Let's be honest, how many times a day do you jump between five different browser tabs? Here's your TMS, there's the freight exchange, over there's the tracking portal, and somewhere in between an Excel spreadsheet pops up. This daily digital hurdle race isn't just annoying. It's costing you real money. In logistics, where every margin counts, we simply can't afford this anymore.
The Core Problem: When Systems Don't Talk to Each Other
We all know them: IT landscapes that have grown organically over the years. A tool implemented here, an island solution purchased there for a specific problem. The result? A patchwork of data silos.
As Gina Friese from SIRUM put it perfectly in our latest LogTech Podcast: "The biggest requirement from customers is to bundle all functionalities in one streamlined process." Nobody wants to maintain the same master data in three different places or manually transfer orders from one system to another.
The problem isn't the software itself, but the lack of communication between systems. A perfect island solution is worthless if it can't communicate with the rest of your ecosystem.
APIs Aren't "Nice-to-Have"—They're the Foundation
The solution sounds simple but is often challenging in practice: collaboration through open interfaces (APIs). It's about seamlessly connecting the best specialized tools for each area, whether WMS, route planning, or tracking. Your Transport Management System (TMS) becomes the central command center from which you control everything, without constantly switching screens.
Technology is only one side of the coin. Real collaboration starts in the mind. It requires willingness from software vendors to open up and work together, instead of trying to build the mythical all-in-one solution that doesn't exist anyway.
Value is created when specialists combine their strengths—and we as users benefit from it. Vendors who resist this trend will hardly be able to survive in the market long-term.
Automation and AI: Separating Hype from Real Value
Everyone's talking about AI, but many companies just got rid of their fax machines. Sometimes it feels like we're skipping a few evolutionary steps. But slowly, truly smart applications are arriving in transport logistics too.
Concrete Use Cases with Real Value:
Automated Order Processing: AI reads emails and automatically creates orders in the TMS—no more manual data entry.
Intelligent Route Planning: The system doesn't just calculate the fastest route but learns from historical data. It knows that traffic at a specific junction is always hell in the afternoon and proactively suggests better alternatives.
Automatic Backload Matching: AI-supported systems find suitable return loads and reduce empty runs—saving time and money.
This isn't about gimmicks, but tangible efficiency gains. This is where technology really makes a difference.
Humans Remain at the Center
Despite all the tech enthusiasm, we can't forget one thing: at the end of the day, a truck is still driven by a human. The smartest, automatically planned route is useless if the driver can't take it for good reasons.
That's why the most important factor in any digital transformation is employee acceptance. A digital strategy isn't a rigid document, but a flexible framework that gives your team guidance.
Practical Implementation Tip:
Involve the people who have to work with the tools daily from the beginning. They know best where the shoe pinches. If you present them with a solution without first asking them about the problem, the project is doomed to fail.
A clever approach from practice: One of Gina’s customers introduced their new AI as a "virtual employee." This "colleague" had to be trained, took on simple tasks at first, and learned—just like a human. This makes the technology tangible and takes away the fear of job loss.
Conclusion: Connection Instead of Isolation
The future doesn't lie in isolated systems, but in a connected ecosystem that makes our work easier. It's about intelligently combining the right tools and taking people along on this journey.
The Key Success Factors:
- Open interfaces for seamless integration
- Focus on real problems instead of technical gimmicks
- Involve employees from the start
- Gradual introduction of new technologies
