Link to original article: Tech Vendors Introduce Latest Offerings for 3PLs at TIA
Technology vendors showcase their latest products and services at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
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PHOENIX — From business process automation to fraud prevention, industry technology developers rolled out a broad range of new software features and service offerings for third-party logistics providers at the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference.
During an April 10 media day event, more than two dozen companies showcased their latest products aimed at helping 3PLs automate manual processes, increase worker efficiency, boost freight visibility and tackle the growing problem of fraud in the transportation industry.
Mitigating Fraud
Several companies highlighted their efforts to prevent fraud and strengthen carrier vetting.
• Supply chain technology vendor Descartes announced the launch of its Descartes MacroPoint FraudGuard feature to provide proactive fraud protection and prevention.
This service, available for free to subscribers of the MacroPoint visibility platform, is designed to help freight brokers, 3PLs and shippers identify and prevent fraud related to carrier information, load tracking and shipment status.
Dan Cicerchi of Descartes outlines the company’s new FraudGuard feature at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
FraudGuard monitors billions of data points in real time to detect and block fraudulent data, said Dan Cicerchi, general manager of transportation management.
He cited a variety of fraudulent activities that have become increasingly common in the supply chain, including stolen loads, hostage loads, double brokering, mode switching and overpromising capacity.
“In our industry this type of behavior ebbs and flows, but it’s as bad as I’ve seen it,” Cicerchi said.
• Startup firm WireBee introduced its specialized telecommunications service for freight brokers and 3PLs focused on preventing phone-based fraud and boosting worker efficiency.
The service provides authenticity and compliance checks on incoming calls, including detection of spoofed caller IDs and looking up the caller number in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database.
Users also can prioritize calls from in-network carriers in the call queue or reject calls about loads that are already covered.
Andre Temnorod, WireBee’s CEO and co-founder, said he believes phone fraud will become more prevalent as the industry makes progress toward mitigating email-based fraud.
WireBee’s service, currently undergoing beta testing with a full launch targeted for this summer, will initially be available as an add-on compatible with cloud phone services such as RingCentral, 8×8 and Vonage.
Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski introduces the company’s Carrier Sourcing tool at TIA’s 2024 Capital Ideas Conference. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
• Freight software vendor Trucker Tools launched Carrier Sourcing, a new carrier vetting product for freight brokers.
Carrier Sourcing enables brokers to find new carriers by searching the Trucker Tools network of 350,000 carriers using the company’s mobile app.
The product includes a Lane Search feature to help brokers source carriers for specific lanes based on real-time and historical carrier data, such as historical tracking compliance, years of authority, fleet size, origin, destination and equipment type.
It also includes a Carrier Check feature to confirm carrier capabilities and compliance.
“Fraud is on the rise,” said Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski. “Sourcing quality carriers is really the only way to thrive.”
• Cargo Chief, a provider of capacity, pricing and digital freight matching tools for freight brokers, announced a new carrier rating tool in its C4 platform.
The new Carrier Quality Scoring feature integrates with various third-party compliance tools and enables brokers to score and rate their carriers while providing more visibility and control over the carrier selection process.
“Fraud and double brokering are still top of mind for pretty much everybody in the industry, making compliance and identity more important than ever,” said Kirk Franzen, the company’s chief technology officer.
Business Process Automation
Another key trend in logistics technology development is the use of automation and artificial intelligence to improve workflows and decision-making.