Logistics Technology News

John Urban spent a year as chairman and CEO trying to salvage Slync, the logistics automation platform negatively impacted by the high-profile legal saga of its founder Chris Kirchner.

The visibility product, called Live Position, is the first service offered as part of the carrier’s 2022 investment to equip its entire box fleet with location-tracking hardware.

Shippers have long struggled to get direct access to rail milestone data that matches the depth and accuracy of ocean visibility markers.

The primary dilemma for shippers is whether to source visibility data or applications from a standalone vendor or to expect it to be included in a bundle from a third-party logistics provider.

The study, commissioned by the Global Shipping Business Network, comes amid a commitment by nine of the top 10 global ocean carriers to only use electronic bills of lading by 2030.

The link-up between the two companies is the latest industry partnership that caters to the desire of shippers for bundled global freight planning, execution and tracking.

Blue Yonder’s $893 million of One Network, a midsize supply chain vendor, comes amid slowing logistics software demand and heightened competition in supply chain software.

The letter is a further sign that the work of the non-profit carrier group has stalled at the adoption phase for its members.

The digital freight marketplace is making new software tools that target fake brokers and fraudulent pickups available to customers as well as competitors.

Demand for drop-and-hook capacity is prompting freight broker Uber Freight to invest in more markets for its Powerloop program, which marries GPS tracking of trailers to available shipper loads.

The saga of embattled technology vendor Slync may have reached a final chapter with its technology assets being acquired by a consulting group that works with importers and exporters.

PayCargo has taken a majority ownership stake in process automation company Rippey AI to better connect invoicing to payment transactions.

Big name visibility providers, including project44 and FourKites, banded together in 2021 to standardize data elements for customers, but the initiative has been shelved due to a lack of progress.

Large terminal operators and container lines have backed an effort to build a common digital platform, which this week lured three global port operators into its network.

Increased driver adoption of apps in the truckload industry was driven in part by now-shuttered broker Convoy, whose technology was relaunched Thursday by forwarder Flexport.

ChatGPT and generative AI have captured most of the attention around artificial intelligence in logistics, but the diverse range of processes underpinning global supply chains require multiple types of AI working in concert.

Maersk’s integrator strategy has encompassed more access to air freight capacity, including a new tool for shippers in India to digitally price and book specific flights.

CloudTrucks’ acquisition of Shipwell’s brokerage division signals the importance of giving drivers direct access to loads through the technology platform they use to run their business.

The largest US freight broker is trying to eliminate the wait at the gate by not only scheduling truck appointments for shippers, but finding optimal appointment times. 

A pilot version of a truck appointment scheduling API is part of the hunt for new digital standards for supply chains that are still encumbered by manual processes.

Artificial intelligence is quickly being integrated into everyday logistics and shipping processes such as truck check-ins, rate quotes and freight payment.

Most shippers use spreadsheets to manage rates from forwarders and container lines, which contributes to an inefficient process for freight payments and audits.

A guilty verdict against Slync founder Chris Kirchner brings closure on a saga that came to light when Slync employees went unpaid for weeks in spring 2022.

Connecting purchase order management with logistics management has been a challenge since before the pandemic, something BuyCo and Gravity hope to alleviate with a combined offering.

The digital forwarding model saw a stress test in 2023 amid faltering freight volumes and rates, but investments in early 2024 might signify staying power for the concept.

The move by the largest US logistics provider to use a standardized electronic bill of lading accelerates digitization in the less-than-truckload sector. 

The carrier’s move comes amid increased scrutiny on the positioning of container ships due to the ongoing militant attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea.

None of the most prominent venture-backed names in logistics has had a successful exit yet, but perhaps patience is still required before the industry can say for sure if venture capital is a worthy funding route for company founders.

The ruling is significant because it means US brokers can no longer use less expensive offshore labor to cut down on operational costs associated with import entry preparation and other brokerage services.

Cost and long implementation timelines are among the reasons software has been out of reach for smaller shippers, brokers and carriers, a dynamic that newer solutions providers are attempting to change.

The Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program offers a free view of supply-demand data across several metrics to help make transportation management decisions easier for US supply chain stakeholders.

The company, which caters to shippers like Uniqlo and Michelin, will use the new round of funding to spur a global expansion of its multimodal freight visibility product.

Getting the most out of global logistics software sometimes involves using a forwarder as a co-pilot until a shipper is ready to run processes similarly to procurement and order management internally.

CMA CGM is moving beyond funding and supporting startups with a hefty investment into a non-profit lab designed to improve data models that feed into artificial intelligence products.

Ryan Petersen tells the Journal of Commerce that the first order of business after this week’s acquisition of Convoy’s tech stack is getting the Convoy app running again and reaching out to the shuttered company’s customers.

The need for shippers and brokers to speed up the auditing and payment of freight bills is bringing AI and automation-focused vendors to the fore.

The two partners will collaborate on pilot projects aimed at accurately measuring and tracking emissions reduction data across the supply chain.

The demise of truckload broker Convoy has highlighted how difficult it is to create differentiation in a market with no dominant player, with Convoy itself to blame for stoking more competition through its technology focus.

The company will sell its technology and shut operations, deciding it could not grow its business while paying the legal fees of ousted CEO Chris Kirchner.

Transfix’s investment being announced on the same day Convoy told employees it was winding down operations highlights some of the differences between members of a group broadly defined as “digital brokers.”