Technology Comes to the Freight Brokerage Industry in 2016

Every few years I like to take a look at some of the new technology-based entrants to the freight transportation industry to see who are the “movers” and “shakers.” While Amazon dominates the headlines, there are a host of other companies doing some very interesting things in the technology space.

This blog will look at some names that surfaced in the past and some of the new players that are taking freight brokerage to a new level. While new technology is being applied to a variety of freight related tasks (i.e. calculating freight dimensions, dock appointment scheduling), this blog will examine some of the companies are actually in the business of moving freight. They are bridging the asset world with the technology world. I have selected a group of companies that have caught my attention. They are Cargomatic, uShip, Freightera, Freightquote, FreightCentre, Uship, Project44, Logistical Labs and ZRATE.

Cargomatic

Cargomatic, a Venice Beach, California company, calls itself the “uber of freight.” By “seamlessly connecting shippers and carriers through our web and mobile apps, we’re helping truckers grow their businesses and shippers track their freight in real time.” Cargomatic provides LTL, truckload and drayage services. Their app gives drivers and dispatchers instant access to nearby shipments. Shippers gain instant access to LTL, full truckload and drayage service within 150 miles of Los Angeles and New York City.

uShip

uShip, Inc. is an Austin, Texas-based Internet company that operates uShip.com, an online marketplace for shipping services. Individuals and businesses post items they need shipped in a variety of categories, including auto transport, boat shipping, moving services, and the transport of heavy industrial equipment.

Transportation service providers on uShip place competing bids for the right to haul a customer's shipment. For some categories, including boats, autos and less-than-truckload (LTL) freight, customers can select an upfront quote for transport services or enter an acceptable price to be matched with a transporter. Customers can book a shipment immediately from these quotes or opt to wait for auction bids, similar to eBay’s “buy it now” feature.

Freightera

Freightera is a Vancouver, BC based company that offers a cloud-based B2B online freight marketplace with 100s of reliable LTL & truckload carriers, where you can search and compare instant all-inclusive freight quotes and book shipments online 24/7.

Users register so they can get free unlimited access to exclusive rates from hundreds of carriers. The system can search over 2.5 billion freight lanes, and book the deal you want with a click of a button. Users type in the shipment origin and destination, dates and quantity of freight, see the selection of available trucks and rates and then choose the deal they want. Carriers post their broker discount rates and extra capacity directly to the public on Freightera's online marketplace.

FreightCenter

FreightCenter is a non-asset based 3rd-party logistics provider with headquarters in Palm Harbor, FL. FreightCenter acts as a conduit between freight carriers and commercial or residential shippers located in the United States and Canada. As a conduit, shippers utilize the provider's Web-based technology to calculate freight costs for less than truckload, truckload, rail, ocean and air freight.

In 2010, FreightCenter and Go Daddy.com, LLC partnered on an integration of the provider's API Web services and Go Daddy's Quick Shopping Cart application. Users utilize the API (Application Program Interface) to consume freight rates, quotes and booking data. The FreightCenter API is compatible with any business software, OMS, WMS, CMS, TMS, and eCommerce shopping carts, such as Magento and WooCommerce.

Freightquote

Freightquote, a division of C.H. Robinson, is an online transportation broker of freight services throughout North America, and is based in Kansas City, MO. Their business provides comparisons of shipping rates for hundreds of national and regional freight carriers. The company has developed a patented-technology platform to enable shippers to find competitive rates that can be compared for their freight shipments, similar to that which travel websites provide. Performed online, customers input freight shipment information online, review carrier options, choose a carrier, book shipments and pay for services. The company extends this platform through API connections. E-commerce websites integrate the company's technology to provide their customers with freight cost estimating and booking capabilities.

Project 44

Project44, a Chicago, Illinois based company, is an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) that uses cloud-based freight APIs to instantly connect shippers and 3PLs to capacity. Their solution integrates into the Transportation Management System (TMS) that shippers already use, “replacing unreliable EDI connections with fast and accurate web service APIs.”

This allows data to be instantly communicated from one system to another, “supercharging the speed of your TMS. The result is real-time freight transportation management.” The Project44 value proposition: “Write one web service API connection to us, and we’ll instantly connect your TMS to capacity. Pull carrier rate quotes in seconds, automate dispatch requests, track your shipments and pull images (bill of lading, proof of delivery) in real-time, without the use of EDI. It’s that simple.”

Logistical Labs

Logistical Labs, another Chicago, Illinois based company is a cloud-based software provider that enables customers to address shipping needs and much more. The company has partnered with a number of transportation service providers (i.e. CSX, McLeod Software)) and some of the other players listed above (i.e. Project44, Cargomatic). They employ their LoadDex search tool that they claim is intuitive, modern, fast and easy to navigate. HeavyCarts “makes shipping large items easy and cost-effective by connecting shippers with all types of carriers—parcel, non-parcel, less-than-truckload, truckload, and more—to find the lowest price possible and the best consolidation options.”

ZRATE

ZRATE, based in Racine, Wisconsin, is the only service that offers instant oversized freight quotes. The company offers instant freight quotes for overweight, over-dimensional and oversized freight. ZRATE includes permits, surveys and escorts in its pricing. It constantly adjusts its pricing based on the truck/freight ratio of specific lanes.

Summary

In the time since I last wrote a blog on this topic, it is exciting to see the new services and new players entering the technology-based freight brokerage arena. They continue to add significant value over what a traditional freight broker provides. While the logistics service providers with high quality TMS capabilities are likely to survive, these tech driven companies are likely to push the low tech transaction oriented companies off the road.

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