US intermodal picking up steam as trucking woes continue
After a long trough of sluggish performance, US intermodal traffic is growing, and the market ...
© Timon Schneider |
Uber Freight is blazing a trail in truck scheduling. Four months after the publication of a set of standards, Uber is first through the gates with a scheduling application interface (API) based on these rules.
The company had joined hands with Convoy and JB Hunt in December 2022 to launch an initiative for the creation of truck scheduling standards that would enable the integration of systems across the fragmented sector and establish visibility to all parties involved.
The founding trio of the Scheduling Standards Consortium were joined by tech providers like Oracle, One Network and BlueYonder and logistics firms including DHL Supply Chain, Ryder System, Lineage Logistics and online brokerage Coyote Logistics. At the beginning of last October the consortium unveiled the completed set of standards on open source community GitHub.
Today, Uber Freight announced a pilot programme for its newly developed API, following tests on its digital marketplace showed that loads could be ready for coverage as much as 75% faster than through manual scheduling.
“Uber Freight’s scheduling API marks a significant leap forward in streamlining operations for all stakeholders in the freight ecosystem”, claimed CEO and founder Lior Ron.
“By seamlessly integrating with Uber Freight TMS, this innovation is just the beginning of transformative changes. Our customers and carriers stand to gain immediate advantages, experiencing faster appointment scheduling, increased visibility, and stronger partnerships.”
According to Uber, the API “empowers seamless integration between logistics technology platforms and carrier scheduling systems, eliminating manual processes and enhancing visibility across supply chains”.
Truckers will benefit from simplified integrations, earlier visibility of loads, improved appointment accuracy and heightened operational efficiency by leveraging real-time data, while shippers can expedite the scheduling process and gain better visibility and control over their traffic.
Raj Subbiah, head of product at Uber Freight, claimed the improved efficiency generates considerable cost savings through the elimination of manual processes. His company handled some 6m loads across over 1,500 facilities in 2023.
“We attribute almost $10 per load as the pure human cost,” Mr Subbiah said.
The API pilot involves a number of shippers from the consumer packaged goods sector. After the pilot, the roll-out will be extended to all customers with at least a facility on Uber’s TMS. This is expected in the second half of the year.
Mr Subbiah reckons most of the integration with the other large transport management system (TMS) providers that have joined the standards consortium should be done by the end of the year, and added that the TMS providers have been eager to participate.
Uber Freight’s API is purely for its own TMS; other TMS providers are developing their own versions, Mr Subbiah confirmed. Mr Ron stated last year that the company was evolving into a software-as-a-service provider to open additional revenue streams.
“I think we will always be a 3PL and a 4PL,” Mr Subbiah commented.
Brokers have struggled in the soft trucking market. One of the consortium’s founders, Convoy, went out of business in October, Uber Freight and Coyote have made recent job cuts and parent UPS is contemplating the future for Coyote.
Coming up with new technology may not be enough, warned Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting.
“It’s how you use technology and what you do with it, not if you have it,” he remarked.
He pointed to the LTL industry, where a lot of carriers have APIs for tracking, yet 3PLs are “notorious” for ignoring these and contacting truckers by phone or e-mail instead.
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