AI Virtual Assistant to Transform Traditional Freight Brokers

Cargofy Uses AI Virtual Assistant to Replace Freight Brokers

Cargofy, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa based startup, has developed a product that they hope will make an impact on the trucking industry.

With over 80% of all goods being transported by trucks, it made sense to Cargofy CEO, Stakh Vozniak, to launch a company that would provide technological solutions to streamline the industry for independent truckers.

Vozniak developed a mobile app that would provide truckers easy access to freight loads based on their location, available equipment, route and shipment plans.

Cargofy also creates a more seamless transaction model for owner/operator truckers with their billing and payment methods.

One advantage that Cargofy has incorporated into their software is their price calculation with neural-net. Thanks to this service can offer a fixed CPM (cost per mile) which includes maintenance, leasing payments, depreciation, salaries, and profit for every driver. Even in regions where shippers pay a price that is less than the CPM, Cargofy makes up the difference in their compensation. A driver will know what wage to expect while using this technology. For example, if the fixed CPM is $1.8 and Cargofy guarantees 10,000 miles per month, a driver using their app can expect to receive $180,000 at the end of the month.

With the AI algorithm analyzing all the metrics such as supply/demand, price dynamics, seasonality, weather, road conditions, etc. – the app can instantaneously calculate the market price. Another advantage of the app is the amount of revenue that truckers can save. With traditional dispatching companies, owner-operators lose more than 60% of their profit. Cargofy eliminates the $200 per load fee that traditional companies use and are also able to find and book the loads in a fraction of the time!

Vozniak stated, “I know that driving a truck and making a decent living it is not an easy job. Almost 3% of all working Americans are truck drivers. Our mission as a company is to simplify their lives. That’s why our team created a 24/7 virtual assistant - kind of a “Siri for truck drivers” mobile app. Cargofy Partner helps truckers to search for nearby loads, generate documents, calculate routes, and save money with a virtual discount card for fuel, tires, truck maintenance and factoring fees. Our AI algorithms help truck drivers to save $18,000 per year just on brokers’ fees!”

Since their launch in 2017, Cargofy has already:

• Began operating in 3 countries (United States, Ukraine, and India)
• Grown to 20+ team members
• Acquired over 400 active truck drivers
• Completed 2,000+ orders
• Earned more than $2.5M in total sales
• Was chosen as #2 fastest growing company in Iowa (based on Inc. 5000)

Using artificial intelligence, Cargofy hopes to transform the trucking industry into using an AI-powered freight broker, which can do all the processes without human involvement.

The mobile app uses a truck matching system to match trucks to freights. Based on a trucks status, location, parameters, and empty space they will be automatically matched up to a freight. Additionally, Cargofy has incorporated automatic generation of documents into the app. Drivers are readily able to scan and sign documents while on the road, making it virtually paperless!

Cargofy makes for a much safer day for truckers – their app includes order tracking which eliminates truckers need to answer their phone while driving. Long gone are the days where freight brokers must call their truck delivery drivers multiple times per day to check in on their location. This fully automated app tracks the GPS location using the driver’s smartphone which allows shippers to know in real time exactly where an order is. The app also assists with payment control and reviewing, which can help independent truckers gain more credibility and ensure they are receiving payment for their deliveries. Furthermore, owner-operator truckers traditionally would have to pay dispatching companies $200 per load, but this cost is cut down significantly – Cargofy only charges 4.99% commission.

Owner-operator David, from Iowa City, IA said that he uses Cargofy to find loads almost every day. “If I need an order, I place a request using Cargofy Partner. Then the mobile app does everything else”. The algorithm considers his location, preferable directions, and minimum cost per mile, and then analyzes thousands of nearby loads and chooses the most suitable ones, automatically.

“Just what I need to do it confirm the proposed load and preparing for the delivery. Cargofy generates all the necessary documents instantly after approval. I worked with the brokerage company, and they charged 12% for the exact same services, but there were human factors and slow speed of execution, which I don’t find with Cargofy. The app works 24/7 and charges only 4.99%.”

Cargofy has brought about a change of paradigm and shift of the usual way of work for truck drivers.

With access to 30,000 loads daily, truckers are not limited using this virtual assistant app. Through integrations with load boards and gateway services such as Post Everywhere, Cargofy can provide access to this large number of loads for truckers.

Related Article: Artificial Intelligence to Thrive in Logistics Industry

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