In this week’s column, we hear from Asos about an app that allows customers to shop in ChatGPT, which presents the retailer’s catalog in a dynamic way that includes video content. Sourcing Journal also unpacks some of the key findings of a report that went live at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas earlier this month. That event, at the Las Vegas convention center, focuses on technology for fleets, OEMs and shipping companies.
In other news, TA Services celebrates an anniversary and PipeChain, the supply chain tech company, said it made an acquisition.
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Fleet technology is maturing
The 2026 State of Sustainable Fleets Market Brief, authored by TRC Companies and unveiled at the ACT Expo, reveals that the commercial transportation industry is building resilience through powertrain and fuel diversification. This strategic shift arrives during a highly complex operating environment marked by a three-year freight recession, tariff-driven cost increases and major federal policy rollbacks, including the expiration of zero-emission vehicle tax credits.
Despite the reduction in federal backing, the industry is transitioning from a federally driven system to a decentralized model, supported by more than $5 billion in annual state, local and utility funding available through 2028.
Data from the brief highlights structural adaptation rather than retreat, with fleet technology markets maturing across multiple fuel and drivetrain types. Artificial intelligence has moved from pilot projects into mainstream operations, with about half of surveyed fleets utilizing AI for route optimization and predictive maintenance to reduce costs.
Meanwhile, the report noted that renewable diesel and biodiesel are displacing conventional diesel at scale, now accounting for over 70 percent of California’s transportation diesel usage. Natural gas options are also proving highly competitive, as the Cummins 15-liter engine delivers diesel-equivalent performance and renewable natural gas enables carbon-negative operations.
Authors of the report also found that other sectors are finding unique opportunities to support this diversified landscape. The propane vehicle fleet grew over 3 percent in 2025, with renewable propane usage tripling since 2023 and propane generators increasingly being used to power electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
At the same time, medium-duty battery-electric vehicle registrations hit record highs due to clear total cost of ownership benefits, and heavy-duty electric deployments are poised to break records despite near-term headwinds.
Conversely, the hydrogen sector faced a challenging year due to severe funding cuts and manufacturer exits, though major automakers continue to develop fuel cell technologies for long-haul duty cycles that require extended range and faster refueling times.
Asos stylist debuts
Asos has rolled out a new, AI-powered “commerce experience” called Asos Stylist. The platform uses ChatGPT to offer shoppers an “immersive fashion discovery experience,” the retailer said.
Asos said the e-commerce technology offers customers the chance to discover its products directly in ChatGPT and then shop for the items on its site. The company has launched the platform as a pilot in the U.S. and U.K. and noted that it marks the introduction of shoppable video content to ChatGPT users.
“The experience, powered by video commerce platform Bambuser, goes beyond today’s AI shopping tools, which are primarily limited to text and static images,” the company said in a statement, adding that this launch is part of the retailer’s “ambition to make fashion discovery faster, easier and more inspiring for customers, wherever they choose to browse.”
Under the hood, Asos Stylist uses Bambuser’s new “Intelligence Layer” capability and video player widget to reconfigure the Asos product catalogue and video library into “structured, machine-readable data that can be processed, retrieved, and returned by large language models (LLMs) in real time as shoppable videos.” For the consumer, they simply browse individual products or even complete looks by category, occasion or trend, Asos said, noting that they also receive styling guidance.
“For example, a prompt such as ‘show me pastel floral A-line dresses for spring’ instantly searches across the Asos brand portfolio and returns a curated edit tailored to the context of the conversation,” the company said. “Customers can see products in motion through video, click through for more details, and seamlessly continue their journey on Asos.com to explore and purchase.”
Melissa Lim, head of product at Asos, said customers are increasingly turning to AI for shopping and style inspiration, “but the experience can still feel fragmented and hard to visualize. Asos Stylist brings fashion discovery, styling advice, and shoppable products together in one seamless, conversational experience. It’s an important step in how we’re using AI to reduce friction and enhance the way customers shop with Asos.”
TA services marks key milestone
TA Services has reached a milestone. The third-party logistics provider that offers multimodal freight brokerage, manages transportation, warehousing and fulfillment, and cross-border logistics solutions marks 40 years in business.
The company was founded in 1986 and said in a statement that it has grown “from a regional transportation, mill services and brokerage operation into a multi-service logistics organization supporting shippers across the United States, Canada and Mexico.”
Since the company’s inception, Scott Schell, president and CEO of TA, said they vowed to move the freight of customers as if it were their own. “Four decades later, that promise hasn’t changed, but everything around it has,” he said. “The industry is faster, more complex and more demanding, and we’ve rebuilt this company at every step to stay a move ahead of it.”
Since its founding, TA said it has expanded its capabilities, service offerings, geographic reach and operational infrastructure to support increasingly complex supply chains.” Today, TA runs warehouses, terminals and offices across North America—supporting customers across several sectors, including retail, paper and packaging, auto, consumer goods and manufacturing, among others.
TA said moving forward, the company remains focused on expanding its cross-border capabilities while growing its managed transportation and warehousing footprint. The company said it will also continue to invest “in the systems and technology that help shippers operate more efficiently.”
Schell said the company credits its longevity to its employees, carriers and customers. “I think about the people who built this company, the drivers, planners and teams who picked up the phone at 2 a.m. to solve a problem for a customer,” he said. “Forty years is their milestone as much as it is ours. And while we’re proud of where we’ve been, we’re focused on where we’re going next.”
PipeChain makes acquisition
PipeChain, a global provider of cloud-based supply chain software, said it acquired Quyntess Holding B.V., a Dutch supply chain software company. The company said the acquisition significantly expands PipeChain’s geographical presence across the Benelux region, Germany, France and the U.S. while boosting the combined entity’s projected sales to approximately EUR 22 million with an annual recurring revenue (ARR) run rate of EUR 16 million.
The company said that by integrating Quyntess, PipeChain strengthens its end-to-end procure-to-pay digitalization capabilities, offering customers comprehensive automation for both direct and indirect material flows and spend.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. PipeChain was advised by lawyers DLA Piper. Quyntess was advised by Marktlink Mergers & Acquisitions and Fruytier Lawyers in Business.
The merger leverages Quyntess’s state-of-the-art technology and modern architectural principles to deliver fundamental back-end enhancements and functional upgrades across the PipeChain product portfolio. Together, the combined offering will function as a collaborative platform for modern, data-driven supply chains. Ultimately, this integration aims to drive increased customer value through advanced AI-enabled automation capabilities and a higher overall standard of supply chain execution excellence.
Hans Berggren, chief executive officer and co-founder of PipeChain, said the strategic acquisition marks a major milestone in the company’s journey “to become the strongest collaborative platform for achieving the highest degree of supply chain digitalization in our customers’ industries.”
“By adding both geographic reach and cutting-edge technology, we can offer an even more powerful solution that addresses the full procure-to-pay process—something increasingly critical for companies operating in complex global networks,” Berggren said, adding that the future of supply chain management “lies in enabling companies to see what’s next.”
Berggren said that by expanding the company’s digital coverage and unlocking more data across the value chain, “we can help our customers move from reactive management to automated, intelligent decision-making on a large scale.”
“We are excited to join forces with PipeChain. Our technology and domain expertise complement PipeChain’s mission perfectly, and together we will be able to deliver end-to-end digitalization capabilities that our customers—and the market as a whole—are demanding,” said Rob van Ipenburg, CEO of Quyntess.
