Growing geopolitical tension, shifting tariffs, and intensifying customer price scrutiny are reshaping global forwarding and customs brokerage. To compete, firms are leaning hard into automation and AI. A new study from Descartes Systems Group shows more than half of freight forwarders and customs brokers now view technology implementation as their primary strategy to outpace rivals, marking a clear pivot from operational digitization to intelligence-driven automation.
Leaders surveyed expect the coming years to test operational resilience. Yet most see technology not as optional modernization, but as the foundation for efficiency, compliance agility, and profitable growth in an increasingly volatile trade landscape.
AI Moves From Concept to Core Capability
Descartes’ Global Forwarder/Broker Benchmark Study highlights widening exposure to global instability, tariff swings, and mounting customer pricing pressure. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (67%) said technology is fundamental or highly important to growth, with 55% identifying new tech deployment as their top competitive lever.
Scott Sangster, general manager for logistics services providers at Descartes, noted that the industry has evolved its technology priorities across nine study editions, from basic process efficiency (2019–2020) to full digitization (2021–2022) and now toward intelligent automation and AI through 2025. That shift reflects a broader pattern in logistics tech investment, where companies are pairing workflow automation with machine learning-driven decision support.
AI is seen as the single biggest value driver over the next two years, cited by 65% of respondents. While enthusiasm dipped for legacy platforms, rate management (20%) and regulatory compliance systems (30%) registered renewed importance, reinforcing how rapidly evolving trade rules and cost transparency requirements are shaping investment priorities. Recent industry reports echo this momentum, with forwarders increasingly automating declaration workflows and integrating sanctions-screening intelligence in anticipation of tighter enforcement and tariff realignments.
Manual Work and Capital Constraints Still Slow Progress
Despite momentum toward digital transformation, barriers persist. One-quarter of respondents ranked manual workflows as the biggest brake on growth. Smaller providers in particular face structural headwinds: 27% cited limited access to capital, compared with larger players that have more flexibility to fund automation.
This divide is reflected in strategic attitudes. Sixty percent of large companies view technology as fundamental to growth, while just 27% of small companies do, a gap that risks widening competitive distance as digital capabilities scale. Meanwhile, tailored services (33%) overtook high service quality (31%) as the most important competitive differentiator, signaling a shift toward personalized, data-rich customer experiences rather than broad service differentiation alone.
In parallel, 55% plan to prioritize AI investment within two years, suggesting that even cost-constrained operators see automation as essential to staying relevant as customer portals, predictive routing systems, and compliance engines become standard.
The Next Edge in Trade Execution
Freight digitization has moved from novelty to necessity, but a quiet shift is underway. As major forwarders invest in AI copilots, real-time visibility platforms, and automated customs clearance, competitive advantage may soon hinge not only on efficiency, but on trust and speed in regulatory execution. With evolving U.S.–China trade dynamics and renewed tariff scrutiny across Europe and North America, forwarders with the data governance, audit trails, and automated controls to withstand compliance pressure will likely stand out. Technology is becoming the gateway to resilience, and increasingly, to regulatory credibility in an unpredictable trade era.
