South Florida Firm's Study: AI Adoption Outruns Redesign

Most logistics firms use AI, but few have changed how work gets done. A Lean Solutions Group and Everest Group study puts the gap at 19%.

Most logistics companies already use AI. Far fewer have changed how their people work around it.

That is the finding of a new study from Everest Group, introduced Monday by Coral Springs-based Lean Solutions Group. The survey reached more than 200 senior U.S. decision-makers in transportation, logistics and other supply chain-heavy industries.

The group introduced the report alongside the FreightWaves F3 event, held Oct. 26 to 28 in Chattanooga.

The Gap Between Using AI and Changing Work

AI adoption is well past the pilot stage. Some 69% of organizations have moved beyond isolated use cases.

Redesigning the work is the harder step. Only 19% have significantly redesigned their workflows to pair people with AI. Just 15% report comparable change to workforce roles.

Spending shows why. Most respondents put money into platforms and data integration. Only a third prioritized upskilling people.

Governance trails further behind. Just 26% have formal structures for AI accountability.

The talent picture is tighter in freight. About 58% of logistics and transportation firms report shortages, against 35% in other industries.

Respondents see the biggest openings in transportation planning, workforce scheduling and supply chain planning. Most expect meaningful value from AI within two years. Yet 30% report returns below expectations.

Redesign means more than a new screen. It means deciding which tasks the AI does, which a person checks and who answers when it is wrong.

Without that work, AI becomes one more tool on the desk. With it, the job itself changes.

Experts in the Loop

Lean Solutions Group sells AI-enabled business services with trained talent. It also sells a remedy for the gap. Its Experts in the Loop model places industry professionals beside AI tools and redesigned processes.

CEO Jack Freker frames the problem as one of habit. “The challenge is no longer simply getting AI into the business. It is changing how work gets done,” he said.

He keeps people in the picture. “Technology can analyze, recommend, and automate at scale, but people remain accountable for the outcome.”

He rejects the idea of full autonomy. “The goal is not maximum AI autonomy. It is a faster, more reliable path from insight to accountable action.”

The report lays out four stages: Rewire, Replicate, Orchestrate and Adapt. It includes a case study of MOD Delivery Services, a final-mile logistics provider.

MOD worked with Lean to standardize processes, improve data visibility and support automation. Staff could then focus on exceptions, customer relationships and complex decisions.

Human judgment still leads at most firms in the survey. Decisions are mainly human-led at a large majority of organizations.

The study comes from a vendor that sells the fix. Readers should weigh the survey as industry data and the remedy as a pitch.

Miami’s Freight Desk Faces the Same Test

South Florida logistics companies live in this gap. Freight brokers have heard plenty of automation pitches and want proof of payback.

Miami-based Tabi Connect built a free ROI calculator for that reason. It estimates what manual quoting costs a brokerage before a demo.

MAIN noted that a downturn squeezed margins for brokers. They became wary of any software line item without a clear payback.

The calculator puts the savings on the table before the sales call. A broker will adopt AI faster when the numbers are visible.

MAIN profiled other local teams in 5 Miami AI startups for claims, freight and supply chains.

The Everest findings fit that mood. The easy step is buying the tool. The step that pays is changing the work around it.

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