The logistics industry is facing challenges from increasingly sophisticated fraud. Recently a bipartisan bill in Congress targeted scam freight brokers and trucking companies by seeking to require stricter registration and enforcement rules for brokers and carriers with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Now trending are technology providers in the space who are trying to help with their products as well. Recently, FreightWaves interviewed Verified Carrier, a solution providing a unique way to mitigate fraud in the industry.
According to the company, it uses eight steps of multilayered, third-party verification to accurately vet carriers, including checking insurance information, vehicle registration and ownership directly with the carriers themselves.
Andrey Drotenko, president of strategic partnerships at Verified Carrier, explained that carriers going through the verification process then use Verified Carrier’s verification as a “badge of honor” to showcase their legitimacy when working with brokers.
“Carriers want to prove they are legitimate. Carriers get to show off their transparency into their business and show off that they are legitimate and that they want to work with brokers who are legitimate too. … This puts that power back into the carriers’ hands,” Drotenko told FreightWaves.
Brokers use the platform as well to thoroughly vet carriers, especially for high-value loads, when onboarding new relationships. By submitting authentic documentation that is independently verified, both parties gain trust.
In the interview, Drotenko explained why he felt Verified Carrier provides an improved vetting experience. While other platforms make guesses using AI technology to collect source documentation about carriers, Verified Carrier directly confirms the information with third parties before granting legitimacy status.
“We are not just going to take the carrier’s word for it, though. When they send us insurance information, we actually go to the insurance carrier or brokerage and ask them directly to send that information to us. Same thing with FMCSA data: We are going to need to see what business is registered and see who is on there. Is the person who started the verification process an officer of the company? For banking information, what if [financial data app] Plaid pulls something back that is different than the officers listed for the company, and if so, what’s the story there? If we see it’s in the wife’s name, then we can remove that potential flag,” said Drotenko of the detailed due diligence the company performs.
“Just sending a check to whoever filled out paperwork is not going to cut it anymore. That’s not due diligence. That worked 10 years ago. That’s not working today,” he continued.
Drotenko believes this level of verification extending beyond just FMCSA data is needed as fraud becomes more advanced through tactics like identity theft, motor carrier number fraud and overlooked changes of bank account information.
“The future of logistics security will require increased sophistication across systems and partnerships. Standards being developed through organizations like ISO recognize the importance of third-party verification,” Drotenko said.
As technology enables more advanced hacking techniques, all areas of business must strengthen authentication, identification and data cross-referencing.
Vecna grabs an extra $40M for warehouse robotics
Material handling automation provider Vecna Robotics announced Thursday it has closed on its $100 million Series C round with participation from Tiger Global Management, Proficio Capital Partners and Impulse VC.
The company topped the round with about $40 million in new equity funding and debt, with the original portion of the Series C raised in 2022 still in the bank, CEO Craig Malloy told the Boston Business Journal. That piece included participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Drive Capital, Fontinalis Partners, GM Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, Lineage Logistics, Proficio Capital Partners, Tectonic Ventures and Unless Mangement, according to Pitchbook.
“Finalizing this capital raise, with the help of our existing investors and a new financing partner is huge validation that we are on the right track. … With fresh capital secured, we have the balance sheet to help us drive growth with our existing customers through improved product performance and the release of new automation technology that will change the game for material handling in warehousing and distribution,” said Malloy in the release.
These customers include companies like Geodis, FedEx, Caterpillar, Shape and others, which leverage its automation systems for case picking, packaging and cross-docking through its Pivotal Command Center solution.
The company’s website highlights three robots in its fleet, including the Vecna AFL, an autonomous forklift; the Vecna ATG, its autonomous tugger; and the Vecna CPJ, its co-bot pallet jack.
Most of its solutions have been developed directly with its customer partners, and with its recent raise, the company looks to develop and launch a market-ready offering that new customers can deploy quickly.
With the announcement, the company also announced it has enlisted Michael Helmbrecht as its new chief operating officer to help over see its operations, product and customer teams with the knowledge he acquired leading operations for companies like Dell and Ring Central.
Brief Bytes
In survey results released Monday in honor of Take Your Pet to Work Week, Truckstop.com found that 53% of carrier pet owners prioritize verifying pet service credentials before using them, mirroring the recent trend of carrier verifying solutions. As a part of the fun of the week, Truckstop introduced its Pet Verification initiative that allows trucks to get their pets “verified” and earn donations for charity by sharing pictures of their pets online. Share in the fund at Truckstop.com/pet-badge.
On Monday, Nvidia launched its Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX, which accelerates autonomous machine development with more realistic sensor simulation. This technology enables developers to test AI and sensor perception in virtual environments, boosting safety and cutting costs, according to the company. By combining real and synthetic data, it facilitates creating digital twins for logistics and transportation, enhancing operational efficiency.
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