Tech Vendors Introduce Latest Offerings for 3PLs at TIA
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PHOENIX — From business process automation to fraud prevention, industry technology developers rolled out a broad range of new software features and service offerings for third-party logistics providers at the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference.
During an April 10 media day event, more than two dozen companies showcased their latest products aimed at helping 3PLs automate manual processes, increase worker efficiency, boost freight visibility and tackle the growing problem of fraud in the transportation industry.
Mitigating Fraud
Several companies highlighted their efforts to prevent fraud and strengthen carrier vetting.
• Supply chain technology vendor Descartes announced the launch of its Descartes MacroPoint FraudGuard feature to provide proactive fraud protection and prevention.
This service, available for free to subscribers of the MacroPoint visibility platform, is designed to help freight brokers, 3PLs and shippers identify and prevent fraud related to carrier information, load tracking and shipment status.
Dan Cicerchi of Descartes outlines the company’s new FraudGuard feature at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
FraudGuard monitors billions of data points in real time to detect and block fraudulent data, said Dan Cicerchi, general manager of transportation management.
He cited a variety of fraudulent activities that have become increasingly common in the supply chain, including stolen loads, hostage loads, double brokering, mode switching and overpromising capacity.
“In our industry this type of behavior ebbs and flows, but it’s as bad as I’ve seen it,” Cicerchi said.
• Startup firm WireBee introduced its specialized telecommunications service for freight brokers and 3PLs focused on preventing phone-based fraud and boosting worker efficiency.
The service provides authenticity and compliance checks on incoming calls, including detection of spoofed caller IDs and looking up the caller number in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database.
Users also can prioritize calls from in-network carriers in the call queue or reject calls about loads that are already covered.
Andre Temnorod, WireBee’s CEO and co-founder, said he believes phone fraud will become more prevalent as the industry makes progress toward mitigating email-based fraud.
WireBee’s service, currently undergoing beta testing with a full launch targeted for this summer, will initially be available as an add-on compatible with cloud phone services such as RingCentral, 8x8 and Vonage.
Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski introduces the company’s Carrier Sourcing tool at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
• Freight software vendor Trucker Tools launched Carrier Sourcing, a new carrier vetting product for freight brokers.
Carrier Sourcing enables brokers to find new carriers by searching the Trucker Tools network of 350,000 carriers using the company’s mobile app.
The product includes a Lane Search feature to help brokers source carriers for specific lanes based on real-time and historical carrier data, such as historical tracking compliance, years of authority, fleet size, origin, destination and equipment type.
It also includes a Carrier Check feature to confirm carrier capabilities and compliance.
Introducing Lane Search, part of Carrier Sourcing, by Trucker Tools!
Find carriers for niche lanes and filter fast for the perfect fit. Make your freight brokerage more efficient today!https://t.co/5X4XHoLu9J — Trucker Tools (@trucker_tools) April 11, 2024
“Fraud is on the rise,” said Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski. “Sourcing quality carriers is really the only way to thrive.”
• Cargo Chief, a provider of capacity, pricing and digital freight matching tools for freight brokers, announced a new carrier rating tool in its C4 platform.
The new Carrier Quality Scoring feature integrates with various third-party compliance tools and enables brokers to score and rate their carriers while providing more visibility and control over the carrier selection process.
“Fraud and double brokering are still top of mind for pretty much everybody in the industry, making compliance and identity more important than ever,” said Kirk Franzen, the company’s chief technology officer.
Business Process Automation
Another key trend in logistics technology development is the use of automation and artificial intelligence to improve workflows and decision-making.
• Vooma, a tech startup that provides AI-enabled business process automation for the freight transportation industry, introduced a new software tool designed to help brokers and carriers capture freight opportunities buried in their email inboxes.
Vooma Quote uses AI to automate email quoting and load building, ultimately enabling customers to win more freight. The company’s AI extracts and structures key quote information, integrates with customers’ pricing models and benchmarking tools, and automatically prepares draft responses for review.
After customers win a load, they can then build the order within their transportation management system with Vooma Build.
Jesse Buckingham, Vooma’s CEO and co-founder, said the software enables sales representatives to price and respond to email quote requests in seconds, freeing up more time for them to spend on customer service and other tasks.
“In freight, speed really matters,” he said.
Vooma said it also will soon release the ability to automatically track responses and won loads so managers can analyze data based on individual representative, customer and lane.
Qued President Tom Curee describes the company’s efforts to streamline the load appointment process at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
• Qued, a software provider focused on automating and streamlining the load appointment scheduling process, has added a feature enabling users to pre-emptively schedule future appointment requests before the appointment window becomes available in a scheduling system.
Rather than leaving a reminder note on their computer monitor to schedule an appointment when that window opens, staff can queue up that message to automatically send as soon as the system allows it.
“You can have a great lane, a desirable lane, but if you have bad appointments, you have a horrible load,” said Tom Curee, Qued’s president. “What we’re doing is working to bring customers first-to-market access to those prime appointments.”
• Freightclaims.com introduced an enhanced user interface for its freight claims management software for 3PLs and shippers.
The updated software is designed to simplify the freight claims process with features such as claims document management, streamlined carrier correspondence, an analytics and reporting dashboard and deadline management to ensure timely resolution of claims.
• Tai Software and Front announced a partnership to integrate Tai’s transportation management system for freight brokers with Front’s email customer service platform.
This integration synchronizes data and workflows across both platforms to streamline freight brokers’ email interactions with shippers and carriers.
By combining these systems, brokers can access data from Tai Software within Front’s platform to send messages and attachments from Tai TMS through Front. Tai TMS also will receive messages from Front and process them through email automation workflows.
• HaulPay, a provider of automated freight factoring and financial technology for the freight and logistics industry, introduced its new digital wallet feature.
The digital wallet enables freight brokers of all sizes to streamline and automate payments to carriers while preventing manual processing errors and fraud.
Experience the power of seamless connections with HaulPay and @Mycarrierportal!
Sign up for a FREE 30-day trial with MyCarrierPortal today! https://t.co/SZhvnSdzp4 pic.twitter.com/C5OnmYdOb9 — HaulPay (@HAULPAY) April 5, 2024
• Primus Solutions debuted a white-labeled customer portal for its ShipPrimus transportation management system for freight brokers and 3PLs.
ShipPrimus customers can use the portal to provide their shippers a platform for quoting, booking, tracking and freight visibility.
Brokers can rebrand the portal with their logo and company name to provide a customized user experience.
• Lean Solutions Group and Isometric Technologies announced a partnership to utilize industrywide service data for brokerage customers. The partnership is aimed at making costs of service more predictable and driving business process automation for customers.
Freight Visibility
Technology vendors also are working to enhance shipment visibility across different modes of transportation. • Banyan Technology announced a partnership with multimodal logistics visibility platform GoComet to offer automated ocean and air tracking and freight spend management.
The integration provides users of Banyan’s Live Connect freight execution software with access to real-time visibility and live updates on container movement across all ocean and air shipments.
• Triple Crown Services and DrayNow introduced an intermodal technology platform developed by their ModalView joint venture.
The ModalView software application, set to launch in the third quarter, provides connectivity, real-time tracking and immediate document availability for 3PLs using intermodal drayage.
Triple Crown Services, a subsidiary of rail operator Norfolk Southern, provides bimodal, door-to-door truckload service and stand-alone drayage services.
• 3G announced it is expanding its transportation management system with the addition of drayage capabilities.
The new drayage services are designed to help 3PLs and brokers eliminate spreadsheets, automate workflows and avoid demurrage and accessorial charges.
• Infinity Software Solutions has added geolocation capabilities to its BrokerPro transportation management system for freight brokers.
The new location-based data enables interactive load maps and route planning to help brokers develop better relationships with shippers and carriers.
Nearshoring and Outsourcing
Several vendors rolled out technologies and services aimed at supporting international logistics as companies shift manufacturing and other operations from Asia to closer geographies, especially Mexico, to reduce risk in their supply chains.
• Payments platform TriumphPay announced it will begin offering carrier payments in local currencies, starting with pesos in Mexico and customer support in Spanish by the end of the second quarter.
“Trade between U.S. and Mexico exponentially increased in 2023, and we only expect that to continue,” said Haley Evans, senior vice president.
Trade between U.S. and Mexico exponentially increased in 2023, and we only expect that to continue.
TriumphPay Senior Vice President Haley Evans
TriumphPay also plans to introduce local currency payments in Europe and parts of Asia by the end of the year as the company expands its network globally.
• Talentek by Hubtek, a business process outsourcing provider with staff in Latin America, introduced its Flex service, which gives clients the flexibility to pay for outsourced work based on each transaction rather than by head count. Services include customer service, track and trace, proof of delivery retrieval and image inspection.
This “talent as a service” approach is an alternative to hiring an offshore employee full time, providing a better fit for logistics companies that need additional help on a temporary basis or after hours and weekend coverage, for example.
• DDC FPO, a provider of business process outsourcing for the freight transportation industry, announced it is adding new outsourcing locations in Central America and South America.
Closer to Home: Nearshore Operations Bring the DDC Standard to Latin Americahttps://t.co/QGSGofqp7O — DDC FPO (@DDC_FPO) April 12, 2024
The expansion offers nearshore service for North American customers and adds to DDC’s global footprint, which also includes operations in Asia, Europe and North America.
DDC FPO provides outsourced services such as freight billing, freight rate auditing, customer service and shipment tracking.
Driving Efficiency
From load planning to pricing strategies, technology vendors introduced a range of products designed to help freight brokers and 3PLs wring more efficiency out of their operations.
• Greenscreens.ai, a provider of predictive truckload freight pricing, announced Greenscreens Ignite, a pricing analysis and strategy tool geared toward broker sales managers.
Introducing Greenscreens Ignite Learn More: https://t.co/aHZTB9TLgk pic.twitter.com/vLKH1KxG3g — Greenscreens.ai (@Greenscreens_ai) April 11, 2024
This companion to Greenscreens’ core product offers win-loss analysis and in-depth quote history data to empower brokers to optimize their pricing strategies, win more business and increase profits.
• Freight Management Systems announced the upcoming launch of Advanced Lane Planning tools within its LoadPlus Pro transportation management system.
These new features, set to debut later this year, are designed to allow freight brokers to move and track atypical lanes and loads.
Advanced Lane Planning will include Manifest Consolidation to streamline partial shipments at consolidation centers, Concurrent Tracking of Lanes to ensure real-time monitoring of shipments in transit on different lanes simultaneously, and Round Trip Lanes for efficiently planning back-to-back shipments with the same driver under a single bill of lading.
• Supply chain software firm Blue Yonder is now offering its Transportation Optimization technology as a stand-alone product that integrates with other vendors’ transportation management systems.
The software is designed to optimize truckload and less-than-truckload routes regardless of region or fleet type. The product also creates optimized transportation plans and exports load plans to the user.
• Tim Higham, CEO of software provider AscendTMS, and financial holding firm Triumph Financial announced that they have both invested in ShipperCRM, a provider of verified shipper leads and shipper profiles for broker and carrier sales professionals.
Users of the ShipperCRM customer relationship platform can search its database for shipper contact information to find and win new freight opportunities. ShipperCRM also has a visual search tool, Magic Map, to help users discover shipper information in geographies across the United States.
• Revenova announced it is adding fleet management capabilities to its transportation management system.
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The new Fleet Operations functionality, launching in June, includes a dispatch system, live communications and other features for 3PLs that also operate their own asset-based fleets.
• Freight integration platform Cleo announced Business Commitment Monitoring for Logistics, an alerting framework designed to help transportation companies ensure that they honor their business commitments to their shippers.
The product provides customizable notifications and alerts when a customer is about to miss a commitment in areas such as load tender response time, load commitment compliance and the timing of invoicing and payments.
Users also can track how well their trading partners are living up to their own commitments.
• Third-party logistics firm GLT Logistics introduced its new Agents Portal to make shipment management more efficient for its freight agents.
Agents can use the portal to receive and process instant quotes for less-than-truckload, full truckload, open deck, refrigerated, parcel and expedited services.
• CS Recruiting introduced Talent Advisory Services, a new service providing logistics companies with guidance and best practices for recruiting and retention in an industry where the average tenure for a freight broker is 1.3 years.
The customizable service offers personalized coaching, companywide workshops, and talent and market analysis.
“We think of recruiting and retention as the two bookends that define customer success,” said Charlie Saffro, the firm’s founder and CEO.
• Black Belt TC, a transportation industry consultant specializing in the acquisition process, announced that its acquisition valuation modeling technology is now accessible through a customer portal.
This enables customers to better understand current valuation trends and risk factors so they can choose the right time to sell their business.
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