Inbound Logistics | April 2022

PLATFORM: How do you deliver your solutions?

Local

Cloud solutions, also known as software-as-a- service (SaaS) or hosted services, remain the most popular format for logistics IT solutions. Among our respondents this year, 84% say they provide cloud- based solutions, while another 11% offer a combination of cloud-based delivery and on-premise installation. This means that 95% offer some kind of cloud option.

5%

Other

11%

84%

Cloud/SaaS/hosted

COST BASIS: How do users pay for technology solutions?

Many logistics IT vendors offer multiple ways to pay for their products and services. As more solutions move into the cloud, the transactional or subscription model is becoming more important. In 2022, 89% of vendors let users pay for their solutions by subscription, up from 80% in 2021. Slightly fewer than half—47%—can charge by the seat or user, and 41% charge a flat rate for the system. These figures are similar to last year’s. An increasing number of vendors—21% this year, compared with 15% in 2021—offer at least some of their solutions free of charge. This can happen, for example, when a third-party logistics (3PL) provider or other service provider includes technology in a larger service package.

Transactional (subscription) 89%

Seat/user 47%

System 41%

No cost 21%

INDUSTRY: What industries do your solutions serve?

As in 2021, the biggest demand for logistics IT is in the transportation industry: 91% of respondents say they serve transportation companies. Two other industries have seen notable changes. While 81% of respondents in 2021 said they served the manufacturing industry, in 2022 that number has risen to 88%. Have more companies—discouraged by the high costs and long delays inherent in supply chains that span the globe— brought manufacturing back to the United States, requiring new technology to support those redesigned supply chains? We’ve also seen an uptick in the number of logistics IT vendors serving e-business, from 76% in 2021 to 81% in 2022. This is no surprise, given the continued surge in online shopping.

Transportation 91%

Manufacturing 88%

Wholesale 84%

E-business 81%

Retail 80%

Services/government 36%

April 2022 • Inbound Logistics 67

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