Absence Index, release 2026-09
64 of 150 observed answers named AscendTMS, captured 22 September 2026 (UTC): 42.7%, with a 95% Wilson interval of 35.0% to 50.7%.
Transportation management systems, observed 22 September 2026 (UTC)
Observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking. Every checked vendor on the Index
For one completed source-backed page or fix, Answer Repair is $490. Choose Live or Handoff before payment. We confirm Ready within 60 minutes during business hours. If anything is missing, a member of our team contacts you directly and finishes it with you. Due 48 elapsed hours after recorded Ready. If we miss the deliverable or deadline, we initiate a full $490 refund within five business days, and you keep the work. You may also request a full refund within 30 days of delivery. Read the versioned terms.
For a white-label report and one paste-ready change, choose the Agency Deadline Audit, $490 per client report.
AscendTMS was named in 64 of 150 observed answers across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, more often than any of the other 24 vendors the Index checked in this category. AscendTMS on the Index.
3 of the 25 checked vendors were named in none of the 150 observed answers:
0 of the 10 buyer questions returned no checked vendor in any observed answer. This counts checked vendors only; an engine may still have named a vendor outside the checked set.
Also named often: Alvys and Oracle Transportation Management. Every checked vendor's count and base is on the Index category page.
Answers were observed on 22 September 2026 (UTC) and released on 23 September 2026. These are observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking.
The ten buyer questions, adapted here into team voice. The original wording and captured answers remain in the published Index release.
The engines split. Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews named AscendTMS most often; ChatGPT named Descartes most often; Google AI Mode named Alvys and AscendTMS most often, level with each other. The per-engine counts are on the Index category page.
| Engine | Named most often |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Descartes |
| Claude | AscendTMS |
| Perplexity | AscendTMS |
| Google AI Overviews | AscendTMS |
| Google AI Mode | Alvys and AscendTMS, level |
The domains the engines cited most often in this category's observed answers, in the order the Index records them. Each domain's count and base is on the Index category page.
When a transportation management vendor is acquired, taken private or rebranded, directories, review sites and trade press often keep the old string for months. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, which most buyers call Gemini, retrieve that stale material. A retired product brand without a former-name bridge can still appear in answers, while the living brand is missing from the same shortlist.
| Old name | New name | Date | Owner or sponsor | Product brand | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MercuryGate / Körber Supply Chain Software | Infios | 2025-03 | KKR and Körber AG joint venture | Infios corporate brand; MercuryGate product lineage inside Infios | Source, MercuryGate / Körber Supply Chain Software Read 2026-09-22 |
| 3Gtms | Descartes 3G TMS | 2025 | Descartes Systems Group | kept as Descartes 3G TMS | Source, 3Gtms Read 2026-09-22 |
| e2open (NYSE: ETWO) | e2open, a WiseTech Global company | 2025-08 | WiseTech Global | kept | Source, e2open (NYSE: ETWO) Read 2026-09-22 |
| Princeton TMX (founder owned) | Princeton TMX (institutional backing) | 2026-06 | The Stephens Group | kept | Source, Princeton TMX (founder owned) Read 2026-09-22 |
Publish Organization and SoftwareApplication markup that states the current legal name, product name, former names and sameAs links to the profiles engines already cite. When a rename or acquisition happened, add a formerly-known-as bridge so the engines can connect the old string to the living brand.
Write pages that answer the buyer questions above in buyer language, with no brand name planted in the question wording itself. Publish them on the vendor domain the engines already try to cite.
Place accurate product and ownership facts on the directories, review sites, trade press and forums the engines cite in this category, listed above.
Confirm robots rules, rendering and any bot filter still let AI crawlers reach the answer and entity pages, and keep listings current on the review sites for this category so the engines retrieve one consistent name, domain and category label.
For software companies
$490One buyer question. One source-backed page or fix.
Live or Handoff, chosen before payment. Due 48 elapsed hours after Ready. Full refund if we miss the work or deadline, and on request within 30 days of delivery.
For agencies, white label
$490One client report and a paste-ready change.
Ten agreed buyer questions,150 planned answers and three prioritized fixes. Findings within 48 hours of recorded scope confirmation. Refundable in full within 30 days of delivery.
$3,900$3,410 after the $490 entry is credited, once
Six contracted pages or rewrites over 30 days, including any credited entry page. We agree one primary test before payment: naming, own-domain citation or buyer-task completion. We measure it again at day 30.
Measured gain on the agreed test, or the full $3,900 back. You keep the work.
$490 a monthOnly after setup
Integrity monitoring for up to 150 already-approved existing pages and two human hours a month. No new pages.
Each month we work the outside pages the five engines cite for your category: corrections, listings, profile claims and quotes offered to editors, each reported with its receipt.
The five engines are ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
An explicit purchase is required. There is no automatic enrolment.
$5,500 a monthMonthly work, owned by you
Twelve pages or rewrites and 8 channel posts a month across Substack, WordPress, Medium, LinkedIn, YouTube and directories. A quarterly research study is written by our researchers. Up to 150 pages under management.
Each month we work the outside pages the five engines cite for your category: corrections, listings, profile claims and quotes offered to editors, each reported with its receipt.
The five engines are ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
You own the domain, content and exports. Day 7 brings the first approved page batch; day 30 includes the source-change log, buyer-path checks and separate measurement report.
$6,000 plus $250 a pageIn batches of 25
Starts only after a 5-page paid trial. Each page must answer a distinct buyer need with real evidence.
If the facts support fewer useful pages, we build fewer. We agree the trial and batch scope before payment.
These scopes are agreed by conversation before payment. The 48-hour entry clock applies to Answer Repair and Agency Deadline Audit. Read the versioned terms for the work you choose.
AscendTMS was named in 64 of 150 observed answers across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. The next most named were Alvys and Oracle Transportation Management. These are observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking; every checked vendor's count and base is on the Index category page.
Engines retrieve public material that still carries retired product names, old legal entities and pre-acquisition domains. When those strings are not bridged to the current brand, the answer can name a name the company no longer uses, or skip the living brand entirely.
Start with the ten buyer questions on this page. Record, for each question and each of the five engines, whether the brand was named and whether the brand domain was cited. Keep the wording frozen between runs so the comparison stays valid.
Broadcastwell measures AI search visibility for B2B software and publishes the Absence Index. It does not sell transportation management software, and no vendor commissioned this category's measurement.
Cite as: Broadcastwell, The Absence Index, release 2026-09, 23 September 2026, method v1.1. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22907695. This category in release 2026-09 on the Index. Data license CC BY 4.0. Every Audit figure comes from the published method, v1.1.
We build one source-backed page or fix for $490. Choose Live or Handoff before payment. We confirm Ready within 60 minutes during business hours. If anything is missing, a member of our team contacts you directly and finishes it with you. The deadline is 48 elapsed hours after recorded Ready.
If we miss the deliverable or deadline, we initiate a full $490 refund within five business days. You keep the work. You may also request a full refund within 30 days of delivery.
Fix one answer, $490