Technology news and briefs for the week of Aug. 14, 2022:
McLeod releases expanded market analysis tool
Trucking software provider McLeod Software has expanded its MPact market analysis tool.
The company has released MPact PRO, which extracts elements from only the data on loads that have actually moved, breaking down nationwide truckload lanes in great depth so customers can create a detailed picture of capacity and volume in markets and evaluate the rate landscape.
McLeod aims to help customers save money and obtain the freight they want with insight provided by the new features of MPact PRO.
MPact PRO now allows customers to discriminate between spot and contract rates. Whether customers need to know how rates change over time using rate trends, or how rates are distributed through time using rate analysis, they can see how important contract rates are or aren’t to a given market lane.
It also measures bounty, defined as profit relinquished by a carrier or broker, based on their specific profit targets or based on the market at large, allowing them to earn more money with the business they already have, dissecting by equipment type, origin market, destination market, length of haul, commodity, market buy rate segment, market sell rate segment and transaction type and profit.
This latest release also provides benchmarking, organizing a customer’s view of their current and historical business and prioritizing the market lane pairs based on volume and rates to allow for a complete understanding of the rates they charge as compared to the industry rates. Customers can differentiate between average market rates and median market rates; view the market total volume against their own order count; and get a sense for how many carriers or brokers are currently participating in a given lane in the time frame being examined.
New mobile app advances freight procurement automation
Sleek Technologies has launched a new self-service mobile app for small- to medium-size carriers to advance freight procurement automation by providing carriers direct access to large, reputable shippers with high load volumes.
The app, which combines all the features of Sleek’s existing driver and fleet portals into one solution, uses machine learning to match shipper load requirements with carrier attributes. Once a load is matched to a carrier, it becomes available for the carrier to submit an offer, which is only accepted when the carrier bids at or under the shipper’s designated truckload price.
If accepted, load statuses are automatically updated into the shipper’s designated TMS via enabled APIs. The entire process happens behind the scenes and is seamlessly integrated into the shipper’s TMS.
“Sourcing the right carrier, at the right time, at the right price has been a struggle for many large shippers because most only have direct access to less than 1% of today’s capacity through contracted carriers,” said Sleek Technologies CEO Mike Nervick. “By automating freight procurement, large shippers leverage AI-powered technology to remove intermediary barriers and expand direct access to compliant, out-of-network, asset-based capacity, which saves massive amounts of time and money.”
Shippers save by not having to pay hidden margins because carriers set the price, allowing them visibility into true market cost. It also enables carriers to make more money because 100% of the carrier’s bid goes to the carrier by eliminating the middleman.
The company said this technology has helped it deliver 96% on-time delivery.
The app, available as a native mobile application or web for desktop users, also offers new features like in-app notifications, a more expansive load board and contactless location tracking throughout the load execution process.
E2open expands partnership with Shippeo to level up visibility
Connected supply chain SaaS platform E2open Parent Holdings Inc. and real-time multimodal transportation visibility provider Shippeo have expanded their partnership to provide clients with an additional level of native real-time transportation visibility (RTTV) and supply chain execution management via a unified platform to support businesses in improving efficiency, reducing waste and operating more sustainably across the supply chain.
The two companies originally formed a partnership in 2020 that alerted shippers to transportation delays.
The expanded partnership provides clients a higher level of transportation visibility by enabling users to peer inside the truck or container to understand the specific goods being moved and how transportation performance will impact the customer experience while also allowing them to make corrective actions.
“Adding Shippeo’s visibility to e2open’s platform is a game-changer for the industry because it allows clients to remove data and decision silos, to drive efficiency and sustainability across the ecosystem of partners as they make, move and sell products and services,” said Pawan Joshi, executive vice president of products and strategy for e2open. “Importantly, this expanded partnership creates shared value for shippers, carriers and forwarders to foster a healthy, agile and effective supply chain ecosystem.”
He said that shared value, in addition to accurate and timely decision-making, creates a greater return on investment for all parties.
Shippeo, which guarantees ETA accuracy with a formal service-level agreement, offers carriers real-time multimodal transportation visibility, honoring full compliance with global data management regulations and operating on a strict “need to know” basis, with a commitment against developing freight matching solutions. It provides high-quality data and better predictive results by using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
Logistics tech provider to pay port fees under new initiative
CDL 1000, a logistics technology provider of supply chain solutions and drayage services, has launched a new initiative that aims to save shippers up to half of their overall transportation costs by reducing port demurrage and rail yard storage fees, ultimately benefitting other transportation providers and the end consumer as these fees get passed along until products reach store shelves.
The company is promising a 24-hour turnaround to pull any container and clear it out of a U.S. port or rail yard on behalf of its new and existing customers and will pay for those fees via an escrow account if it does not meet that promise.
The company claims this could reduce shippers’ late fees and storage costs, which can cost millions of dollars each month, by 20% to 50%.
This allows shippers to more accurately forecast and budget their overall transportation costs, helping them allocate resources to other parts of their business to maximize efficiency.
“The supply chain is under immense pressure to deliver goods, and companies are racking up extra costs by letting containers sit idle in ports and rail yards,” said Koz Hara, executive vice president at CDL 1000. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is. Our promise of moving containers on time or paying demurrage fees is our way of flipping the supply chain on its head and helping customers drastically reduce their overall transportation costs. We’re going to support customers any way we can, and our bank is open.”
The top five most expensive global ports for detention and demurrage fees on cargo containers are all in the U.S., where charges have increased during 2022 and fees are two to three times higher compared to other ports around the world.
