Supply Chain Complexity Driving TMS Revenues to US$25 Billion by 2023

A robust Transportation Management System (TMS) is a strategic enabler of the supply chain through reliable planning and execution (empowered by advanced analytics and real-time visibility), as well as innovation in emerging areas such as machine learning, automation, and blockchain. Key vendors provide the ability to scale across multimodal and global markets as well as provide cloud and mobile solutions. In fact,  numerous established companies are eyeing potential acquisitions to bolster cloud, geographic, and modal coverage. This creates a significant opportunity over the next five years to use cloud platforms and level the playing field according to new research from ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies. Continued complexity from regulations, taxes, staffing, and e-commerce expectations will continue to challenge goods transport across the globe.

“Vendors that focus on a given geography, mode, or enterprise need to partner, acquire, or develop more extensive solutions to provide flexible, End-to-End (ETE) coverage,” said Susan Beardslee, Principal Analyst at ABI Research.   Established companies need to “future-proof” through developments in predictive analytics, blockchain, emerging transit modes, and communication technologies (5G, satellite, etc.).

A further shift away from on-premise, high-investment, and lengthy training/upgrade cycles will continue to ramp toward cloud-based, scalable “as-a-service” models, with cloud-hosted platforms expected to begin to surpass those of on-premise adoption by next year and exceed 70% of the market by 2022. TMS revenues are roughly split between licensing, subscriptions, and professional services.

A host of new solutions are going to market from both startups and well-established market leads.  ERP and SCM vendors such as SAP, JDA Software, and Oracle are integrating more TMS processes to help shippers align and enhance manufacturing and production along with their logistics processes.  3PL and telematics vendors driving TMS include C.H. Robinson, Trimble, Omnitracs, and Cerasis.  SMB and “freemium” focused business models include Kuebix and Cloud Logistics.  Omni-mode TMS suppliers such as Amber Road, One Network Enterprises, and MercuryGate are finding traction in TMS. Disruption lies ahead from dominant scaling players like Amazon and Alibaba as well as machine learning/AI solutions from ClearMetal.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Transportation Management Systems and the Logistics Evolution report. This report is part of the company’s Intelligent Transportation & eFreight research service, which includes research, data, and Executive Foresights.

About ABI Research

ABI Research provides strategic guidance for visionaries needing market foresight on the most compelling transformative technologies, which reshape workforces, identify holes in a market, create new business models and drive new revenue streams. ABI’s own research visionaries take stances early on those technologies, publishing groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms. ABI analysts deliver their conclusions and recommendations in easily and quickly absorbed formats to ensure proper context. Our analysts strategically guide visionaries to take action now and inspire their business to realize a bigger picture. For more information about ABI Research’s forecasting, consulting and teardown services, visionaries can contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific or visit www.abiresearch.com.