Transportation’s Evolution From Necessary Cost To Strategic Asset

Max Lloyd of Descartes explores how transportation has evolved from a necessary cost to a strategic asset driving business growth, customer service, and competitive advantage.

Oct 15, 2026

Transportation’s role in the business has transformed over the last decade. Today, it is widely considered a key strategic tool enabling shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) to deliver superior customer service, gain a competitive advantage and grow the business — but that wasn’t always the case. Ten years ago, even though many organizations saw the potential, a large number still treated transportation as a basic operational function and an unavoidable cost. In this post, I look at a decade of research from Descartes to examine transportation’s rise as a strategic business capability and consider where shippers and LSPs go from here.

Transportation as a Strategic Asset

For ten years the Transportation Management Benchmark Survey has been asking LSPs and shippers how they assess transportation’s impact on the business. This extensive record shows that the perceived value of transportation has been building over the years. For example, the percentage of companies that view transportation strategically, as a competitive weapon or customer service differentiator…

The First Half of 2026: What’s Changed, What’s Worked, and What’s Next

The first half of 2026 has been anything but predictable. Tariffs, geopolitical tensions, AI advancements, changing transportation market conditions, and other developments have created new challenges — and new opportunities — for supply chain organizations. As we reach the midpoint of the year, we’d like to understand what has had the greatest impact on your organization, what has surprised you, where you’ve made the most progress, and what priorities will shape the months ahead.

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