Friday marked a turn of events for Flock Freight, a provider of shared truckload solutions, as the company decided to reduce its workforce by 54 individuals. The company last reported layoffs in April of 2023.
This strategic move was aimed at recalibrating the company’s trajectory towards profitability. The positions affected were primarily back office roles, focusing on enhancing automation for Flock’s operational efficiencies.
“The people supporting our customers and carriers and those building the IP have not been affected,” Oren Zaslansky, co-founder and CEO of Flock Freight, told FreightWaves. “These moves have put us in a position where our path to profitability can be measured in months not years.”
Flock’s most recent round of funding came in 2021 with its Series D, led by Softbank Investment Advisers with participation from Google Ventures, GLP Capital Partners, Eden Global Partners Susquehanna Private Capital and SignalFire for $215 million and a valuation of $1.3 billion, according to Pitchbook data.
The raise was done to focus on its shipment-pooling algorithms and machine learning technology, which Zaslansky emphasized is showing results in improving the shared truckload experience.
“If a customer is looking to buy a half truckload from LA to Chicago, there are three types of guesses that go into finding that cost. The first, which any good broker makes, is can I get a truck on it. … The second guess, a tier one or two broker or digital freight matcher can find out what is going to be the cost. But what Flock does that no one else does is we make a third guess. We guess that if you want to buy a half truck on that lane, we can price the risk of another customer going to rideshare with you somewhere along that route,” he said.
To price that risk, the company has developed and secured patents for its methods and systems. Zaslansky explained it as Flock’s Pooling Probability Index (PPI).
“Prices will move up and down based on if there’s a low or high risk of finding another shipment on these lanes. This is what will make Flock, Flock and that’s how we talk internally. Solving shared truckload and all the logistics and pricing complexity that goes into it.”
Other FreightTech providers have caught on to what Flock is offering. In September, the company announced a multiyear strategic partnership with e2open (NYSE:ETWO) to offer the software provider’s transportation management system users real-time ratings for shared truckload services.
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PaleriderTV
I’ve been in the trucking industry for 28 years and never heard of this company.
Lay offs
This needs to be fact checked. About 20% of the onshore team was laid off, mostly customer/carrier facing and tech. Also, women made up a small minority of the employees at Flock, but were a large portion of the employees affected by the lay offs. I doubt Flock has much runway left let alone close to profitability.
Carrier Reps and Customer side were laid off
Customer, Carrier, and IT side were ALL directly impacted IF not the majority of the people laid off. Needs to be fact checked
Mel
So LTL? Softbank, first red flag. Universities really need to start including freight fundamentals in their MBA programs because hedge funds have got to be staffed with the stupidest men on earth buying into this bs.
Recently laid off!
We might need a fact check on this. There were many folks that supported flock’s carrier base that were let go. Some had been at the company for over four years. Hopefully it’s a miss quote and not a complete miss by the man and team in charge of flock.
Lance
Looks like roll the dice and hope. I cannot believe any investment company would buy the BS.
FreightGod
This is the worst business model. It’s roadrunner LTL model but with brokerage.
Just give up. Your not worth $1.3B 😂
Dreamers
Months? 7,344 of them maybe?
Have a Path to profitability? So why the F are you laying half the staff off?
Great outlook? Didn’t you say that in April 2023 when you did the last layoffs?
Trust? No, not really.