Providing visibility on the whereabouts of shipments in transit has become essential for motor carriers to win business these days. “If you don’t provide tracking, you don’t get the load,” says Raymond Pierce, the Operations Project Manager for ReedTMS Logistics in Tampa, Fla.
ReedTMS on the project44 Preferred Carrier List
ReedTMS is one of the nine hundred carriers that was recently recognized by project44 for providing visibility to shippers. Because of its performance in that regard, ReedTMS earned a place on project44’s list of Preferred Carriers. To earn that distinction, a carrier has to have a high tracking percentage across multiple loads, track more than 50 loads this past year, and provide a consistent connection with project44 that provides high-fidelity data.
Although the name ReedTMS often brings to mind transportation management software, the company provides trucking and transportation brokerage services. The name reflects the merger of two companies, the brokerage firm, Reed Transport Services that combined with the motor carrier, TMS Logistics in 2010
The carrier side of the ReedTMS house has 120 tractors and 650 trailers. TMS Logistics operates terminals in Florida and Wisconsin, providing refrigerated, dry van, and flatbed delivery in the Midwest and Southeast of the United States.
Shippers Want an Amazon-like Customer Experience
Because ReedTMS provides the highest level of customer service, in-transit visibility has become an important part of its business offering. Pierce says that shippers now expect an Amazon-like customer experience when working with a carrier. “With Amazon, you can order anything and know where it is,” he says. “That expectation is now becoming a normalized standard in trucking.”
Given those expectations for Amazon-like service, Pierce says that providing in-transit visibility is fast becoming the top priority for shippers in choosing a carrier partner. “More and more visibility is the number one factor in carrier selection,” he says. “You can pick up and deliver on time. And the customer appreciates that. But if they understand when the freight is coming, they can make better decisions on their backend for their customers and buyers.”
Pierce has worked with a number of real-time transportation vendors (RTTV) and believes that project44 stands out above the others for a couple of reasons. First, project44 makes it easier for carriers to connect to its platform because, in Pierce’s words, it’s “straight forward.” Project44 provides seamless integration to the electronic logging device (ELD) inside the truck, so shippers can track the load in progress. Many RTTV vendors, on the other hand, rely on mobile applications to provide updates on the trucks’ whereabouts. Pierce says that when other vendors use an app for the visibility connection, “you’re relying on the driver to make sure tracking is on all the time.”
project44’s Customer Service Difference
But the other reason that project44 stands out from other RTTV vendors is its customer service. “The level of care and dedication project44 provides is a massive separation from other vendors,” says Pierce. “Today’s world is all about convenience and how fast you can find a solution to a problem. And project44 has done a really great job in accomplishing that.”