveyed 1,450 senior decision makers with responsibility for or knowledge of their organization's transportation management operations, working within transportation, logistics, supply chain, IT or finance functions. Respondents must operate within the manufacturing, retail, wholesale, consumer goods, grocery and food & beverage sectors. The survey interviewed respondents from North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia. All respondents came from organizations with at least US$750 million in global annual revenue.
Article content
About Manhattan Associates:
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Contacts
Article content
Press Contact:
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
8 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Revenge dress for a party in Sicily': This platform is using AI to make online shopping hyper-personal
AI startup Daydream wants to make online shopping easier and more personal, by letting users shop online as if they're talking to a personal stylist. (madisonwi/E+/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) As anyone who's scoured the internet for a bridesmaid dress knows, online shopping can be a pain. Among almost unlimited options, it can be a difficult task to find just the right style, color, size and price point. A tech startup called Daydream is now looking to fix that by letting users search for a product online in the same way they'd describe it to a friend. A user could say they're looking for a 'revenge dress to wear to a party in Sicily in July,' for example, or 'a summer bag to carry to work and to cocktails after.' Daydream, which has staff in the New York and San Francisco areas, is just the latest tech company using artificial intelligence to try to make online shopping simpler and more personalized. The demand is already there — a survey of 5,000 American consumers published by Adobe Analytics showed that 39% of respondents had used a generative AI tool for online shopping last year and that 53% planned to do so this year. It's competing with tech giants that have already launched AI tools for online shopping. Meta is using AI to make it easier for sellers to list items for sale on its apps, and to show users ads for products they're more likely to buy. OpenAI launched an AI agent that can shop for users across the web, and Amazon is testing a similar feature. And Google has rolled out a range of AI shopping tools, including automated price tracking, a 'circle to search' feature that lets users search for a product in a photo or on social media, and virtual try-on for clothes. But Daydream has a deeper understanding of the fashion and retail industries than those bigger players, CEO Julie Bornstein told CNN. Bornstein helped build Nordstrom's website as its vice president of e-commerce in the early 2000s and worked in the C-suite for Sephora and Stitch Fix. In 2018, she co-founded her first AI-powered shopping startup The Yes, which sold to Pinterest in 2022. 'They don't have the people, the mindset, the passion to do what needs to be done to make a category like fashion work for (AI) recommendations,' Bornstein said. 'Because I've been in this space my whole career, what I know is that having the catalogue that has everything and being able to show the right person the right stuff is what makes shopping easier.' Already, Daydream has raised $50 million in its first round of funding from investors including Google Ventures and model and Kode With Klossy founder Karlie Kloss. The free platform operates sort of like a digital personal stylist. Users can type in what they're looking for in natural language — no Boolean search terms required, thanks to its AI text recognition technology — or upload an inspiration photo. Then, Daydream will surface recommendations from more than 8,000 brand partners, ranging from Uniqlo to Gucci. Users can then continue chatting, just like they would with a chatbot, to refine the search; for instance, by asking for more casual or less expensive options. As users spend more time on the platform, it will start to tailor recommendations based on what they've searched for, clicked on and saved. When they're ready to buy, shoppers are directed to the brand's website to complete their purchase, and Daydream will take a 20 per cent cut of the sale. Unlike many of the other big players in e-commerce, Bornstein is eschewing ads-based rankings — she wants products to show up on recommendation pages because they're a likely fit for the customer, not because brands have paid for them to be there. 'As soon as Amazon started doing paid sponsorships, I'm like, 'How can I find what the real good product is?'' she said. 'We want this to be a thing where we get paid when we show the customer the right thing.' On a recent CNN test of Daydream, a search for 'white, fitted button-up shirt for the office with no pockets' led to a US$145 cotton long-sleeve from Theory that fit the bill. But the recommendations aren't always perfect — a search for 'mother of the bride dress for a summer wedding in California' returned, among more formal styles, several slinky slip dresses, including in white, that seemed more suited to a bachelorette party. Bornstein said the company continues to refine its AI models and collect user feedback. 'We want data on what people are doing so we can focus and learn where we do well and where we don't,' she said. Part of that work, she added, is training the AI model to understand what it means when users say, for example, they're looking for a dress for a trip to Greece in August (it's going to be hot) or that it's for a black-tie wedding (it should be formal). Daydream launched its web version to the public last month, although it remains in beta testing, and plans to release an app this fall. In the future, Bornstein said she expects people to use AI not just for shopping but for a range of fashion needs, such as pairing items they're shopping for with existing pieces in their closet. 'This was one of my earliest ideas, but I didn't know the term (generative AI) and I didn't know a large language model was going to be the unlock,' she said. By Clare Duffy, CNN
Globe and Mail
33 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
TransUnion (TRU) Receives a Buy from J.P. Morgan
In a report released today, Andrew Steinerman from J.P. Morgan maintained a Buy rating on TransUnion, with a price target of $118.00. The company's shares opened today at $98.12. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Steinerman covers the Industrials sector, focusing on stocks such as Cintas, First Advantage, and BrightView Holdings. According to TipRanks, Steinerman has an average return of 11.4% and a 70.52% success rate on recommended stocks. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for TransUnion with a $112.92 average price target, representing a 15.08% upside. In a report released today, TR | OpenAI – 4o also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $110.00 price target. Based on TransUnion's latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $1.14 billion and a net profit of $287.8 million. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $1.04 billion and had a net profit of $85 million
Globe and Mail
33 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
United Rentals (URI) Gets a Buy from J.P. Morgan
J.P. Morgan analyst Tami Zakaria maintained a Buy rating on United Rentals today and set a price target of $1,000.00. The company's shares opened today at $873.35. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Zakaria covers the Industrials sector, focusing on stocks such as Agco, Paccar, and Oshkosh. According to TipRanks, Zakaria has an average return of 15.2% and a 68.28% success rate on recommended stocks. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for United Rentals with a $862.67 average price target, implying a -1.22% downside from current levels. In a report released today, KeyBanc also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $960.00 price target. The company has a one-year high of $896.98 and a one-year low of $525.91. Currently, United Rentals has an average volume of 559.4K. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 55 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of URI in relation to earlier this year. Most recently, in April 2025, CRAIG ADAM PINTOFF, the EVP, Chief Admin. Officer of URI sold 4,449.00 shares for a total of $2,816,661.90.
