How Modern Is Your Freight Procurement Process?

Highlights of research report published by Trimble that explores the current state of freight procurement.

Oct 06, 2025

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of a research report published recently, “Examining AI’s Role in Modernizing the Freight Procurement Process.” The research, conducted by Adelante SCM and commissioned by Trimble, explored the current state of freight procurement — how shippers source capacity, use data, and manage the end-to-end process from planning to award. Please download the full report for all the research results.

Freight procurement is evolving rapidly, shaped by digital innovation, rising complexity, and increasing pressure to improve cost, service, and agility. Yet many procurement teams still face time-consuming manual processes, limited visibility, and challenges accessing the data they need to make smart decisions.

In June 2025, we conducted a survey with members of the Indago supply chain research community, who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies, to better understand the current state of freight procurement — specifically, how shippers source capacity, use data, and manage the end-to-end process from planning to award.

Using Robots to Load/Unload Trucks

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted how “new advances in robotics are [enabling the automation of truck loading and unloading]. Improved sensors and algorithms, advancements in AI and faster image-processing technology are making these robots proficient players in tasks that are like a game of 3-D Tetris.” This survey sought to understand industry readiness, key challenges, and opportunities associated with using robots to load or unload trucks.

Download the Report

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