Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (September 27, 2024)

By Adrian Gonzalez

Did you hear that there might be a port strike next week at U.S. East Coast ports?

I’m kidding, of course. Not about the potential strike, but about not hearing about it.

My inbox was flooded this week with newsletters and marketing emails telling me about it — “Click here to learn what actions you should take now to minimize the impact.”

The truth is that this threat of a strike has been looming like a dark cloud over the industry for many months. The time to take action (such as bringing in product earlier or shifting to West Coast ports) was back in June or earlier; there is very little you can do about it now, other than say a prayer the two sides reach an agreement by the end of Monday, or that President Biden gets involved, neither of which seem likely today.

I’m not trying to trivialize the impact a port shutdown would have on supply chains. By some estimates, the strike could cost the U.S. economy $5 billion per day. I’m just saying this was a known risk for some time, and if you didn’t take actions weeks ago to minimize its impact (even if your options were limited), then there is even less you can do about it now.

Or maybe you can ask ChatGPT because, you know, AI can solve everything.

Moving on, here is the rest of this week’s supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention (as well as some that I missed last week when I was in Vienna).

Lots Happening in the Technology Realm

Acquisitions, partnerships, and new solutions — we continue to see them all in the technology realm.

Last week Descartes acquired MyCarrierPortal, “a leading provider of carrier onboarding and risk monitoring solutions for the trucking industry.” As described in the press release:

MCP’s solutions help freight brokers and shippers quickly set up carrier requirements through an onboarding platform that gathers information on carriers and screens them for suitability to deliver loads/shipments based on the broker’s risk and compliance criteria. Truck carriers are screened for legitimacy, insurance compliance, and an acceptable safety record. Carriers that are onboarded to the platform are monitored on an ongoing basis to help ensure continued compliance. If a carrier falls out of compliance, the customer is notified to take appropriate action with that carrier.

This type of solution is becoming increasingly important in light of the growing freight fraud problem in the industry, as I wrote about earlier this month in “Freight Fraud: How Good Are Your Processes To Prevent It?”

Descartes also announced this week that it will “showcase supply chain and logistics technology innovations for transportation management; routing, mobile and telematics; and freight forwarders, customs brokers and air cargo at its 2024 Innovation Forum event, which takes place October 8-10, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago.” I’ll be speaking and moderating panel discussions at the event, so I’ll share some takeaways when I return.

In other news, Magaya Corporation announced that it has acquired Omniboom, an Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS) provider “specializing in equipping businesses of all sizes with the connected technology foundation they need to thrive in the dynamic global e-commerce landscape.” Here are some excerpts from the press release:

The combined Magaya and Omniboom offering enables connected supply chains as a service for a broad range of logistics service providers, with robust and user-friendly integrations of business-critical apps such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Narvar, and many others.

Chris Pacetti, Co-Founder at Omniboom, commented, “As we move forward as part of the Magaya team, together we will enable more businesses to streamline the integration of various applications and systems, enhancing data flow and operational efficiency.”

Integration is not fun to talk about, but it’s critically important in supply chain and logistics because the flow of data and information between systems and trading partners is like the circulatory system in the human body: you die without it.

Integration has never been easy, and I doubt it will ever be “plug and play” as often promised, but it’s certainly a less painful process today than it was 25 years ago when I entered the industry, thanks to more standardization in system architectures/technologies (e.g., APIs and web services) and the introduction IPaaS offerings.

In short, as I’ve said many times over the years, logistics and supply chain software is not enough; you also need connected networks.

Finally, last week McLeod Software announced an enhanced partnership with Greenscreens.ai that “brings advancements in freight market pricing, empowering freight brokers to make data-driven decisions more quickly and accurately.” Here are some excerpts from the press release:

Through the partnership, users can now view automated target rate and maximum pay calculations using Greenscreens’ predictive rate data as an indicator for each load. Network rates, which are based on Greenscreens’ market data, are also available for users to reference when quoting. Additionally, daily transmission of updated lane rate information through Market Rate Export within McLeod ensures brokers have access to the latest data.

Greenscreens stands out with its unique data collection methods, as the platform gathers data in real-time from its users, ensuring unmatched accuracy and timeliness. By mapping all collected data based on the TMS and then remapping it based on the client within that TMS, Greenscreens delivers highly customized and precise historic and predictive pricing.

McLeod users can now quote by leveraging the real-time AI-driven market rate data provided by Greenscreens, enabling precise target and maximum pay calculations. The integration also allows for seamless synchronization of PowerBroker carrier and customer data within Greenscreens, making it easier to maintain accurate and current information.

This is yet another example of how real-time market data is being integrated with transportation management systems — used by shippers, carriers, and brokers — to help them make more informed data-driven decisions.

You can add a corollary to what I said above: transportation software is not enough; you also need integrated market data.

And with that, I’ll leave you with this Song of the Week, a relatively new song that time travels you back to the 1960s.

Have a meaningful weekend!

Song of the Week: “Happiness” by The Heavy Heavy