In an era when most digital brokerages and TMS integrations are indistinguishable from one another, Surge Transportation is differentiating itself with real-time pricing API, the only proprietary software capable of shipper TMS integration automating both customer load procurement and carrier load bookings.
As the freight landscape is inundated with faster and smarter technologies, shippers are demanding more from their transportation management systems — more capacity and greater cost savings.
Surge Transportation’s emergence as a FreightTech leader shows just how quickly freight’s digital transformation is gaining momentum.
Why are so many shippers choosing Surge? For starters, it’s compatible. Surge’s APIs are already integrated with cloud TMSes and can be quickly built into any on-premise TMS.
Shippers want nothing more than to increase capacity when the market’s up but derive cost savings when it’s down. “Priorities change as markets change — in a tight market it’s capacity, soft market it’s cost savings,” said Omar Singh, president and founder of Surge Transportation.
Singh said Surge’s real-time APIs help shippers remain flexible through both markets.
“When you need capacity, we can supply it; when you need to save money, Surge helps with that too when contract rates are too high,” he said. “That’s been the strategy for 11 years, the business model hasn’t changed, only now it’s a little faster and sleeker.
“Our objective through the end of the year into 2023 is to complete our additional shipper TMS integrations and to finalize our carrier onboard and load booking automations,” Singh said, adding that Surge is already set up with 50,000 carriers, and with its latest TMS integrations, it will be able to automate the procurement process for thousands of shippers.
“We have a road map in front of us to be one of the premier companies in the industry,” Singh added. “I think we can achieve that in three to five years.”
Surge looks to include SAP and Manhattan Associates as integration partners early next year. Their addition will bolster Surge’s growing partnership alliance, which includes Blue Yonder, MercuryGate, E2Open, Trimble Transportation, Transporeon and Oracle.
“As we demonstrated our Oracle API rate optimization to their integration partners, they were wowed by what we’ve built, saying it’s better than any of the other partners they have in their network,” Singh said. “So I’m hearing more and more that what we have is really substantial from not just our competitors but also from TMS integrators.”
Surge was born of a desire to deliver reliable capacity while providing an excellent user experience. Singh’s first experience with TMSes was quite the opposite. As a first-time owner of a trucking company in 2003, he found the on-premise system he bought quite tedious for beginners, as it relied heavily on do-it-yourself configurations.
But this proved highly beneficial for Singh, who quickly learned the art of EDI and API configurations as it relates to customer development and profitability. He then applied what he had learned toward a career in freight brokering in 2011.
Surge distinguishes itself as a supply chain-first company, unlike other digital brokers, which Singh describes as tech companies first, supply chain companies second. Surge’s intimate knowledge of customer, carrier and warehouse pain points is what ultimately steers its tech focus.
“A lot of the feedback I get from customers is that we understand truckload better; understanding the service requirements firsthand along with the tech requirements sets us apart from our technology competitors,” Singh said, attributing his success to his extensive freight resume.
“Unlike a lot of brokerage executives, I have experience on the service side of trucking, driving a truck as an employee, then as an owner-operator and eventually owning a trucking company,” Singh said.
Before launching Surge as an independent brokerage in 2016, Singh got his start in trucking in the ’90s. At age 18, he drove for a furniture delivery company in the Washington area to support himself through undergraduate school at George Mason University and graduate school at Georgetown University.
Those summers behind the wheel proved so lucrative that upon graduation with degrees in English, Singh decided to forge a career in freight.
From his time behind the wheel to running a trucking company, becoming a broker and eventually founding Surge, Singh has made the most of his 20-plus years in freight. He credits his experience in customer-direct freight for his understanding of customer and carrier relationships along with procurement and technology. And the costliness of the 2007-2009 recession showed him the importance of selling not only on price but also on service, which was instrumental in Surge’s business model.
Singh writes extensively of his experience and provides thought leadership on current matters in his FreightWaves column, The Future of Logistics, which highlights brokerage innovations and efficiencies to build stronger customer relationships.
To win a FreightWaves FreightTech Award would not just signify how far Surge has come but also cement it as a FreightTech front-runner for years to come.
“To earn a top ranking would be a great recognition that we’ve really carved space in the digital FreightTech world to be a long-term player in this space,” Singh exclaimed.
Click here to nominate your choice for the 2023 FreightTech Awards.
The winners will be announced Nov. 3 during FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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