When MachShip CEO Sam Rowse recently joined Supply Chain Unchained, the conversation quickly turned to what’s driving customer expectations today. While most of the industry still talks about “faster delivery”, Sam made a simple but powerful point — it’s certainty, not speed, that builds trust.
During the discussion, Sam referenced findings from Australia Post’s 2025 eCommerce Report, which revealed that 85% of Australian shoppers say delivery reliability and speed will be the biggest influencer of brand trust over the next five years.
It’s a figure that captures the freight industry’s new reality: in a world of tight capacity, rising demand and constant disruption, customers don’t just want their goods quickly — they want confidence that they’ll arrive when and how they were promised.
Freight’s Modern Reality: Growth, Pressure, and Expectation
Australia’s freight and logistics sector continues to expand under the weight of eCommerce demand and manufacturing growth. Industry analysts forecast the market will reach AUD 140 billion by 2025–26, with a compound annual growth rate of around 4% as volumes surge across road, rail and air freight.
But this growth comes with increasing operational pressure. According to CBRE’s Industrial & Logistics Figures Q2 2025, national warehouse vacancy remains at just 2.8% — one of the tightest markets ever recorded. Capacity constraints and rising customer expectations have created a freight environment where every misstep is magnified.
Australia Post’s latest findings further underscore the point. Customers are willing to abandon a purchase entirely if delivery timeframes stretch beyond two days, yet what truly determines loyalty isn’t speed alone, it’s reliability.
Speed is important, but the real differentiator is certainty — knowing what’s going to happen, when, and being able to communicate that clearly.
What Certainty Really Means
Certainty isn’t about unrealistic guarantees or shaving minutes off a route. It’s about delivering consistently and communicating clearly. Freight teams that achieve certainty build predictability into every stage of their process, from carrier selection and labelling to tracking and proof of delivery.
In practical terms, that means freight data that’s accurate and accessible. It means real-time visibility so exceptions can be managed before they escalate. And it means a clear, shared understanding between the shipper, carrier and customer about what success looks like.
For the end customer, that certainty translates to trust. They don’t just want next-day delivery; they want to know their parcel is progressing as planned and that if something changes, they’ll be informed. Reliability becomes a service attribute; one that builds repeat business and strengthens margins without a race to the bottom on price.
Delivering Certainty in Practice
At MachShip, certainty has been part of the DNA since day one. The platform was built not to promise the fastest delivery, but to make freight simpler, smarter and more reliable for every business using multiple carriers.
That focus is reflected in the technology. MachShip connects with over 500 carriers across Australia and New Zealand, giving freight teams the flexibility to choose the right carrier for each job without being locked into a single network. Integration depth ensures data flows between systems, providing a single source of truth for consignments, costs and carrier performance.
Automation supports that reliability. Real-time tracking and automated reconciliation reduce manual handling and eliminate gaps between what was booked and what was delivered. This level of visibility doesn’t just save time, it prevents the uncertainty that frustrates both businesses and customers.
As Sam explained on the podcast, part of delivering certainty is about meeting carriers where they are. MachShip’s approach has always been pragmatic: integrate with each carrier’s system, regardless of how sophisticated it is, so that every user can manage freight consistently across their network.
The same thinking extends to the post-purchase experience. According to Australia Post’s 2025 eCommerce Report, customers now rank reliability and flexibility, such as the ability to change delivery dates or locations, ahead of raw delivery speed. That expectation is shaping how freight teams design visibility and customer-facing tools, and it’s where MachShip continues to invest alongside carriers and partners.
What This Means for Freight Teams
Freight teams across Australia are recalibrating their performance metrics. Where speed once defined success, predictability and visibility now do.
Chasing speed can drive inefficiency — higher costs, unnecessary overtime and more exceptions. Focusing on certainty, on the other hand, drives alignment. It builds a culture of communication between carriers, warehouses and customer service teams. And it delivers operational resilience when networks are strained or disruptions occur.
As freight volumes continue to climb, certainty becomes both a competitive edge and a customer promise. Businesses that can demonstrate reliability (backed by data, not just words) will retain clients and attract new ones in an increasingly crowded market.
Certainty Is the New Speed
On Supply Chain Unchained, Sam shared how customer expectations have matured and why the real competitive advantage now lies in reliability and communication, not just faster fulfilment. As freight networks become increasingly complex, the ability to deliver with confidence and be transparent when things change is fast becoming the new benchmark for success.
It’s a shift reflected in Australia Post’s 2025 eCommerce Report, which found that 85% of Australian shoppers consider delivery reliability and speed to be the biggest influencers of brand trust over the next five years. Reliability has become the new promise — for shippers, brokers and their customers alike.
MachShip was built around that very principle: helping freight teams achieve certainty through connected systems, carrier visibility and data they can trust.
To learn more about how MachShip is helping teams deliver reliability at scale, explore our platform and book a personalised demo.