Freight operators boost tech spend to cut costs

AROUND two thirds of freight and logistics operators in Australia and New Zealand expect to spend more on technology during the next 12 months, as business seek cost reductions and greater efficiency.

That was a key message from the Origin Logistics Technology Outlook 2026 survey which showed 68% of operators expected to spend more on technology in the next 12 months, up from 52% in 2025.

Key findings include:

• 68% expect to spend more on technology in the next 12 months, up from 52% in 2025.
• 77% name cost reduction and efficiency as a reason to invest.
• 48% measure what their technology investment returns.
• 26% can see every job, its status and its cost in one live view.
• 58% expect to upgrade or replace three or more systems, and 51% their TMS.
• 12% said their last major implementation landed on time, on budget and as expected.
• Nine in ten have staff using general AI tools, 20% have a documented AI strategy and 7% can show a measured return.

Head of Origin at Sandfield Alan Dowsett said AI was changing how technology was delivered with the cost and time required to deliver integrations, prototypes and development work having “improved substantially” during the past six months.

Mr Dowsett said many operators were planning to replace systems anyway with close to six in ten (58%) expecting to upgrade or replace three or more systems in the next 12 months.

AI is becoming part of the case: 41% name enabling AI or automation as a reason to invest, and a quarter (26%) say a current system can't support AI or automation.

"Legacy systems get the blame, and the money is there to replace them," Mr Dowsett said.

"I'm not convinced replacement is the answer to all problems. Most operators already own the data. It's locked in systems that don't talk to each other, and replacing one often just moves the problem.”

According to Origin, operators were clear about where they would trust AI first. Document classification (51%) and route or load planning (40%) were the two decisions they were most willing to let AI make without a person checking.

Most (82%) want AI to cut manual work, against 18% who name reducing headcount or cost.

"The operators we talk to want their planners and admin people doing more valuable work: looking after customers and handling the exceptions that need a person," Mr Dowsett said.

"AI-powered route and load planning cuts the hours a transport planner would spend building runs and the fuel burned driving them. And AI Document classification takes hours of keying off the admin team. These provide early returns with straightforward measures."

He said AI adoption was outpacing strategic planning.

"This year is different, because AI is changing how IT gets done, not just how it shows up as a feature," Mr Dowsett said.

"Integration that took months can now happen in weeks. New functions can be added onto legacy systems without rebuilding them, and a working prototype takes days, not months. Most of the AI in this industry arrived from the bottom up.

“Operators who measure their technology spend are four times more likely to have AI in production, and those who start deliberately now will be hard to catch."