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ket—and forced traditional players
to evolve and adapt.
That means a 3PL’s or broker’s
tech platform has to be able to tap
into—or otherwise effectively interact with—multiple transportation
sources, management systems, order
platforms, and online marketplaces.
Industry executives say they’re con-
sequently faced with tough decisions
about how to upgrade and modern-
ize their technology platforms to
support these new systems, which
are becoming ingrained in normal
supply chain operations. “If you
don’t, you’ll be left behind,” says
one executive.
Geoff Turner, founder and chief
executive officer of Preston, Maryland-based 3PL and freight broker Choptank
Transport, is familiar with this dilemma. Turner says Choptank’s top request
from customers is for visibility into their
loads—including where they are en route
and if they’ll meet the projected arrival
time. That’s been a challenge, especially
in a fragmented truckload market where
some 80% of capacity is provided by
thousands of “micro” carrier fleets of 10
or fewer trucks and independent own-er-operators.
Like many progressive brokers and
3PLs, Choptank has been methodically
investing in and improving the technology tools and capabilities its customers
and carrier-partners want. In a given
year, Choptank will engage with some
30,000 trucking service providers. To
help customers navigate this complexity, Choptank deployed a visibility solution from Reston, Virginia-based Trucker
Tools, which has increased carrier visibility compliance from less than 30% to
consistently between 90% and 95% of
loads, according to Turner.
“Those I speak with say not many [bro-kers and 3PLs] are seeing tracking success
at this level. It’s a benefit that goes directly
to our customers and solves one of their
most pressing needs,” he says.
Logistics has always been an evolving
and competitive space, with technology
continually pushing the boundaries. But
as Turner sees it, technology is not the
whole story. One area where he says traditional brokers still have a value advantage
is the tribal knowledge and expertise of
skilled, experienced people, and the relationships they maintain with the carrier
community.
“When there is an issue, they [carriers]
really want to talk with someone,” especially when exceptions come up or an
issue arises at the shipper’s dock. “It’s that
ability to [get on the phone with someone
and] quickly resolve an issue” that might
otherwise delay the driver or potentially
cause harm to the shipper’s supply chain.
“Carriers are our customers too, and they
want to work with people they know,
trust, and like,” so the personal connec-
