Earlier this week I said to evaluate AI at the build layer, not the demo. (Read that first if you missed it.)
Here’s the follow-up question nobody’s asking their software vendor:
If AI made you 5x faster… why am I not paying less?
Incentive drives behavior
So look at where your TMS vendor’s profit comes from.
If it comes from custom development fees, implementation projects, and change orders — understand what that means. Every inefficiency in your operation is a revenue line for them. They have no financial reason to make you faster.
AI didn’t change that incentive. It just made their margin on your pain bigger.
We run it differently, because the math finally allows it
Custom work is billed at cost recovery. Want your feature at the front of the line? It’s not free — but it’s not a profit center either. We don’t mark up the build.
Our profit comes from transactions. Per load. Period.
Which means the only way we grow is if our clients move more freight, more efficiently. Your automation isn’t a billable project to me. It’s my growth strategy.
I’d rather be obsessed with making sure my clients work efficiently than calculating how much I can charge to automate their inefficiencies.
Ask one question before your next renewal
“Where does your profit actually come from?”
The answer tells you whose side the roadmap is on.