Last on AI, First Asked for Data

1. 01

   The industry is behind. Mid-sized firms, less so.

   Transport ranks last of all industries on AI use in the ABS survey. But most transport businesses are owner-drivers. Across all industries, firms with 20–199 staff use AI at 22% and cloud at 90%, so the gap at a 50-person forwarder is narrower and more specific.

2. 02

   Pressure arrives as data requests.

   Large customers now report on climate and ask suppliers for emissions estimates. Shippers expect delivery dates they can trust. Customs cargo reporting is being redesigned. Most of it reaches you as a customer's request, not a new rule.

3. 03

   The fix sits around your platforms, not instead of them.

   Forwarders run on CargoWise, couriers on carrier platforms, 3PLs on a WMS. The useful work is in the gaps: status for shippers, reconciliation, and the data exports customers ask for.

• Margins

  Transport insolvencies have risen every year since 2021–22, and kept rising in 2025–26 while the count across all industries fell.

  transport insolvencies, 2025–26

  +10.8%

  all industries, same year

  −3.9%

• Customers

  Delivery promises are judged closely. One shipping platform's data shows retailers quoting 5.2 days at checkout against about 2.2 days actual. Vendor data, sample not disclosed.

• Compliance

  Climate reporting Group 2 started with years from 1 July 2026, and suppliers get the emissions requests. Heavy vehicle law changed on 1 August 2026. Customs cargo reporting is being redesigned.

• Platforms

  CargoWise moved to per-job pricing on 1 December 2025. The ACCC executed a search warrant at WiseTech in August 2026, in an investigation that is still open.

Sources: ASIC insolvency statistics, October 2026; Shippit State of Shipping 2026 via eCommerceNews, June 2026; ASIC; NHVR; GS1 Australia; Daily Cargo News; FreightWaves.

1. Finding 01

   Last on AI and office software

   In the ABS 2024–25 survey of about 7,000 businesses, transport ranked last on AI use and on innovation (27.6% against 45.6%), and well behind on cloud and CRM. NAB's separate survey of small and mid-sized businesses also put transport last on AI.

   1.0% against 12.1%

   21% against 42%

2. Finding 02

   Not behind on operations

   Transport is at or above average on Internet of Things devices and ERP, and close on EDI. Trucks, scanners and telematics are already digital. The gaps sit between systems, and between you and your customers.

   IoT 9.0% against 7.6% for all businesses

3. Finding 03

   The shortage is drivers, not the office

   Truck drivers are in national shortage. Storepersons, forklift drivers, freight forwarders and customs brokers are not. Office software is about fewer errors and less re-keying, not replacing people you can't hire.

   Freight Forwarder and Customs Broker: no shortage

4. Finding 04

   Failures are rising

   Transport companies entering administration have roughly quadrupled in four years, against a falling count across all industries last year. Buyers under that pressure need small projects that pay back quickly.

   813 companies in 2025–26

5. Finding 05

   Forwarders sit on one platform

   CargoWise per-job pricing from 1 December 2025 drew objections from forwarder and broker associations in Australia and New Zealand. Forwarders describe separating the new charges on shipper invoices as manual work.

   “It is unacceptable and we are taking it on.”

   “substantial market power in the supply of logistics software”

6. Finding 06

   Data requests come through customers

   Climate reporting reaches Group 2 companies from years starting 1 July 2026 and Group 3 from 1 July 2027. ASIC expects them to use estimates for small suppliers, but the Small Business Ombudsman says suppliers find these requests hard to refuse.

   Group 3: two of over 100 staff, over $50m revenue, over $25m assets

   “unable to decline or negotiate the request”

• “Where's my freight?” calls and emails

  Customer service looks up the same jobs all day, and exceptions are found when the customer calls.

  What we build: A shipper status page and exception alerts fed from your TMS or carrier events, with delivery estimates customers can check themselves.

• CargoWise charges and disbursements

  Per-job charges now flow through to invoices, and separating or explaining them falls to your accounts team.

  What we build: A reconciliation tool that matches CargoWise charges to jobs and shipper invoices, and flags the ones that don't line up.

• Commercial invoices keyed by hand

  Invoice and packing list details are re-typed into customs entries, and classification is slow, careful work.

  What we build: Document extraction and classification suggestions that fill the draft entry, with your licensed broker confirming every line before lodgement.

• Emissions and compliance requests

  Large customers send spreadsheets asking for emissions per shipment, and heavy vehicle records are gathered by hand for audits.

  What we build: Emissions estimates per customer and record exports produced from your job data, using recognised estimation methods.

1. 01 · Week 1

   Scope and agree the measure

   We sit with the people who do the work, such as customer service, accounts or your broker. Together we pick one problem and one measure, for example status calls per week.

2. 02 · Weeks 2–3

   Prototype on your data

   A working prototype connected to a copy of your real data, shown to the team that will use it. You see a demo every week.

3. 03 · Then

   Decide

   You get a written plan and a fixed quote for the build. Go ahead with a Pilot, change the scope, or stop there.