This story originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Logistics Management.

What’s Related

Shippers spent much of last year navigating a mix of conditions. Truckload rates were soft, ocean and airfreight costs eased, and less-than-truckload (LTL) pricing stayed steady. Parcel carriers continued to push through rate increases and seasonal fees. The environment gave shippers some room to manage costs, but it also put pressure on carriers already working through thin margins.

Brock Johns, director analyst in Gartner’s logistics and technology team, expects more of the same at least through the first couple of quarters of 2026. “Cost management is still front and center, and the market doesn’t look ready to snap back,” says Johns. He says that the massive uptick in artificial intelligence (AI) use in 2025 added another layer of uncertainty.

Senior leaders see the hype, says Johns, but teams still have to figure out where AI can genuinely help their operations: “Understanding where AI can actually drive value in an operation remains a challenge.”

These and other pressures are leading companies to more closely assess the systems that support their transportation networks. A modern transportation management system (TMS) can help organizations manage costs, work more effectively with carriers and determine where tools like AI can actually make a difference. The experts interviewed for this article discussed the software’s evolution and how they envision TMS shaping transportation operations in 2026.

1. TMS user expectations are changing: Shippers want more from their transportation systems, and that pressure is reaching vendors of all sizes. Brandon Hamilton, systems project manager at St. Onge Co., says that newer TMS providers are now held to the same standards as long-established platforms.

Many of these vendors have been in the market for 10 years or less, yet users expect them to match the capabilities and maturity of systems that have evolved over several decades. “Shippers expect these systems to do more than ever before,” Hamilton says.

This shift is pushing younger TMS companies to advance faster than they have in the past. Hamilton says that recent technology gains have helped these providers improve their interfaces and core functionality, narrowing the gap with larger competitors.

They may not offer the same depth of automation yet, but Hamilton says that they’re moving in that direction. “The automation and some of the functionality may not be there yet,” he adds, “but these lower-tier TMS platforms now look and feel more [advanced] than they did just 5-7 years ago.”  

2. AI will remain the focal point of many TMS conversations: AI-dominated transportation discussions in 2025, and Hamilton expects that to continue. He says many TMS providers advertise AI capabilities, but the reality is mixed.

“A lot of TMS providers say they’re AI, but that [claim] is still a bit of a stretch in some areas,” says Hamilton. Some platforms offer virtual assistants that answer basic questions, for example, but those tools often resemble guided help features more than true intelligence.

Hamilton sees real potential for AI in procurement and data analysis, but still cautions shippers to look past the marketing hype associated with the technology. “Some TMS providers tout that they’re AI when they’re probably machine learning at best,” says Hamilton, who encourages buyers to press for specifics and understand how a provider defines AI, automates workflows or uses its carrier network. “Don’t be afraid to dig a little deeper during those evaluations.”

3. More integrated dashboards and learning systems: This year, Hamilton expects TMS platforms to offer better-integrated dashboards and early learning tools that help teams make quicker decisions. These features will draw on larger data sets and guide decisions, such as when to move freight or respond to spot-market shifts.

“You’re going to see more integrated data and early learning tools that support broader decisions,” says Hamilton, who also expects to see more automation tied to carrier performance and market conditions.

Indeed, carriers are dealing with new regulations and a shrinking driver pool, and those shifts will influence how networks are managed. Hamilton sees this as an opportunity for TMS providers to add tools that use carrier data and real-time signals to support routine decisions. As the carrier landscape keeps changing, he adds, software providers may also add practical features that help shippers ahead of day-to-day freight market shifts.

4. The sustainability push continues and TMS lends a hand: Supply chain sustainability looks different across industries, but Johns says it remains on the radar for many shippers. Interest tends to be higher in Europe, but global companies are also trying to capture emissions data and prepare for future reporting needs. “A lot of shippers are under pressure to get better at capturing emissions and the data needed for reporting,” says Johns.

He notes that political shifts have eased some of the urgency, but not the underlying concern. Many organizations expect regulations or customer expectations to tighten again and want to be ready. Johns says TMS platforms are playing a larger role by helping companies gather cleaner transportation data and track performance more consistently. Shippers inquired about these capabilities throughout 2025, and Johns expects those conversations to continue in 2026.

5. Generative AI moves deeper into TMS workflows: Generative AI—or “GenAI”—refers to technology that can create new content or insights from existing data. In transportation, that often means summarizing information, answering natural-language questions or helping teams surface details they would otherwise dig for manually. Shippers leaned on those capabilities throughout 2025, especially for basic training and quick decision support, and adoption is on track to grow in 2026.

Johns, who notes that most major TMS vendors introduced GenAI features last year, says the technology has already proved useful in day-to-day tasks. “GenAI has been a good tool for surfacing data and helping users get answers faster,” says Johns. He points to early gains in areas like onboarding, where new team members can query a chatbot instead of relying on formal training. Johns expects that pattern to continue and says shippers will see more GenAI embedded directly into TMS workflows in the year ahead.

6. TMS as more than just an outbound transportation manager: Organizations are leaning on their TMS platforms for more than just outbound freight management, and Johns says that shift is gaining traction. Companies are dealing with more complex supply chains, and they want systems that help them test scenarios, prepare for disruptions and manage inbound flows with the same discipline they bring to outbound.

“We’re seeing more demand for simulation capabilities as supply chains get more complex every year,” says Johns. In fact, more shippers are also extending their TMS to cover inbound transportation in order to gain tighter cost controls and better visibility into what’s coming into their networks.

Johns sees this as part of a broader push toward end-to-end orchestration. Shippers don’t just want to plan loads, he says, they want a full picture that connects inbound, outbound and the decisions that sit between them. Vendors are beginning to support that shift, though Johns says it’s largely up to shippers to figure out what level of sophistication makes most sense for their operations.

7. Agentic AI gains early ground in TMS platforms: Instead of waiting for a command, agentic AI takes the next step on its own. These systems don’t just answer questions or summarize data. They plan tasks, gather information from multiple sources and carry out work across different applications. In supply chain settings, for example, an agent can evaluate a situation, choose the next action and execute it without needing human prompting for every move.

Siddharth Ram, VP, consumer products, retail and services at Capgemini, says agentic tools are starting to show up in traditional supply chain systems. “Many ERP, TMS and WMS platforms now come with native AI and even agentic capabilities,” says Ram. These features still need configuration and time to learn, he adds, but are increasingly available right out of the box.

Expect to see more traction in this area in 2026 as workflow-focused platforms add more agentic AI features that can sit on top of core systems like ERP. Once in place, these advanced systems can help supply chain and logistics managers orchestrate complex processes. “These capabilities are getting better and better with each new release,” Ram says.  

8. APIs and IoT broaden what TMS platforms can do: Ram says TMS connectivity has improved significantly, with vendors shipping more prebuilt connectors and cleaner links between TMS applications and enterprise systems. Tasks that once required custom development, like connecting a TMS to an ERP system, are easier because of more mature application programming interfaces (APIs) and standardized data flows. “The API-fication of TMS has evolved far beyond where it was just a few years ago,” says Ram.

The broader market is shifting as well. For example, ERP providers are reasserting themselves in the TMS space, giving companies more to consider as they evaluate options for 2026. Ram says organizations planning major ERP initiatives may want to take another look at the transportation tools that are native to those platforms.

9. Market consolidation will continue. Looking ahead, Johns expects more M&A activity in the TMS market. He says vendors in adjacent areas like warehouse management or supply chain planning may look to expand into execution, creating new combinations that change the competitive landscape. “We’ve seen steady consolidation over the last few years, and there’s still room for more,” says Johns.

These moves may reshape the options available to shippers, especially as more providers bring planning, execution and visibility tools onto a single platform. Johns tells shippers to watch how these changes shape product direction and support models in 2026 as vendors adjust their offerings to stay competitive.