S ophisticated supply chain and logistics technology solutions are seeing a surge in interest as supply chains grow more complex, and shippers and their partners contend with disruptions, rising labor costs, and worker shortages that inspire a growing demand for automation services. That interest—as evidenced by technology vendor sales growth—is among the takeaways from Inbound Logistics ’ latest survey of the supply chain and logistics IT market. Of the vendors who participated in the 2025 survey, a striking 58% report they experienced a growth in sales of 10% or more year over year; another 31% say they saw growth of 5% or more. Still, even as interest in new IT solutions grows more robust, the logistics field continues to underutilize the tech solutions available to it. “The logistics industry as a whole remains stuck in a digital process time warp, reliant on manually processing
email, PDFs, spreadsheets, and non-structured data to keep freight moving,” says Greg Kefer, CMO of Raft, a London-based company that oers an AI-powered logistics platform. Artificial intelligence is taking on a growing role as a component of logistics and supply chain technology solutions and seems poised to transform the field. “AI has captured so much attention and excitement. The ability to ‘read,’ interpret, and process data from partners without human intervention is potentially game-changing for logistics,” notes Kefer. IL ’s annual survey of a broad assortment of logistics and supply chain technology providers oers a valuable look at their current views of the marketplace. We compile and analyze their responses to yield fresh insights that can help inform you about the technologies that can help strengthen your operations—and what lies ahead. Here are some notable trends from the 2025 survey.
INDUSTRY
What industries/verticals do your solutions serve?
Supply chain, logistics, and transportation companies remain the heaviest users of logistics IT solutions: 91% of providers report serving that field—a rise of one percentage point from one year ago. The solutions—and the adaptability and sophistication they provide—prove to be more critical than ever for those who oer services for shippers in today’s frequently changing climate. Within that category, current conditions drive 3PLs in particular to embrace tech-based solutions to manage their clients’ nuanced supply chain needs. Manufacturing also saw an increase in usage, climbing four percentage points to 81%. It surpassed retail, which remained steady at 78%, as the category of shippers most likely to contract with logistics IT vendors. The high numbers for both groups reflect the growing use of the solutions among many shippers since 2023, when the numbers were more subdued. In that year’s survey, for instance, only 61% of logistics IT solutions providers cited manufacturing as a category that they served, and an equal percentage said the same about retail. Meanwhile, the wholesale industry experienced a notable decline in usage of the solutions—dropping from 70% in 2024 to 61% in 2025. The numbers proved to be steadier for food and beverage (up three percentage points to 73%), industrial (up one point to 67%), and ecommerce (down two points to 64%).
91%
Supply chain, logistics, and transportation
81%
Manufacturing
78%
Retail
73%
Food & beverage
67%
Industrial
64%
Ecommerce
61%
Wholesale
29%
Government
April 2025 • Inbound Logistics 43
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