Business
Descartes' Study Finds 67% of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers View Technology as Fundamental to Growth
Automation and AI emerge as critical differentiators for logistics services providers facing glob...
About this update from Descartes Systems Group Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Descartes’ Study Finds 67% of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers View Technology as Fundamental to Growth\n\n\n\n\n\n Automation and AI emerge as critical differentiators for logistics services providers facing global instability, tariff volatility and cost pressures\n \n\n\n\n LONDON and ATLANTA, Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq:DSGX) (TSX:DSG), the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced the results of its\n \n\n Global Forwarder/Broker Benchmark Study\n \n\n of more than 400 companies, highlighting a logistics industry navigating global uncertainty and technological opportunity. According to the study, global instability (60%), tariff changes (42%) and customer pricing pressure (61%) are among the most significant challenges freight forwarders and customs brokers expect to face over the next five years. In the face of these headwinds, however, 67% of respondents viewed technology as fundamental or highly important to growth, and an overwhelming 55% cited implementing new technologies as the top strategy to grow over competitors (see Figure 1).\n \n\n Figure 1: What strategies are expected to help differentiate your organization from and grow over competitors?\n \n\n\n\n\n\n Source: Descartes\n \n\n Respondents viewed the ability to leverage automation and artificial intelligence (AI) as vital to achieving long-term efficiency, compliance agility and profitability. AI (65%) was cited as the technology expected to deliver the greatest value to organizations over the next two years. While many traditional technologies experienced a decline in perceived value, both rate management (20%) and regulatory compliance systems (30%) showed gains in 2025 (see Figure 2). Rate management solutions have grown in importance for the ability to deliver automated, self-service rating and quoting capabilities to customers, while the value of regulatory compliance systems has increased given the complexities of meeting quickly evolving regulatory demands.\n \n\n Figure 2. What technologies are expected to deliver the greatest value to your organization over the next 2 years?\n \n\n\n\n\n\n Source: Descartes\n \n\n Other key findings include:\n \n\n\n Manual processes hinder growth: 25% cited manual workflows as the top inhibitor to growth, with smaller companies es...