Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the recently published research report “Plan.Adapt. Repeat: The Next Chapter of Transportation Planning.” Conducted by Adelante SCM in partnership with Transporeon, the research surveyed 42 supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies to understand how they are managing transportation planning today, the factors driving greater complexity, where current processes and technologies are falling short, and how automation and AI could enable more dynamic and responsive planning in the years ahead. To access the complete findings, download the full report.
Transportation planning has become increasingly complex and dynamic. Shippers must balance cost, service, asset utilization, and responsiveness, often while dealing with fragmented data, shifting demand, and real-time disruptions.
The results of our research reveal an industry in transition. Many companies have invested in transportation management systems and optimization tools, yet manual processes remain deeply embedded in daily planning activities. At the same time, respondents see automation and AI augmenting planners by helping them work faster, manage exceptions more effectively, and make better decisions.
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I run ops at a food distributor. The manual part that never goes away for us happens late at night.
The tool builds a clean plan in the evening. Then a truck goes down, or a store calls in a big add. Run the tool again and it moves stops on routes the loaders already started. Nobody wants that at 11pm.
So the planner moves a few stops by hand. It's not that they don't trust the tool. The tool just can't make a small change. It only knows how to start over.
I'd be curious if the survey split it out. How much of the hand work is the first plan, and how much is fixing it after things change?