The FreightWaves Research Institute announces the inaugural Freight.Tech 100 and Freight.Tech 25. These annual awards are intended to recognize the most innovative and disruptive companies in freight, and nominations are now open.
The Freight.Tech 100 is a list of the top 100 nominations for the most innovative companies in freight today. Nominations come from FreightWaves readers. The FreightWaves Research Institute will collaborate with the FreightWaves editorial staff to determine the top 100 candidates from all nominations received. Freight.Tech 25 winners will be selected from the Freight.Tech 100 list.
The 100 companies chosen as the Freight.Tech 100 will be published on the FreightWaves website, along with a small profile on each winner.
To add a layer of independence and credibility to the award, FreightWaves has hired an independent accounting firm to handle the entirety of the Freight.Tech 25 voting process.
“We wanted a well-respected firm that has been focused on transportation for many years and we’re very pleased to partner with Katz, Sapper & Miller on this initiative,” FreightWaves EVP of Research Arlen Stark said.
“We are honored to assist FreightWaves in recognizing the Freight.Tech 25 companies. Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM) has been a trusted advisor supporting the transportation industry for more than 75 years and is pleased to be part of this groundbreaking initiative,” said Tim Almack, partner-in-charge of Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Transportation Services Group. “The Freight.Tech 25 will highlight the key companies that have made significant technological and/or economic advancements to impact the transportation space, and we are looking forward to seeing the survey results and learning from these innovative leaders.”
The firm will present the Freight.Tech 100 list to a hand-picked panel of voters. This esteemed peer group is the “Who’s Who” of CEOs, industry leaders and investors actively investing in freight today. The individuals that have agreed to participate as voters will be made public prior to the voting process. Voting is targeted for mid-October 2018.
“We will have zero influence on the outcome of the Freight.Tech 25, and that is by design. This is not a pay-to-play award,” said FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller.
The voters will select the Freight.Tech 25 winners from the Freight.Tech 100 list through a simple, points-based system. Companies will receive 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 points for each second-place vote, and so on through the 25th ranking. The mathematical formula is the same as the one used for the Amway College Football Coaches Poll, the AP Pro32 rankings and the AP Top 25 rankings for men’s and women’s college basketball.
Voting will be conducted annually via an electronic form sent to voters by the accounting firm. Voters will be permitted to vote for their own companies if they are on the Freight.Tech 100 list. However, each company may only be ranked once per voter.
The recipients of the Freight.Tech 25 will be revealed at MarketWaves18, which will take place in Grapevine, TX on November 12-13. The top five companies will receive special recognition.
Readers may nominate as many companies as they wish for the Freight.Tech 100, but nominees must be actively innovating in freight to be considered for the award. Any company connected to the industry can be considered and could include OEMs, carriers, 3PLs, tech companies, railroads, startups, insurance companies, fintech, TMS providers, telematics providers, cell carriers, etc. – you name it.
FreightWaves and KSM are the only companies active in freight that will be ineligible. Nominations for the Freight.Tech 100 must be submitted via the nomination form on the FreightWaves website by September 30, 2018 to be considered.
The FreightWaves Research Institute is a new endeavor for FreightWaves. The Research Institute will be focused on surveys, research, awards and credentialing. It will be a leading and trusted provider of insights and innovation in the transportation industry