Freight Hub Group is Changing 3PL with a Tech-Focused Approach
Much is written about how tech is changing the world in a general sense, but it can also be instructive to dive into specific examples of this process taking place in order to highlight its occurrence. One great place to see the effect of modern technology is in the area of third-party logistics (3PL). Freight Hub Group, a leader in the 3PL industry, has been using technology to change the very foundation of the customer experience. Read on to see what this looks like in practice and to examine how the company implements new tech into its daily work.
3PL’s past
In order to better appreciate where we are and where we’re going, it can help to first examine the past. In the case of 3PL, the industry’s past has often been stodgy and slow-moving. Traditionally, the field has relied on out of touch brokers with no connection to their own fleet of carriers. This has often meant that shippers were beholden to whatever deals the broker had made with carriers, leaving little room for negotiation or an agile approach to transportation. If a shipper didn’t feel their needs were being met, there wasn’t much they could do besides find another broker and potentially repeat the process.
The CEO of Freight Hub Group, Luis Lopez, witnessed the inefficiencies in the 3PL industry firsthand when he got his first job in the field as a high schooler. One thing that particularly caught his attention was the manner in which hazardous materials were being handled. Due, in part, to regulations surrounding these materials, many 3PL providers were slow to respond to customer needs when it came to transportation and storage. Seeing this, Lopez implemented an innovative same-day delivery system for hazardous materials that allowed shippers to transport such materials safely and quickly.
The implementation of that idea helped to establish the CEO as a forward thinker in his field and also helped mark the beginning of what would be an ongoing shift in the broader 3PL industry. Since then, Lopez has been working consistently to provide clients with more flexibility and agility while also dropping costs associated with transportation. More often than not, this work has relied on emerging technologies to provide services that were previously unavailable.
Benefits of a marketplace
One of the technologies that has come to play a large role in the company’s efforts are those associated with open marketplaces. Perhaps one of the most well known of these apps is Uber, which works by connecting drivers with passengers to achieve the common goal of personal transport. When a passenger opens the app, they can see drivers in their area and have access to additional details such as how far away the closest available driver is to their location. When they opt to call for a ride, the app tracks their driver’s location and also how long it will be until they arrive at their final destination.
These features are hallmarks of marketplace apps and help to provide passengers with an unprecedented degree of ease and flexibility in their journey. The details enumerated above help passengers plan their daily activities and know with a great deal of accuracy all of the important details related to personal transportation.
This level of information sharing is part of the inspiration for the 3PL company’s own marketplace app — TruckHub. By using the benefits of an open marketplace, the company is able to provide customers with an “Uber-like” experience. That is to say that they are able to access important details related to their transportation needs that can help them achieve greater flexibility and a greater ability to plan their efforts.
Technology features
To that end, TruckHub provides shippers with a centralized dashboard through which they can access important information about carriers, in much the same way an Uber user would be able to see driver details. The TruckHub interface allows users to see all drivers in the system as well as the jobs in which they are currently engaged, their location, and when they will be available for a new job.
The app also allows users to have access to a suite of important job details while their goods are being transported. This includes access to the GPS coordinates of their shipment, updated delivery estimates, and messages from the carrier. If there is documentation associated with the shipment, this is also available through the app’s interface. By providing users with these details, the company is working to ensure that they can more fully control their transportation experience.
Carrier fleet
In addition to its transportation management system, the company also operates a fleet of carriers and other physical transportation and storage assets to help customers fulfill their logistics needs. With its full truckload services, the company can provide shippers with a wide range of transportation services throughout the contiguous 48 states.
The company also offers transportation options local to the South Florida area through its less-than-truckload (LTL) services. These services can be useful for last-mile delivery and other short trips for which a full truckload delivery would be unnecessary. The company also connects with local airports and seaports in order to facilitate the transportation of goods to and from international points of entry. Due to its location, the company can serve both the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, providing customers with a high degree of flexibility when it comes to arranging local transportation.
While there’s currently a wide degree of understanding that our world is changing significantly due to technological progress, it is still useful to examine the specifics of how this is manifesting. One great example of this march towards a more tech-based future is the efforts of Freight Hub Group. Through a range of innovative actions, such as the creation of TruckHub, the company is working to empower customers and help them break free from the traditional structure of the 3PL industry. For those interested in the progress being made in 3PL or any other area of the economy, the efforts of the company bear further examination. Look to its website or online presence to see more about the use of technology in its efforts.
Read more about Freight Hub Group at https://www.infotechinc.net/freight-hub-group-technology/