CHICAGO, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- project44, the Decision Intelligence Platform for the modern supply chain, today announced that its Intelligent TMS was named an Accelerator in the 2026 Nucleus Research Transportation Management System (TMS) Technology Value Matrix. Nucleus Research, a technology research and advisory firm that measures the business value of technology investments, scored Intelligent TMS’ usability among the highest of the 25 vendors evaluated.
The announcement from Nucleus marks the third time in two months that Intelligent TMS has been recognized by analyst firms and industry review platforms. Since launch in August 2025, Intelligent TMS revenue has grown nearly 60% year-over-year among shippers.
Value Matrix methodology
Nucleus evaluates vendors on usability and functionality, and grounds its rankings in conversations with end users, analysis of actual deployments, and documented return on investment. It describes an Accelerator as a solution that is quick to deploy and easy to use, a fit for organizations that need broad, rapid, and consistent user adoption. Usability is specifically measured because, according to Nucleus, a TMS delivers its business case only if transportation teams use it consistently.
When adoption is low, teams revert to spreadsheets for planning and procurement, and the projected time and cost savings disappear. Higher usability shortens the payback period and speeds time to value. That shows up in daily operations as well: Intelligent TMS customers experience up to a 60% reduction in check calls.
“project44 enters the 2026 Transportation Management Technology Value Matrix as an Accelerator, marking its first appearance in the report with its Intelligent Transportation Management System,” said Charles Brennan, Principal Analyst at Nucleus Research. “By combining real-time logistics data with procurement, planning, execution, and AI-driven decision support, project44 has extended beyond visibility into a broader transportation management role. Its position reflects the potential to reduce freight costs, automate manual workflows, and improve operational responsiveness as iTMS continues to mature.”
Intelligent TMS grounds decisions in market-wide carrier performance
Most TMS platforms show a shipper how carriers perform on their own lanes. Intelligent TMS grounds every recommendation in verified, market-wide carrier performance drawn from the world’s largest, most accurate, and real-time logistics data graph, which includes intelligence from 282,000 carriers and 1.5 billion shipments observed each year.
Shippers use this data to proactively manage carrier relationships, secure competitive rates, and maintain service levels across their network. Intelligent TMS customers experience up to 4% reduction in freight costs through data-driven carrier selection and targeted mini-bids, while maintaining contractual allocations with top carriers.
The same data supports resilience. When sourcing strategies shift because of supply chain volatility or internal priorities, customers can access global carrier options outside their existing networks. That access helps goods arrive on time without lowering service levels, and customers experience up to a 17% increase in on-time delivery.
“Plenty of shippers have bought a TMS their teams never fully adopted or run on siloed systems and spreadsheets. Intelligent TMS was named an Accelerator because it delivers the capabilities modern teams need and is designed for the future of transportation management. What sets iTMS apart is the world’s largest, most accurate, and real-time logistics data graph underneath, which makes it faster to deploy, easier to use, and more context-aware,” said Jett McCandless, founder and CEO, project44.
AI agents in procurement and execution
Nucleus's 2025 TMS report found that AI in transportation has moved “from predictive analytics to execution,” and that buyers want role-specific automation tied to measurable ROI rather than generic tools. Intelligent TMS was built for that shift. Its AI agents act inside procurement and execution workflows and within the guardrails a shipper sets.
- Freight Procurement Agent continuously benchmarks contracted rates against live market conditions, automates carrier selection, and flows negotiated rates directly into execution. Customers report up to a 75% reduction in sourcing cycle times and a 70% reduction in manual coordination effort.
- Automated Booking Orchestration for Ocean Freight works within contracted carrier allocations. It compares sailing schedules with available capacity, chooses the best-fit vessel, and sends confirmed bookings to carriers with no manual steps.
- The Ocean Booking Data Enrichment Agent watches carrier schedules around the clock for delays, cancellations, and capacity changes. When it finds one, it rebooks or alerts the customer.
- The Execution Recovery Agent finds carrier cancellations and places the affected freight with other carriers in the network before pickup windows close, which keeps service levels intact.
These agents extend Intelligent TMS across procurement and execution, and shippers are adopting the product quickly. As that adoption grows, project44 continues to build agent capabilities across the shipment lifecycle.
“Our partnership with project44 has played an important role in helping Tailored Brands build a more connected and visible supply chain,” said Jamie Bragg, Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Tailored Brands. “Intelligent TMS enables us to further connect planning, execution, and analytics to drive smarter, more efficient operations across our network.”
Availability
Intelligent TMS is generally available. To learn more or request an Intelligent TMS demo, visit project44.com.
About Nucleus Research
Nucleus Research is a global provider of technology research and advisory services focused on measuring the business value of technology investments. Through independent market analysis, ROI case studies, and Technology Value Matrix reports, Nucleus helps organizations evaluate technology based on measurable financial and operational outcomes.
About project44
project44 is the Decision Intelligence Platform for the modern supply chain. Its context-based AI transforms fragmented logistics management into unified intelligence, bringing certainty to global supply chain operations. With intelligent transportation management, end-to-end visibility, yard management and last mile solutions, and a preferred carrier network of 282,000 carriers, project44 connects over 1.5 billion shipments annually for over 1,000 leading brands in manufacturing, automotive, retail, life sciences, food and beverage, CPG, and oil, chemical and gas. Learn more at project44.com.
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