FedEx: Why Efficiency is the Future of Sustainable Logistics

As supply chain leaders continue to navigate uncertainty and maintain resilience, FedEx has unveiled its first-ever Future of Logistics Intelligence Report — a deep dive into how logistics leaders are gaining and leveraging competitive advantage.

FedEx highlights a persistent challenge: a clear gap between identifying an issue and acting on it fast enough. This performance gap signals a crucial capabilities shortfall that businesses must close.

The future of logistics

Global transportation giant FedEx connects people and goods through a diverse portfolio of shipping, transportation, e-commerce, and digital supply chain solutions. With an integrated, flexible global network, the company delivers tailored business solutions to meet complex logistics needs.

In October 2025, FedEx surveyed 700 professionals in operations, logistics, supply chain, e-commerce, IT and customer service roles to understand the current logistics landscape. Participants represented industries including healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and technology, all from companies shipping physical goods overseas.

The Future of Logistics Intelligence Report explores how organisations are responding to continuing disruption across global supply chains. With geopolitical tensions, evolving trade policies, rapid advancements in AI, and escalating customer expectations, supply chains are being pushed to reinvent how they operate.

Findings reveal a growing demand for faster, more transparent and resilient delivery. To meet that demand, businesses must harness logistics intelligence — connecting and integrating data for predictive, insight-driven decision-making.

“Many organisations can see what’s happening in their supply chains, but leaders in the space can predict and act fast enough when it matters most,” says Jason Brenner, Senior Vice President, Digital Portfolio at FedEx.

“Closing the gap with logistics intelligence, supported by analytics, AI and close partnerships with your carrier, will help organisations move from reacting to disruptions to anticipating them, minimising impact and delivering a leading customer experience.”

All sustainability, net zero and sustainable supply chain leaders should attend:

• Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE, these events brings together CSOs, ESG leaders and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.

Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Gaps in visibility

While most leaders project confidence in their operations, survey data exposes a contrast between perception and reality. Although 97% of respondents claim to track every shipment end-to-end and 94% say they have unified visibility across all modes, only 22% of decision-makers actually have access to the full range of logistics and supply chain data they need. This highlights a continuing shortfall in data visibility foundations.

Logistics data also remains highly fragmented — 66% of organisations rely on three or more systems to manage shipments. This complexity restricts visibility and slows adoption of AI-powered logistics tools that depend on unified data streams.

Disconnected systems create further challenges, including integration difficulties (35%), limited customisation (33%), reliance on manual processes (31%), lack of real-time data (29%), and excessive system fragmentation (26%).

Increasing customer demand

Rising customer expectations for visibility are redefining logistics performance. Reliable delivery windows (36%) and end-to-end shipment tracking (34%) top the priority list for consumers, according to decision-makers. Meeting these expectations requires unified data — from shipment scans and order systems to location tracking — that can be turned into actionable, AI-driven insights.

When companies fail to meet expectations, customers notice: limited visibility (26%) and delayed deliveries (23%) are the most frequent complaints. These issues also raise costs, strain resources, and increase dissatisfaction — meaning better visibility supports both customer experience and internal efficiency.

Customer concerns differ across sectors. Automotive customers report the highest rate of damage-related complaints, while healthcare customers cite limited delivery visibility as their top frustration. To maintain satisfaction and mitigate risk, organisations must stay agile and responsive.

Notably, 93% of leaders say their returns process strengthens customer trust and loyalty. However, small breakdowns can have outsized effects — 53% of organisations face higher operational costs and 48% experience reduced loyalty when returns falter.

Looking to the future

Although many organisations feel prepared for supply chain disruptions, most describe themselves as only “somewhat prepared” rather than “very prepared.” This suggests that while strategies exist, resources to fully execute them remain insufficient.

Leaders feel most ready to meet sustainability compliance (87% at least somewhat prepared) and pursue modernisation (88%). Yet trade policies and tariffs continue to cause unease.

To manage rising trade challenges, organisations have adopted several mitigation strategies: rerouting shipments (45%), absorbing increased costs (43%), boosting compliance efforts (43%), and passing some costs to customers (41%).

Companies understand what resilience requires — but constant change makes execution difficult. Embedding AI-driven intelligence into their supply chains will be key to reacting faster, anticipating issues, and delivering consistent results.