Logistics firms pushing digitalisation
A logistics-industry survey found digitalisation is the top area for operational improvement and that 76.6% of firms already have AI tools or are implementing them in workflows. The finding suggests many operators are past the pilot stage and are now wrestling with adoption and integration rather than feasibility. That level of market penetration changes vendor conversations from ‘why AI’ to ‘how to embed and measure it’. (elmercantil.com)
A survey of 1,026 companies that buy logistics services found digitalisation is now the top operational weakness they want fixed, ahead of automation, data-sharing and transport collaboration. In the same survey, 76.6% said they already use at least one artificial intelligence tool or are actively rolling one into daily workflows. (elmercantil.com, zfbarcelona.es) That is a different story from the one logistics executives were telling two years ago, when the question was whether artificial intelligence was real or just sales talk. In this 2026 barometer, the argument has moved to where the tools fit, who uses them, and whether they connect to the systems companies already run. (elmercantil.com, elmercantil.com) Logistics still runs on a messy mix of emails, spreadsheets, phone calls and old enterprise software, which is why “digitalisation” sounds broader than “buying artificial intelligence.” A warehouse can add a smart forecasting tool in one corner and still lose time if booking, invoicing and shipment updates live in separate systems that do not talk to each other. (elmercantil.com, elmercantil.com) The survey numbers show that split clearly. Digitalisation was named by 28.6% of respondents as the main area for operational improvement, while automation drew 24.4%, standardised information exchange 21.9%, transport collaboration 17.8%, and service personalisation 16.4%. (elmercantil.com) When respondents were asked which technologies will matter most over the next three years, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics came first at 33.2%. Collaborative platforms with carriers followed at 22.3%, and warehouse automation came next at 19.2%, which suggests companies want software that helps them decide before they spend on more machines. (elmercantil.com) The same barometer found 72.5% of companies now see artificial intelligence as an ally for improving logistics operations. That matters because this survey comes from firms that purchase freight, warehousing and supply-chain services, so it reflects customer pressure on logistics providers, not just vendor marketing. (zfbarcelona.es) What slows the next step is less about whether the software works and more about whether the company around it works. El Mercantil reported in November 2025 that artificial intelligence availability in supply chains had risen from 23% in 2024 to 49% in 2025, but many tools were still not fully operational or connected to the enterprise resource planning systems most logistics companies use. (elmercantil.com) That is why digitalisation and artificial intelligence show up together but not as the same thing. Digitalisation is the plumbing — the clean data, common formats and connected systems — and artificial intelligence is the appliance you plug into it. (elmercantil.com, elmercantil.com) There is also a money angle behind the rush. A February 2026 study cited by El Mercantil estimated advanced digitalisation could generate up to €140 million a year in potential aggregate benefit for Spain’s port system, which helps explain why logistics operators are treating software upgrades less like office projects and more like infrastructure. (elmercantil.com) So the new pressure point is not persuasion but proof. If more than three quarters of firms already have artificial intelligence in place or on the way, the next fight in logistics is over integration, staff adoption and hard measures like faster bookings, fewer empty miles, lower inventory errors and better on-time delivery. (elmercantil.com, elmercantil.com)
