The tech stack in supply chain is tough to modernize. I get it. You have to bring product in to manufacture, then move product out. The timing of that movement is critical, and when you upgrade systems, you're going to hit some hiccups. Disrupting the business is the thing everyone wants to avoid.
But here's what I've learned: most supply chain leaders and tech teams are oversensitive to risk. And that overcaution is costing them.
The Risk Is Rarely as Bad as You Think
If you really assessed your risk and did it appropriately, you'd find that you could do more. You could take more chances on upgrades. Because a lot of the risks people worry about when modernizing their tech stack can be unwound. If it's not going well, you can revert. You can move backwards. You can adjust.
I'm not saying there's zero risk. But the perception of disruption often exceeds the reality.
We're upgrading customers right now, and it's not a huge lift. Multiple customers have come back to us and said the same thing: that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Most of them were hesitant going in. They didn't want to do it. They thought it would be too disruptive. And then it turned out fine.
Why Leaders Hesitate
I think the hesitation comes from the nature of supply chain itself. You're moving product from A to B, and it's got to get there on time. That creates a low tolerance for anything that might introduce friction.
But that same caution can hold you back. If you're not willing to upgrade your systems, you're stuck with whatever limitations you currently have. And in an environment where competitors are modernizing and using better tools, standing still is its own kind of risk.
The question isn't whether upgrading is risky. The question is whether the risk of staying put is worse.
A Better Way to Think About Risk
I think risk management in supply chain tech needs a reset. Instead of asking "what could go wrong," leaders should be asking "how quickly can we recover if something does go wrong?"
Most upgrades aren't permanent, irreversible decisions. They're adjustments. And if you build in the ability to roll back or course correct, the downside shrinks significantly.
That shift in framing changes what feels possible. It opens the door to modernization that moves the needle instead of incremental tweaks that don't change much.
What's on the Other Side
When you do upgrade, the payoff can be significant. Clean, normalized data across your logistics operations gives you visibility you didn't have before. You can start asking real questions about spend, about carrier performance, about where inefficiencies are hiding.
We've found over $100 million in operational waste just by analyzing freight data. And that waste had nothing to do with carriers or logistics providers. It turned out to be picking problems at the warehouse level. Without upgraded systems and clean data, that insight never surfaces.
The Market Will Force the Issue Eventually
I think logistics leaders and supply chain leaders will be forced to take bigger leaps eventually. Markets have a way of doing that. The companies that move now will be ahead when that pressure hits.
The CFO relationship gets better when you have real visibility into transportation costs. Strategy becomes easier when you're working with accurate data. And the friction that exists today between finance and supply chain starts to ease when both sides can see what's actually happening.
You can wait for the market to push you, or you can get there first. Either way, the status quo isn't going to hold.
If you're curious what's hiding in your freight data, we'd be happy to take a look.