Digital Freight Matching

Uber said it plans to invest more than $200 million annually in the facility in the form of headcount, real estate development, and other expenses.

This paper details how logistics service providers need to step up their game and not be afraid of digitization, and how to secure leading market positions for years to come.

Late last month, Uber Freight, a subsidiary of the ubiquitous, ride-sharing service Uber, whose proprietary app matches trucking companies with loads to haul, announced it has expanded into Germany.

As shippers continue to face challenges like the truck driver shortage, capacity crunches, and rising freight costs, digital freight matching helps to fill the gap between the nation’s independent carriers and the companies that rely on them.

Chicago-based transportation management services provider Coyote Logistics, a subsidiary of freight transportation and logistics services bellwether UPS, this week introduced a new program and digital freight platform upgrades to better meet the needs and challenges shippers and carriers are facing.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based GlobalTranz, a full-service 3PL focused on freight brokerage and technology, announced today it has rolled out a new digital freight matching (DFM) offering, entitled GTZamp (Automated Movement Planning) for enterprise shipper customers that meshes the speed and ease of DFM with enhanced, multi-movement planning capabilities.

While headlines trumpet startups that promise to fix one of freight shipping’s biggest inefficiencies, it’s too early to declare victory. Shippers must look at how can DFM help with strategic transportation challenges, not just individual shipments.

Seattle-based digital freight broker Convoy rolled out automated bidding for its Request a Load service offering, which is geared towards United States-based motor carriers. Request a Load is a key component of the Convoy app deployed by carriers and allows them to directly share preferences and get them the loads they want with less effort.

Uber Freight will first establish European operations in the Netherlands in the coming weeks, with local carriers and drivers able to book and move loads with Uber Freight, at which point the company intends to expand access to European regions thereafter.

Routes cited by Convoy, in this milestone, include: major West Coast markets such as Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles; Midwest routes from Chicago, Cincinnati and Milwaukee; routes from Texas markets such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio; Northeast routes from New York and Philadelphia and Southeast routes from Atlanta, among others.

Seattle-based Convoy, a digital freight technology-enabled network, recently announced it secured $185 million in Series C funding.