newsworthy
A SOFTWARE VENDOR CALLED “PROJECT 44” HAS
introduced a program it says will dramatically improve
the speed of data exchanges between shippers, less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, and third-party logistics service
providers (3PLs) compared with the technology that has
existed for decades.
The Chicago-based vendor is inviting companies to participate in free tests of the speed of their data-interchange
connections. Project 44 will run a 72-hour “health scan”
to evaluate more than 15 key technical capabilities of the
companies’ application programming interfaces—better
known in the IT trade as APIs—which are add-ons to
transportation management system (TMS) platforms now
in widespread use. The scans will gauge each user’s ability
to provide fast and accurate rate quotes, automate pickup
requests from shippers and 3PLs, provide clear tracking
codes, and confirm delivery with real-time documentation,
Project 44 said.
Armed with that information, carriers can decide whether their current networks meet their needs and find out
how they compare with other carriers and industry averages in the ongoing effort to reduce billing errors, provide
increased visibility to customers, and ultimately increase
profits, the company said.
The Web-enabled tool is the latest step of a rapid rollout
that has seen Project 44 link its APIs to the TMS platforms
of software developers like MercuryGate International Inc.
and McLeod Software Corp. The tool performs in much the
same way as the engines that support online travel booking
sites like Kayak and Travelocity.
Like adding nitrous oxide to a drag racer’s fuel line,
linking a nimble API to a lumbering TMS allows it to
produce faster, more accurate price quotes than through
the standard electronic data interchange (EDI) approach,
according to Jett McCandless, Project 44’s co-founder.
McCandless has made a name for himself by applying new
technologies to an industry not known as a first-mover in
adopting new IT tools. He also made a splash last month
by hiring C. Thomas Barnes, who had run LTL operations
for Chicago-based freight broker Coyote Logistics LLC, as
Project 44’s president. Barnes had resigned from Coyote
five months after it was bought by Atlanta-based UPS Inc.
Created in 1948, EDI is a one-way communication standard that requires users to exchange data in batches that
are processed every 15 to 45 minutes. In a world where
shippers and 3PLs are constantly trying to match rates with
carriers, that slow pace of conversation forces users to rely
on static rate tables compiled once a year or, at best, on a
seasonal basis, McCandless said. An API-based communication system automates that exchange, allowing users to
generate dynamic price quotes that can vary from day to
day, reflecting the complex and fast-changing transportation industry.
“It’s like having a fax machine, and then upgrading to
e-mail, text, and social media,” McCandless said. “Imagine
how successful text messaging would be if it took 30 minutes to get each response? You’d never get anything done.”
RIVAL SAYS API MUST COEXIST WITH EDI
Though supplementing TMS platforms with APIs is a
crucial ingredient in generating quick price quotes, it can’t
solve every challenge alone, said Danny Slaton, executive
vice president and COO of SMC3 Inc., a rival transportation pricing software provider that has been providing LTL
pricing content for 85 years.
SMC3 integrates its Web service APIs with supply
chain software providers to support its products, such as
“CzarLite,” “Bid$ense,” and “RateWare,” which combine
to support end-to-end predictability in shipper p. 16
IT firm rolls out platform to expedite data
exchange among carriers, 3PLs, shippers
