The logistics industry has been undergoing a major technological revolution since the ELD mandate became official in 2018, and the pace of change has accelerated in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This explosion of high-tech offerings can be overwhelming for brokers, and many 3PLs have had a hard time staying ahead of the curve.
“A lot of brokers can’t keep up with all the technology. There are a lot of opportunities. Vendors are coming at you all the time,” Tom Curee, Kingsgate Logistics’ senior vice president of strategy and innovation, said.
Kingsgate, however, has kept pace with the swift changes. Curee attributes much of this success to knowing when to outsource and building strong partnerships.
“Often people make the mistake of trying to build everything themselves, but there is a lot of value in aggregating some of our efforts,” Curee said. “We want to see carriers adopting fewer platforms in order to increase compliance and eliminate app and portal fatigue.”
While building out custom solutions is an important part of many brokerages’ road maps, some tools — especially those that require significant maintenance and regular updates — are better outsourced for maximum efficiency.
“One of the big reasons we decided to partner with Trucker Tools is because when you build, there is maintenance tied to it,” Curee said. “Trucker Tools is going to continue to develop as technology changes. This way I get to ride along and reap the benefits.”
Kingsgate partners with Trucker Tools in order to leverage everything the company has to offer, including predictive freight matching, capacity management, automated booking and real-time visibility. Trucker Tools proved especially attractive because a large swatch of carriers and drivers are already familiar with the Trucker Tools platform, and many already have the app downloaded and ready to use.
By utilizing a platform carriers are already familiar with, Kingsgate is able to strengthen compliance and improve its overall relationship with carrier partners while having access to all the high-tech tools needed to run its operations.
Kingsgate recently launched a branded carrier portal through Trucker Tools, allowing it to take advantage of all the solutions Trucker Tools offers while keeping its branding consistent across its operations and creating custom workflows.
Ultimately, it is partnerships like these that will enable brokers to keep pace with the logistics industry’s rapidly evolving technological landscape. This will become even more important as technology continues to advance and both industry partners and end consumers continue to expect increasing transparency within the supply chain.