What Owned-Fleet Operators Measure, Invest In, and Miss

Owned-fleet operators run the most controlled model in last-mile delivery. The vehicle is theirs. The driver is their employee. Every stop is, in theory, a variable they manage directly. 

Yet, late deliveries are still their number one challenge despite all that control, according to data from Bringg's 2026 Last-Mile Performance Outlook.

The report surveyed 150 retail and logistics executives at companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Of those, 27 run owned fleets. Their responses reveal an operation that's highly technology-enabled, AI-forward, and deeply invested in performance. 

Despite their technology investments, the data also highlights challenges with capacity constraints and an AI adoption gap that, if closed, could address their most persistent operational challenges: late deliveries, exception handling, and coordination costs that outpace every other financial pressure in the segment.

Where last-mile investment is and where it’s going

Eighty-nine percent of owned-fleet operators agree that last-mile delivery is one of the most strategic components of their business. Fifty-two percent say it's extremely impactful to customer loyalty. 

• 85% expect overall last-mile investment to grow
• 0% anticipate a decrease in investment
• 52% expect last-mile investment to increase 10-15%

Here are the areas where the greatest last-mile investments currently sit:

• Visibility (tracking, ETAs, analytics) investment: 67%
• Real-time customer and driver communication investment: 52%
• AI for planning, routing, and forecasting investment: 48%
• Dispatch and real-time delivery management investment: 41%
• Worker tools (driver app, scanning, proof of delivery) investment: 26%

These are the investments planned over the next 12-18 months: 

• Dispatch and real-time delivery management: 37%
• Ship-from-store: 37%
• AI for planning, routing, and forecasting: 33%
• Carrier diversification: 33%
• Visibility (tracking, ETAs, analytics): 33%

Owned-fleet executives are committed to growing their last-mile investments, and their current spending reflects a clear operational philosophy: visibility and coordination infrastructure come first.

The metrics owned-fleet operators measure 

When asked to rate the importance of five last-mile priorities, they rate the following as "very important" or "extremely important":

• Improving delivery speed: 93%
• Improving delivery visibility: 89%
• Improving reliability and reducing failed deliveries: 89%
• Reducing delivery costs: 74%
• Providing more granular delivery options: 70%

Speed ranks as number one priority but visibility reliability tied for a close second. Cost reduction ranks fourth; it’s important but not the primary driver.

Owned-fleet executives also track the metrics closest to the moment of delivery. Their top five KPIs are:

• Average time-on-site: 44%
• Driver performance: 41%
• Customer satisfaction: 37%
• Carrier-level performance: 37%
• Exception handling rate: 33%

Time-on-site and driver performance are metrics that owned-fleet operators primarily track over other fleet types. The choice to prioritize them reflects direct access to variables that outsourced models can't easily observe.

Read the full report: 2026 Last-Mile Performance Outlook

The biggest owned fleet challenges

Late deliveries top the list of owned fleet challenges at 37%. For an operator who controls the vehicle and employs the driver, a late delivery is a failure that the operation created and could, in theory, prevent. 

Their top five challenges today:

• Late deliveries: 37%
• Inaccurate ETAs: 30%
• Capacity constraints: 30%
• Exception handling: 30%
• Operational costs: 26%

The challenges that have increased most in severity over the past 12 to 18 months:

• Carrier fragmentation: 37%
• Exception handling: 30%
• Routing inefficiency: 26%
• Operational costs: 22%
• Inaccurate ETAs: 19%

Carrier fragmentation leading the severity list is a counterintuitive finding. Most of these operators use their fleet as the core for delivery and carriers for overflow or geographic expansion. Managing it becomes its own operational burden as that secondary network grows, and it's getting harder. 

When looking at costs, 30% said dispatch and planning had the greatest impact on their last-mile operations in the past year. Fuel costs rank lower at 11%, and driver labor is at 7%. Costs related to running the vehicles are manageable, but coordinating the work before they leave the building creates financial strain.

Last-mile AI adoption is high, but gaps remain

Owned-fleet operators are among the most active AI adopters in the study. Seventy percent say they're very or extremely confident in last-mile AI solutions. But expectations for impact are measured—52% expect a major impact from AI investment and only 4% say it will be transformational.

Here are their biggest areas of AI adoption by workflow area:

• Routing AI adoption: 74%
• Dispatching AI adoption: 63%
• Reporting and visibility AI adoption: 78%

However, there are adoption gaps: owned-fleet operators reinforce their strengths with AI rather than deploying it against their weakest points:

• Routing and visibility are already the strongest AI adoption areas in the segment. And executives plan to continue investing in both at high rates (40% in routing and 44% in visibility) over the next 12 to 18 months.
• Exception handling is a top challenge for 30% of owned-fleet executives and a worsening problem for another 30%. Despite that, 30% report only slight or no AI adoption in exception handling and only 20% plan to invest in the future.
• Planning and reconciliation (the workflows most tied to dispatch and coordination costs) sit at 52% and 48% “high” or "very high" adoption today—the two lowest rates in the segment. Only 37% plan to increase AI investment in planning and 15% in reconciliation, which again are the lowest planned investment rates across this fleet type.

Opportunities for greater last-mile success

The data shows that owned-fleet operators perform well against the metrics they prioritize most. Overachievement rates in exception handling, customer satisfaction, first-attempt success, and ETA accuracy are the strongest in the study. Their operational philosophy is to track what they control and perform against it.

The challenges are equally clear. Late deliveries remain the top challenge despite full control over the vehicle and driver. Dispatch and planning costs outpace fuel and labor as the leading financial pressure. Carrier fragmentation is harder to manage. Exception handling is a top challenge today and a worsening one still has 34% of the segment at slight or no AI adoption.

The owned-fleet operators who close those performance gaps fastest will be those who align investment with the problems the data identifies most clearly: coordination costs before the vehicle leaves, exception management when the route breaks down, and carrier visibility when the owned fleet isn't enough to cover demand.

Read the full report: 2026 Last-Mile Performance Outlook

FAQ

What are the biggest last-mile delivery challenges for owned-fleet operators?

According to Bringg's 2026 Last-Mile Performance Outlook, the top five last-mile challenges for owned-fleet operators are late deliveries (37%), inaccurate ETAs (30%), capacity constraints (30%), exception handling (30%), and operational costs (26%). Late deliveries rank No. 1 despite owned-fleet operators having direct control over their vehicles and drivers. The challenges that have grown most in severity over the past 12 to 18 months are carrier fragmentation (37%), exception handling (30%), and routing inefficiency (26%).

How does AI improve last-mile delivery performance for owned fleets?

Owned-fleet operators report the strongest AI performance gains in routing, dispatching, and reporting and visibility. Respondents cited 74%, 63%, and 78% “high” adoption rates, respectively. The data also points to where AI has the most untapped potential: exception handling and planning. 

They’re the two workflow areas tied directly to the top challenges the segment experiences. They also show  the lowest adoption rates and the least planned investment. Operators who close that gap stand to see the most meaningful performance improvement.

What does last-mile delivery investment look like for enterprise retailers in 2026?

Most owned-fleet operators (85%) expect last-mile investment to increase over the next 12 to 18 months, and none anticipate a decrease. Current investment concentrates in visibility and communication infrastructure: tracking, ETAs, and analytics (67%), real-time customer and driver communication (52%), and AI for planning, routing, and forecasting (48%). 

Planned future investment shifts toward execution: dispatch and real-time delivery management, ship-from-store, and carrier diversification each rank among the top five priorities.

How can owned-fleet operators reduce costs?

Data from Bringg's 2026 Last-Mile Performance Outlook points to dispatch and planning as the primary cost lever—30% of owned-fleet operators cite it as the greatest financial impact on their last-mile operations, ahead of fuel costs (11%) and driver labor (7%). 

Reducing those costs requires investment in the coordination layer, such as AI for planning and dispatching, real-time delivery management, and exception handling automation. These are also the workflow areas where AI adoption currently lags most and suggests that the areas where costs are highest are the same workflows where AI adoption is lowest.