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Better Every Day: From visibility to velocity
Transportation and logistics (T&L) organizations have always competed on speed and precision. Today, visibility across the supply chain is just as critical. A joint Zebra/Oxford Economics study found that companies modernizing workflows are realizing measurable gains—from greater accuracy and faster operations to stronger overall efficiency.
The study shows that if the top 20 transportation and logistics organizations in the Forbes Global 2000 list were to achieve meaningful improvements in their workflows, they could potentially see an average of $1.2 billion in higher revenue and $53 million in added profit per T&L organization. Workflow optimizations drove revenue growth and profit improvements of up to 3.4 percentage points over the last year1. The study spotlights two critical areas of transformation: inventory management and control, and delivery and field operations.
+3.4%
Workflow optimization drove revenue growth and profit improvements of up to 3.4 percentage points over the last year
Better operations deliver better outcomes
The transportation and logistics industry is rethinking traditional workflows. With better tracking, deliveries are more accurate, and smoother delivery processes mean things get where they need to be faster. By changing how they work, companies are running things more efficiently than ever.
Business outcomes from optimizing T&L workflows over the past two years
+23%
improvement in inventory and order accuracy
+21%
increase in employee productivity
Success Story
"We went from zero to 100% visibility...productivity increased and cost reductions happened, and that visibility was invaluable to our folks in the field, in our distribution centers, and customer service."
- Nick Matuck, Senior Director of Global Logistics, Shorr Packaging
The route to smarter workflows
Transportation and logistics companies that are focused on improving their workflows are seeing real results. With better tracking, deliveries are more accurate, and smoother delivery processes mean things get where they need to be faster. By changing how they work, companies are running things more efficiently than ever.
Better workflows, stronger outcomes
Percentage of T&L organizations who have meaningfully improved the following workflows over the past two years:
Success Story
"We cut picking errors by nearly 70%. In some warehouses, we've completely eliminated mis-shipments."
- Bill Reiner, Director of eComm and Fulfillment Solution Development at Logistics Plus
Inventory Control: Workflow improvements
Oxford Economics found that smarter inventory management and control can drive over 3.4 percentage points in revenue growth and 2.2 percentage points higher profitability. This translates to a $25.3M increase in revenue and over $1M in higher profits—an opportunity too significant to overlook2.
+3.4%
revenue growth through workflow improvements
+$25M
projected revenue uplift
Success Story
"Bidfood’s digital transformation has greatly increased warehouse efficiency by enabling real-time stock tracking and automated inventory updates, reducing manual errors and system overrides."
- James Jeffryes, Operational Change Manager at Bidfood
Delivery & Field Operations: Workflow improvements
Our study reinforces the importance of finishing strong. Modernizing delivery and field operations can potentially unlock more than $17.1M in revenue3.
+2.3%
revenue growth from workflow improvement achievements
$17M
projected revenue uplift
Success Story
"A DPD driver scans the parcels at the depot before loading them into the delivery vehicle. A second scan provides proof of delivery (PoD) to the customer or the pick-up point, and a digital signature documents the handover.""
- Rudolf Pöcking, Project Manager at DPD Deutschland GmbH
AI’s driving transportation and logistics workflows
The transportation and logistics industry is using AI to improve workflows and get better business results. From smarter inventory management to more accurate delivery times and better customer experiences, AI is making a real difference and driving results.
More than half of T&L companies are piloting or using AI in key workflows.
67%
Inventory optimization
61%
Predictive ETA
60%
Cost optimization
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Transportation and logistics insights from Zebra's AI Summit
Discover insights from top industry leaders on leveraging AI to spark innovation, align with business objectives, and boost frontline efficiency. Cut through the noise and gain actionable strategies to confidently lead your business toward measurable growth in today’s AI-powered T&L landscape.
- The percentage-point differences show the average gap in revenue growth and profitability between T&L organizations that made meaningful improvements to workflows and those that did not, based on our analysis of the survey data.
- T&L organizations improving inventory control saw, on average, 3.4 percentage-points higher revenue growth and 2.2 percentage-points higher profitability over the past year compared to those that did not make meaningful improvements. For the typical organization represented in our survey, this translates to a potential $1.3 million in higher profits.
- T&L organizations improving delivery & field operations saw, on average 2.3% higher revenue growth over the past year compared to those that did not make meaningful improvements. . For the typical organization represented in our survey, this translates to a potential $17.1 million uplift in revenue.
Consult an expert
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