Winners demonstrate industry-leading visibility, shipment execution, and technical innovation
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time, project44 (p44) has designated three leading carriers as “Carrier of the Year.” The awards identify the top performing carriers connected into project44’s logistics network, which facilitates the most API-based freight transactions in North America. Winners were selected in three categories based on consistently high performance in real-time visibility and shipment execution through the implementation of industry-leading technical innovation.
At project44’s fall technology summit, projectAUTOMATE, Gartner analysts reported that below average companies were 2.5 times more likely to be conservative adopters on technology, and leaders were nearly 6 times more likely to be early adopters of technology. This year’s winners are widening their competitive advantage by leveraging technology to strengthen real-time information flow and support the growing market demand for more visible freight services.
“Innovative carrier partners like CFI, Estes Express, and FedEx Freight are accelerating digital transformation, and are integral to the success of project44’s multimodal, API-first approach,” said Tommy Barnes, President of project44. “We truly believe it’s important to recognize those who have gone above-and-beyond expectations to enable true end-to-end visibility, eliminate the friction of integration, and deliver highly refined customer-centric initiatives in far less time.”
The 2017 winners include:
Full Truckload Carrier of the Year – CFI
An award of this caliber recognizes an organization focused on fundamentally re-shaping how to provide comprehensive truckload tracking data and deliver a more visible, predictable, and reliable transportation network.
This year’s recipient, CFI which is a part of North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, TFI International (TSX:TFI)(OTCQX:TFIFF), creates efficiencies for their customers with instant visibility into shipment history and status, enabling faster and smarter decision making with access to the right transportation information at the right time. That means risk can be detected in advance, and ETA projections are more accurate and timely.
Beyond the important execution and visibility metrics considered in selecting its winner, project44 also values the internal processes implemented across multiple business units and systems at CFI to streamline internal productivity and decrease operating costs.
“Rolling out a digital approach across all business units, including our brokerage operation, has enabled improved speed and productivity. CFI customers are benefiting from increased visibility, responsiveness, and capacity to serve their needs more effectively,” stated Greg Orr, President of CFI. “We’re honored to receive the 2017 Truckload Carrier of the Year Award from project44, and look forward to continuing work with them to better meet future customer expectations for visibility.”
Less Than Truckload Carrier of the Year – Estes Express
In 2017, a majority of Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) carriers invested in inward technology like handhelds and dock systems, but had yet to fully build out external, best-in-class API connectivity with their customers and partners. These awards have been launched to recognize those leading the charge to improve their customer-facing technology stack.
This award recognizes a top LTL carrier leveraging API-driven connectivity to enhance their customers’ shipping experiences by providing visibility into shipments, documents, costs, inventory, and invoices. Estes Express has been a partner of project44 since the technology provider’s inception. In addition to becoming a leading voice in the movement towards modern digitalization, Estes continually find new ways to deliver top-quality transportation solutions to their growing customer base.
“In today’s world, speed is essential. That’s exactly what Estes provides us via API connectivity with project44’s network. Within seconds, we’re able to get visibility into shipment dispatch, tracking and delivery documentation directly within our TMS workflows,” stated Mike Grayson, Executive Vice President at Worldwide Express. “Most importantly, I know the data is 100% accurate and up-to-date—increasing my confidence in selecting Estes as our carrier of choice and my ability to make strategic transportation decisions for our clients.”
“Estes Express values our reputation as a quality carrier with consistent, premier service. We’re proud that those at project44 recognize our commitment to exceeding customer expectations through technology and have awarded us as their 2017 LTL Carrier of the Year,” said Estes Express President and CEO, Rob Estes.
Volume LTL Carrier of the Year – FedEx Freight
Volume LTL is used for shipments larger than LTL (12 linear feet, 6 pallets), but smaller than TL (53 linear feet, 30 pallets). This is important because a few linear feet can make a big difference when it comes to shipping costs. Yet shippers and 3PLs often find it hard to take advantage of Volume LTL rates since the process for securing that capacity can involve several time-consuming and costly e-mails, faxes, and phone calls.
Transportation leaders at FedEx Freight are leveraging automation solutions to fundamentally re-shape the Volume LTL (and LTL) shipping experience for both the transportation carrier and their customers. The 2017 launch of the FedEx Freight API Integration Program demonstrates their leadership in this space—a first of its kind program that makes access to FedEx Freight shipping automation seamless and efficient for all customers by replacing legacy EDI connections or manual processes with modern API technology.
One such customer levering the advantages of this automation is GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., an Arizona-based leading technology-driven 3PL freight management solution provider. “Working with FedEx Freight allows us to embrace new web service capabilities and the resulting benefits at a faster pace,” said Dave Bush, Senior Vice President of Carrier Relations & Pricing at GlobalTranz. “Within days, our team had instant visibility into real-time volume LTL quotes and transit times without any manual intervention—immediately increasing our shipping efficiency and enabling smarter decision making.”
About project44
project44 enables you to deliver stronger value to your customers, through the power of transportation information. By digitizing the entire shipment lifecycle, we ensure access to the right information, at the right time—creating a smarter end-to-end shipping experience.
With project44, automate the full shipment lifecycle from quote-to-invoice to see real-time, end-to-end information symmetry. Our multimodal, one-to-many model gets you connected to the largest network of capacity providers in the most streamlined way, empowering you to immediately support new automations and carriers without spending IT resources or wasting time on complex integrations, improving the productivity and efficiency of your entire business.
Learn more:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/freightpipes
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/9265792/
- Blog: http://p-44.com/blog
Contacts
project44
Ally Lynch, 312-300-4899
VP of Marketing