Empty kilometres are a perfect example: Every truck running without a full load – or returning empty – adds unnecessary cost to the network while increasing the carbon intensity of each freight unit.
And across a national retail supply chain, that inefficiency can quickly add up, explains Claire Malcolmson, group GM – product and customer strategy at Netlogix. She advocates that retailers seize the opportunity to design freight networks that better utilise existing capacity.
The industry has reached an intersection where operating profitably and sustainably have merged – so much so that sustainability has, in fact, become a byproduct of running more profitably.
“Freight platforms like Netlogix have reinvested in what it means to work towards a more efficient and environmentally focused supply chain. Netlogix’s mission is to move more freight with fewer trucks on the road. By connecting shippers and carriers through our platform, we reduce empty kilometres, keep trucks full and lower emissions per freight unit, and create value for shippers, carriers, and communities.”
For retailers, the appeal is obvious. Freight is where cost control, customer expectations and environmental performance intersect. Transport is also one of the more practical areas in which businesses can make measurable progress without waiting on long-term structural change elsewhere in the organisation.
As pressure grows around ESG commitments, reporting requirements and supply chain transparency, retailers are looking more closely at how freight networks operate in practice. However, many businesses lack visibility not only across their own freight task but also across the market freight task that complements it.
That makes it harder to improve either cost or carbon footprint outcomes, explains Malcolmson.
“This is where the issue of advanced technology is starting to play a larger role. Netlogix’s core offering through an AI-powered digital freight platform not only aims at multi-carrier supply chain network optimisation, but also works with retailers to improve network design, match freight more effectively to carrier capacity and provide real-time visibility across the transport task.”
The principle is simple: Leveraging better data with advanced technology leads to better freight decisions. But in a retail environment, the impact can be significant. Smarter route planning to meet shorter lead times, especially when replenishing stock from distribution centres to stores, can not only reduce the cost to serve but also lower the carbon intensity of each freight unit, achieving higher service levels at lower cost and carbon footprint.
“Simply by unlocking efficiencies and minimising empty kilometres, Netlogix helps ensure every route is more economically as well as environmentally sustainable. By interrogating data through advanced technology across every shipper’s freight demand and available capacity, we help reduce overall emissions and boost the sustainability performance of both shippers and carriers,” Malcolmson says.
“This has important flow-on effects in terms of our shippers’ sustainability performance, compliance with relevant governance frameworks, and reputation with customers and partners.”
The emphasis on freight efficiency reflects a broader shift in how retailers are thinking about emissions. Carbon reduction has gone beyond a reputational issue to become increasingly tied to operating costs, regulatory compliance and resilience.
“Lowering carbon emissions matters to retailers for financial, regulatory, customer, and operational reasons. Retail is a high-impact industry because of transport, manufacturing, packaging, energy use in stores, and supply chains, so reducing emissions directly affects business performance,” Malcolmson says.
That link between emissions and business performance is one reason transport has become such a critical area. Lower-carbon operations often mean lower-cost operations as well. More efficient routes reduce fuel use. Better load planning improves asset utilisation. Less wasted movement means less wasted spend.
At the same time, retailers are facing rising expectations from customers, investors and regulators. Consumers increasingly favour brands that can show credible progress on sustainability. Reporting obligations are tightening. Supply chain partners also want clearer evidence that emissions are being measured and managed rather than simply estimated at a high level.
Netlogix has focused heavily on making that measurement more useful. As an AI-powered advanced digital freight transport network, it connects transport companies and their trucks into a single network to move freight for shippers across Australia and New Zealand. Scope 3 emissions related to that freight can be measured and monitored by the customer, by transport order, from the origin region or point to the delivery region or point. The key focus is on reducing carbon emissions per freight unit, per kilometre travelled – delivering a lower carbon intensity rating for each freight unit than it would otherwise be able to achieve.
For retailers, that level of detail matters because it makes sustainability data more actionable. Real-time visibility into CO2 emissions at the consignment level allows businesses to benchmark against targets and examine performance in far more detail. Rather than relying on broad annual reporting, retailers can drill into how individual consignments performed and identify where changes in routing, delivery method selection or vehicle type could improve outcomes.
This also gives retailers a more practical way to set business objectives. Instead of treating emissions reduction as an abstract goal, they can establish measurable targets and track progress against them using live operational data. That creates a stronger basis for decision-making and allows sustainability initiatives to sit more comfortably alongside commercial priorities.
The network effect that is inherent in the digital freight platform is another important part of the equation. Because Netlogix optimises freight movements across similar complementary customers, it can create efficiencies beyond what many retailers or carriers can achieve on their own. Use of advanced technology in planning, scheduling and matching freight tasks across large, multi-shipper and multi-carrier networks can reduce empty trucks, improve vehicle utilisation, ensure the right equipment is used for each task, and deliver on service promises.
That approach has already delivered measurable outcomes. Malcolmson cites one of Netlogix’s retail customers who wanted to lower both emissions and operating costs, whilst maintaining higher service delivery standards.
“One of our retail customers was aiming to reduce carbon emissions and delivery costs for their overall business. The solution we created for them included using backhaul trips on interstate movements to increase fleet efficiency. That resulted in a reduction of 246 CO2 emissions saved, with 484 fewer trips per annum, resulting in a 22 per cent CO2 reduction over a year.”
Most importantly, the result was achieved without the retailer having to compromise on service. “In freight, some of the most effective emissions reductions come not from sweeping change but from fixing underused capacity, removing duplication and planning networks more intelligently,” adds Malcolmson.
Netlogix’s approach is evident in the company becoming the first transportation company in Australasia to be B Corp-certified in October 2023, setting standards across governance, workers, community, and environmental impact.
“Netlogix is committed to managing its operations in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner, aligned with the commitments declared,” Malcolmson says.
The challenge for retailers now is to treat freight sustainability as an operating discipline rather than a side project, she says.
As scrutiny of supply chains increases and businesses look for practical ways to protect margins, the case for reducing costs, carbon footprint and improving service standards is only getting stronger.
“Sustainability is just another way to look at efficiency,” says Malcomson.
