New project44 offering focused on real-time volume LTL quoting and tendering

Chicago-based project44, a technology services provider offering standardized, secure Web service API (application programming interfaces) integrations enabling 3PLs and shippers to connect with carriers in real time, announced today it rolled out new offerings focused on enabling a real-time and fully automated volume less-than-truckload (LTL) quoting and tendering.

While securing a volume LTL freight quote for shipments larger than 12 linear feet but less than 28 linear feet is viewed labor-intensive and time-consuming, project44 said that new offering comes up with an alternative to that process by providing an access point to real time volume LTL rates and significantly lowering the time required to quote shipments to a few seconds, as opposed to more traditional methods like phone calls and e-mails. And the company added that the customer benefits are significant in that they are able to boost productivity, cut down on errors, offload customer service requirements, and restrict shipment rerates.

And project44’s Capacity Provider Network provides API-based connectivity for more than 70% of domestic volume LTL capacity, with this being leveraged by customers through a TMS or through its Web-based application.

In an interview withLM, project44 president Tommy Barnes said that this endeavor represents a further extension of the company’s objective to further automate the lifecycle of shipments and provide automation visibility.

“This is the next phase, and we are continuing to carve new paths to allow automation to take hold,” he said.

With volume LTL being a percentage of the over all LTL market, Barnes said there one piece being uncaptured, adding that current truckload shippers and 3PLs miss out on volume LTL opportunities, because they are not visible. The reason for that is the process is entirely manual and lacks visibility.

“They are missing an element of capacity that is right in front of them,” he said. “In today’s world, everything with volume is essentially manual. There is a person at a location calling or e-mailing a terminal and is then calling a corporate office to get a quote and then gets that quote back to a person at a terminal. There are endless amounts of people doing this, and there is a big productivity opportunity here. It will also bring more visible capacity to the marketplace.”

With the often-repeated themes of driver shortages and a lack of available capacity, Barnes said that project44 is creating capacity by working smarter and harder, which is a key element for people to see.

As for how customers view the benefits of using a real-time volume LTL offering, Dave Bush, Senior Vice President of Carrier Relations & Pricing at GlobalTranz, noted that “project44 is the only technology provider in the market that allowed it to embrace new volume API capabilities and connections without having to devote significant internal development resources to do the same.

“Within days of signing a contract, our team could secure real-time volume quotes and transit times from an entire network of carriers – immediately increasing our productivity, helping us make smarter decisions at a much quicker pace, all while allowing our internal resources to focus on other critical initiatives,” he said.