The companion 2026 Software Survey from Modern Materials Handling and Peerless Research Group examin

The companion 2026 Software Survey from Modern Materials Handling and Peerless Research Group examines how warehouse and distribution operations are using, evaluating and planning investments in software platforms that orchestrate automation, labor, inventory and transportation. Respondents include manufacturers (36 percent), wholesalers (15 percent) and transportation/warehousing services (14 percent), with roles spanning logistics or distribution managers (24 percent), vice presidents or general managers (19 percent), corporate or divisional managers (14 percent) and operations managers (12 percent). Large organizations are well represented: 38 percent report 2025 revenues of $250 million or more (19 percent above $2.5 billion).

Buyer sentiment shows caution tempered by steady usage. Forty percent describe their companies as cautiously embracing change (up from 34 percent), 17 percent take a wait-and-see stance (down from 27 percent), 13 percent are early adopters and 17 percent consider themselves innovators (up from 11 percent). The economic climate has led 38 percent to hold off on software investments this year (up from 34 percent) and roughly one-quarter to scrutinize spending carefully.

Seventeen percent plan upgrades rather than new purchases, the same share intend to outsource more implementations, and 13 percent are proceeding with new investments. Overall software usage has stayed the same for 55 percent (up from 51 percent), increased for 42 percent, and decreased for only 4 percent. Core applications remain centered on WMS or inventory management (49 percent current use) and supply-chain management or planning software (30 percent).

Other widely used tools include LMS, TMS, asset-tracking software, WES and YMS. Over the next two years, 25 percent of companies will evaluate, purchase or upgrade WMS, 21 percent will do so for WES, 18 percent for SCM/SCP, 17 percent for robotic control systems, 15 percent for asset tracking, 13 percent for LMS and 12 percent for TMS. Implementation challenges center on total cost of ownership (32 percent), compatibility with existing systems (31 percent), user acceptance (30 percent), integration with other applications (29 percent) and resource constraints for implementation and maintenance (28 percent).

Funding shortages, performance issues and legacy-system conflicts also appear frequently. WMS remains the foundational platform. Thirty-two percent of installations are five to ten years old, 27 percent one to five years old, 18 percent ten to under fifteen years old, and 14 percent fifteen-plus years old.

Upgrade timing has shifted: 27 percent upgraded less than a year ago (down from 50 percent), 41 percent one to five years ago (up from 25 percent). ROI timelines vary—32 percent took more than eighteen months, 22 percent six to twelve months, 22 percent twelve to eighteen months, 15 percent under six months—with fewer respondents now reporting unrealized ROI. The dominant upgrade driver is replacement of existing platforms (62 percent), followed by improved labor management (29 percent), better inventory deployment (28 percent), real-time control (24 percent), new picking requirements (23 percent) and slotting capabilities (15 percent).

TMS adoption is also maturing. Thirty percent of systems are ten to under fifteen years old, 29 percent five to ten years old, and 23 percent less than one year old, indicating recent new deployments. Thirty-nine percent upgraded less than a year ago (up from 23 percent).

ROI is improving, with 39 percent achieving payback in six to twelve months (up from 28 percent). Supply-chain management and planning tools are used primarily for demand planning (51 percent), manufacturing (49 percent), collaborative forecasting/planning/replenishment (39 percent) and package upgrades (36 percent); 46 percent realized ROI in six to twelve months and 18 percent in under six months. Cloud adoption is rising: 41 percent already run cloud-based applications and 36 percent are evaluating or plan to evaluate them within twelve to twenty-four months, citing scalability, analytical access and shared information as top benefits.

Sixty-one percent of companies are using or evaluating cloud versions of WMS, TMS, LMS, slotting, order management or planning tools. AI adoption accelerated: 26 percent now use AI (up from 19 percent), 29 percent are evaluating it, and 11 percent will evaluate within two years (up from 6 percent); only 10 percent have no plans (down from 25 percent). Machine learning shows similar momentum (19 percent current use, 26 percent evaluating).

IoT is used by 22 percent and under evaluation by 24 percent; blockchain use rose to 17 percent (from 6 percent). Collectively the survey underscores that software—especially WMS, WES, TMS and emerging AI layers—functions as the indispensable coordination layer for automated warehouses, with buyers balancing economic caution against clear recognition that connected, cloud-native and AI-augmented platforms are required to extract value from physical automation investments.