Logistics Technology News

The air cargo industry is gradually moving to electronic bookings between forwarders and airlines, but the evolution could still take time if previous digitization initiatives in the industry are any indication.

With the e-commerce boom accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic, third-party logistics providers are offering inventory management, visibility, and fulfillment solutions to shippers to support the migration of sales transactions to an online environment.

New technologies like machine learning and robotic process automation are helping forwarders manage a large volume of shipment data tied up in email inboxes that otherwise would be unusable.

Mumbai-based forwarder Shipwaves has joined TradeLens, bolstering the Maersk/IBM-led shipping visibility and documentation platform’s moves in India.

Maersk will penalize shippers that make manual booking and documentation amendments starting Sept. 1; fees can be avoided if the changes are made on its website or through electronic platforms.

Blue Yonder and DHL’s partnership to build a robotics integration product and broader venture capital investment in that category is a sign contract logistics providers need help managing an influx of in-warehouse technology.

Forwarding software provider Logixboard fine-tuned its approach in 2020 to focus on analytics and visibility and less on quoting to enable mid-market logistics companies to improve online engagement with shippers.

Mercado focuses on the aspects of global trade that happen before goods are handled by forwarders and transportation providers, which has helped it land two venture capital infusions in eight months.

A Miami startup intends to create a software platform that levels the playing field for small truckload carriers by giving them a backbone system that also makes their interactions with brokers more consistent.

Ryder, Blue Grace, and ARL Logistics have either started using or expanded existing relationships with truckload broker software provider Trucker Tool, signaling broader use of third-party tools as an edge in a fragmented market.

E2open is changing its pricing structure for data, connectivity, and system usage as it adapts to a logistics software market more keen to all-in pricing.

A startup that calculates door-to-door cargo shipping emissions has released an interface to convey its data directly to shippers and forwarders needing to meet emissions reductions goals.

CEVA Logistics has expanded the digital tools it offers shippers, part of a growing trend of global 3PLs providing self-service capabilities around quoting and visibility to transaction-oriented shippers.

Freight broker Convoy has enabled small carriers to bid for long-term dedicated freight contracts, expanding the pool of carriers shippers can access to secure such capacity.

The Port of New Orleans will use information from sensors attached to commercial tugs and barges to better position dredgers to keep sediment levels under control.

Microsoft continues to build on its position as a provider of web services to the logistics industry via an expanded relationship with C.H. Robinson, North America’s largest freight broker.

Uber Freight has expanded its network of transportation management system integrations by piping its instantly available capacity into the Blue Yonder freight execution system.

London-based digital cargo insurer Loadsure partners with Chicago-based Transship to more fully automate refrigerated containerized exports.

A machine learning software provider is tackling the problem forwarders and customs brokers face in converting the information within core shipping documents into usable data.

A founder with lineage in the freight optimization space has started a new technology provider to help trucking companies better account for unknown variables in their network planning.

Shipping’s long-running campaign to remain outside the European emissions trading system and continue to self-regulate through the IMO has ended.

The Digital Container Shipping Association is targeting standard vessel schedule publishing to allow ports and cargo interests to get more real-time arrival and departure data.

APM Terminals is rolling out a set of data connectivity tools, initially at two US ports, to inform shippers of container status and vessel arrival on a more real-time basis.

Transplace has begun providing managed transportation-like services to customers that have their own transportation management system but want to be able to benchmark against the data of the $11 billion of freight the 3PL manages.

On the path from static quotes to instant quotes, a key stepping stone is better connecting forwarders’ rate management tools with the transportation management systems they use.

High-growth retailers have a better sense of their deficiencies in transportation management and other supply chain components than their low-growth peers, a new study has found.

Data2Logistics has been struggling through a system outage this week that is leaving its shipper customers unable to pay carriers through its platform.

Former INTTRA executive said shipping lines, 3PLs, and shippers could learn from the way retailers and their suppliers have set up data-sharing arrangements to provide mutual benefit.

TMS and supply chain modeling software providers combine to build an integrated “what if” scenario capability for shippers that normally wouldn’t have the resources to acquire and staff such a solution.

A software startup aiming to be the connective tissue between data from disparate warehousing systems has received venture capital as retailers’ distribution needs get more complex during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Logistics software acquisitions continue to occur amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest being Descartes’ $12 million deal to purchase UK-based online forwarding software provider Kontainers.

The forwarder Flexport is edging toward a broader imprint on the shipping industry through the development of customizable interfaces for its customers and increased access to its systems for agent partners.

E2open customers will get access to free cargo visibility as the software company tries to combat the pull of standalone visibility providers.

Werner is the latest broker to use software from Trucker Tools to tap into the app provider’s reach into the North American small carrier and independent driver population.

More venture capital is being funneled toward logistics automation tools, this time a large early stage round in an Ireland-based software provider that build procurement bots for shippers.

A group of 10 maritime bodies argues for accelerating the pace of port data standardization and adoption of modern, single-window systems, among a list of other initiatives.

Blockchain-based electronic bills of lading can simplify shipping hurdles created when the effects of COVID-19 hamper travel and restrict normal processes.

Alibaba has tied up with logistics software provider Freightos to provide logistics services on its business-to-business platform while also allowing buyers to extend payment terms to sellers.

London-based digital 3PL Beacon lands a $15 million venture capital investment by focusing on supply chain finance, as the digital forwarder model continues to attract growth funding.

The acquisition of FMIC from Chainalytics helps transform DAT Solutions into a broader freight intelligence business aimed at enabling shippers, brokers, and truckers to understand freight costs and pricing.