Over 50 of today’s most innovative and disruptive companies in the logistics industry stepped on stage during FreightWaves LIVE Chicago to present live product demos.
Their challenge was to show off their products through engaging seven-minute presentations — with no PowerPoints allowed. Attendees voted on demos from both the first and second days of the conference, and the following seven companies took home Best in Show trophies.
Shipper 360 by J.B. Hunt
J.B. Hunt demonstrated its next release of Shipper 360. J.B. Hunt Director of Product Innovation Mark Brewer announced a brand new multi-modal freight marketplace. This marketplace is combining an industry-leading intermodal platform with an industry-leading digital freight-matching platform.
In his presentation, Brewer demonstrated how to create a Shipper 360 account, book a load based on the most efficient loads available in real time and view other load options for the next 14 days as well as shipping patterns for each day of the week — all in under six minutes.
“We are excited about any size shipper using this platform; We really think small to medium businesses are going to love it as they will have the ability to drive out inefficiencies, optimize their transportation and stay connected with real-time visibility.” Brewer said.
Workhound
Workhound demonstrated its platform, which allows drivers to provide real-time feedback on their experiences. The platform can help fleets improve retention by up to 30%, according to Workhound CEO and Co-founder Max Farrell.
In an industry notorious for turnover, the platform enables companies to go one step further in the fight to retain employees. The platform is proactive rather than reactive so drivers’ concerns are addressed before they quit, Farrell said.
Currently, 20,000 drivers are providing anonymous feedback through the company’s mobile application.
Redwood Logistics
Redwood Logistics, which offers freight brokering and third-party logistics services throughout North America, launched Redwood Platform Services in conjunction with the company’s release of RedwoodConnect 2.0, a supply chain integration platform that simplifies and streamlines the integration process.
Redwood Platform Services is “a no-code integration platform” and puts the focus on innovation and optimization.
“We’ve built this to simplify the connectivity process,” Chief Innovation Officer Eric Rempel said. “At Redwood, we are betting on Redwood Platform Services to not only create data supply chains for our customers, and that includes shippers, carriers and 3PLs, but to also improve our digital freight brokerage offering.”
K-Ratio
Commodities trading adviser K-Ratio used FreightWaves LIVE Chicago to launch its new card service. A company’s report, or “card,” is made up of visual elements displaying different types of graphs, metrics, filters and tables, all populated with data that K-Ratio extracts and organizes from a company’s transportation management software. The cards make it easy to gain actionable insights from K-Ratio’s freight intelligence dashboard.
“The goal is to get around storytelling and gut instincts to make decisions because those often have biases,” said Zachary Brictson, K-Ratio’s senior business intelligence analyst.
Idelic
Idelic has developed data management tools that help fleet operators reduce accidents and driver turnover.
The company’s Idelic Safety Suite provides machine-learning models to identify which drivers are most at risk of accidents and even prevent accidents from happening. Some of Idelic’s customers have seen 40-50% reductions in accidents, according to Hayden Cardiff, CEO and co-founder of Idelic.
The company released the Idelic Driver App. From in-cab devices, drivers can see what actions may have caused their safety scores to change and if any training has been assigned.
“Gone are the days when a driver comes into your office and they are oblivious to their behaviors. Now you can go in and coach on those specific behaviors and get buy-in from your drivers and help them engage with you as they continue to improve,” Cardiff said. “Your accidents will be reduced and your retention will rise.”
KeepTruckin
KeepTruckin Senior Technology Partnerships Manager Kelly Hanson demonstrated the company’s newest feature, Facility Insights. The feature makes dwell time data from 120,000 facilities across the U.S. available to carriers.
Carriers can see a facility’s expected dwell times before accepting or declining a load. This helps carriers know what to expect before arriving at a facility, and it gives them the opportunity to make better decisions for both their drivers and their bottom line.
“We think about how we can help our carriers grow their businesses, not just manage compliance and safety,” KeepTruckin CEO Shoaib Makani told FreightWaves after the feature was released. “We believe Facility Insights will allow them to make better decisions on which customers to serve.”
The company also has a mobile application that lets drivers receive dispatch information and share data with brokerages and logistics providers.
Platform Science
Platform Science provides carriers with flexible and future-proof IoT fleet management. The company demonstrated how carriers can customize the in-motion driver experience to become more efficient.
“What if remote platform management (RPM) was able to access driver duty status and customize their experience based on what they are doing? You can make sure that your driver isn’t doing anything non-compliant when they’re off duty,” said Darrin Demchuk, Platform Science vice president of product management. “The same thing is available in reverse, so you can make sure entertainment applications are only available to your driver when they are off duty or in the sleeper berth.”
Carriers can also enable their lock screens to display relevant information, like trailer IDs and locations, to the driver. This allows the driver to see important information while driving, so they do not have to look for it elsewhere and risk distraction.
FreightWaves reporters Jessica Boggs, Chris Gillis, Eric Kulisch, Noi Mahoney and Ashley Coker contributed to this report.
