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By Helen Atkinson

www.joc.com THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE 49www.joc.com

It’s been 65 years since the container disrupted the shipping industry and 20 years since the internet burst on

the scene, offering astonishing abilities to communicate and connect with business partners and internal stakeholders everywhere, in real time. In the meantime, other remarkable advances in computing have created an exponential increase in the sheer amount of data that can be gathered and analyzed within the supply chain (and everywhere else). At first, the challenge was to determine the ultimate problem the internet would solve. Would it be best used to create online markets to buy and sell freight? Was the answer wireless devices to track freight in motion? Could it be used to better predict delivery times and thereby reduce the amount of inventory carried? Could we automate everyday transactions such as payment? The answers to all of these questions were “Yes,” and — as entirely new service providers emerged — so much more.

Transportation and logistics has traditionally been a low-tech industry, but

the advance of information technology has presented breath-taking opportunities to make operations run faster, cheaper, and better. Many bold promises have been made about what a technology-enabled supply chain would look like, but been far-fetched, expensive, or difficult to implement. Part of the problem has been that many logistics technology start-ups began with the wildly ambitious mission of finding a way to be all things to all people across the supply chain, offering a single solution that used the internet and big data to automate all operations. These vendors have now entered a new phase of realism, offering solutions that solve one particular set of problems, providing easy connectivity that allows the software to work seamlessly with other solutions that solve other sets of problems. Something else has changed; logtech providers have put their focus squarely on what customers actually want; not just what vendors can deliver. Together, these trends translate to a new age of shipping technology.

A typical example is the work being done by Advent Intermodal Solutions, an information technology company serving the marine terminal and all stakeholders in the landside logistics chain. “We get systems talking to systems instead of people talking to people,” Allen Thomas, Advent’s chief strategy officer, said. Despite shippers being able to track containers as they come across the ocean, and having good access to information about cargo in trucks or on trains, timely data get stuck when it comes to port facilities, he explained.

“What we’ve been facilitating at Advent is system-to-system level communication, where the data from marine container terminals and inland depots is routed directly into a beneficial cargo owner’s transportation management system all throughout the chain. Really, for us, it’s about exposing the data we have to the folks that need it. A lot of the same data is queried consistently by the same types of people in the supply chain, over and over.” A common scenario involves a shipper who

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has 20-30 loads they’re importing on a given ship, he said. They have arranged drayage for that load when it arrives stateside. After the boxes go on water, they need to track where the ship is, so they know when the containers are supposed to arrive, and then send work orders to their motor carriers who, in turn, pay fees and make pickup requests to their operators. In essence, everyone needs the same information, and it’s often not readily available, so the queries are being made manually, multiple times. Before Advent’s 2012 merger with online port community system eModal, everyone involved would be reviewing the same data in order to clear the cargo, and then manually paying fees, and making appointments all in different systems, Thomas explained.

Often, the information simply does not get to where it needs in time. “Then there’s a mad dash and, sometimes, all this ‘manual

inefficiency’ means a motor carrier can’t get all the boxes they want for that day. Somebody loses out,” he said. The consequences are dismally familiar to anyone involved in the supply chain – more inventory carrying, cargo at the warehouse or distribution center when it should be elsewhere, dissatisfied customers, greater expense. The list is long.

Among other benefits, eModal has enabled Advent to better tune in to what port-users and operators really wanted out of technology. “Our philosophy is to create technology solutions that could automate these routine processes that BCOs and truck dispatchers are doing every day,” Thomas said. “What we bring to the party are digitization capabilities for all stakeholders, as a means to increase optimization opportunities and operational efficiencies. The platform enables collaboration amongst the stakeholders and connects that black hole that is the marine terminal

with all of them, so they have more predictive capabilities for the whole supply chain inland. The core of the platform is really there to enable digitization of some fairly old business models. While many shippers might have optimized one region or trade lane, there’s typically no harmonized solution to collect all the port- and depot-related information and distribute it on national or continental scale. We add value by digitally connecting the BCO and their logistics partners to the systems of port authorities and terminal operators.”

Another example is SMC³, the technology platform enabling planning optimization and tracking of less-than-truckload shipments. End-to-end visibility is the holy grail of every supply chain manager, and that is only achieved through recognizing the challenging complexities at every turn. Smart solutions for each operational area need to be implemented and then stitched together. “Complete

Advent Intermodal Solutions is a leader in information technology and cloud-based

software solutions that streamline the mission-critical operations of port and terminal opera-tors and key stakeholders moving freight in the landside logistics network. Established in 1995, Advent has steadily evolved from a custom software development firm into a multinational solutions company providing a Platform as a Service, or PaaS, technology approach that helps digitize and accelerate entire business lines for its customers. Organizations that have engaged Advent for its optimization exper-tise include landside platform development projects for the PierPASS program in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Northwest Seaports Alliance, K-Line, MOL, Consolidated Chassis Management, AIM Chassis, Port Metro Vancouver; Australia’s Port of Sydney, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Port of

Virginia and numerous other marine terminals throughout North America.

Advent’ growth was greatly enhanced through its 2012 merger with eModal™, the world’s largest port community system. Now more than 40 port authorities, container terminals, and inland depots, and nearly 100,000 users trust Advent and its technol-ogy platforms such as eModal.com, chassis.com, and eModalPRO.com to optimize their operations every day. Advent has built a suc-cessful container logistics solutions practice providing systems for the management of individual or multipurpose port and terminal programs enabling truck-tracking and landside performance management, environmental programs, traffic mitigation, fee collection, and appointment/pre¬arrival solutions to drive gate and cargo velocity. Advent technology is at the core of operations in eight of the top 10 largest

port communities in North America. nADVENT AT A GLANCE

• The world’s largest landside collaboration platform.

• Connecting 40+ ports and terminals to shippers and trucking partners.

• System-to-system visibility via API for cargo status, fee payment, and terminal ap-pointments.

• 25+ years of experience.• 24/7 global support — the world’s

largest.n

PLATFORMS FOR SIMPLIFYING LANDSIDE LOGISTICS

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visibility at the less-than-truckload shipment level has historically been a difficult undertaking because LTL is inherently complex,” Brian Thompson, SMC³ chief commercial officer, said. “Unlike with the relatively straight forward world of truckload transportation, LTL simply has more supply chain stakeholders involved with every single shipment.” In every truck, LTL carriers are hauling a wide variety of goods consolidated together from a number of shipper consignments, Thompson pointed out. Bringing shipments from an array of different companies together into one truck is complicated enough, and guaranteeing complete shipment visibility across the entire supply chain for each of those packages is particularly challenging.

Something else is changing, Thompson said. “While LTL has historically been a B2B operation, continued advancements in online retail and just-in-time shipping have turned it into a B2C endeavor,” he explained, noting that this consumer-delivery model where carriers bring shipments directly to the customer adds another level of complexity to the LTL equation.

The good news is that the ability to get systems talking to one another in the same language — and the appetite for collaborative communication across the supply chain — is growing. “Technological advancements in communications among shippers, carriers, third-party logistics providers, and other stakeholders mean that complete

visibility is now a reality. For years, our API platform has provided users with information to optimize complex LTL rate and transit-time decisions and it has evolved to now also provide shipment visibility from dispatch to delivery,” Andrew Slusher, SMC³ president and CEO, said.

Freight payment and invoicing is another area where the focus has been on determining what customers really want from automation technology. “The financial supply chain has changed so much over the years,” Rick Erickson, global director of U.S. Bank Freight Payment Solutions, said. U.S. Bank set out on a mission 20 years ago to make freight invoicing, payment, and settlement into a seamless electronic process. It’s become clear, though, there are bonus benefits to be

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had from better use of the data from these processes. “In the past, it was just about getting payments made on time, and tackling the difficulty with shippers paying their carriers on time,” Erickson said. “Now that we’re doing that very effectively, we’re at the stage where we want to see what we can do with this data to make the process more efficient, and facilitate greater collaboration between shippers and carriers. We recognized from an early stage the value of the information contained in an invoice and bill of lading, and we have been asked by customers to help them do more with it.”

There is no shortage of data flooding into shippers’ IT systems. The trouble, Erickson said, is making good use of it. “It’s supposed to be easy to analyze, but many (clients) are getting buried because it’s coming from all directions. What we do is help them extract insight from the data, so they can change the way they procure freight and

change the way they arrange their freight networks.” That includes being able to predict when and why carriers are taking more or less of their freight, and turn that into actionable, prescriptive information. “The freight bill is not just an invoice for a product or service itself. It contains an enormous amount of information that’s very valuable, and we can put that at the fingertips of shippers,” he said. “This rich stream of data, analyzed correctly, is very, very valuable. It helps shippers understand the various variables, and allows for more informed decision making as well.”

One interesting issue that comes up regularly when considering logtech choices is whether to hand over most or all automation and tracking functions to a third-party logistics provider. Many 3PLs have made it their business to offer cutting-edge IT, either developed in-house or collated from external solutions. However, they can rarely offer the depth of expertise

of best-of-breed solutions. Erickson noted a recent example when a major manufacturer decided to move automated freight audit invoicing, payment, and settlement functions over to the company’s 3PL. When they began transitioning, however, the company determined they weren’t receiving the return on investment they had expected. “They came back to us and said: ‘we’d like to talk to you again and retest some of our assumptions.’ In the end, they did not move the freight audit and payment piece over to the 3PL, but decided to keep it with us. We were able to measure the results, and it was an interesting success story, because they were able to double their ability to handle transactions without having to expand their workforce. It enabled the shipper to pay their carriers on time and gain the business intelligence they need to exploit a competitive advantage.” Many shippers are expressing interest in U.S. Bank’s service, Erickson added. “Even if they

SMC³ is the hub for less-than-truckload technology, data, and education. As a

best-of-breed technology company, SMC³ constantly analyzes the LTL marketplace to predict shifts in how carriers, 3PLs, and shippers interact to foresee and create solutions for the next big trends.

Its hosted technology solutions support the entire supply chain with industry-lead-ing speed, reliability, and performance to help optimize LTL freight transportation. As the single integration point for all car-rier rate, transit, and service information, SMC³ solutions travel beyond simple con-nectivity; they empower shippers, 3PLs, and carriers to collaborate and optimize decision making throughout the entire LTL lifecycle — from rating through the invoic-ing process.

The SMC³ Platform gives users access to unrivaled LTL analytical capabilities and shipment visibility data. As architect of the industry-standard LTL base rate CzarLite®, SMC³ standardized the use of high-speed, industrial-strength APIs with CarrierCon-nect® XL and RateWare XL® more than a decade ago, enabling users with unrivaled LTL analytical capabilities. Today customers also can take advantage of carrier-integrated execution and visibility APIs enabling real-time communication from shipment pickup to delivery; event-based notices that allow customers to proactively address transportation issues; and standardized carrier status codes and document types.

SMC³ has a history of industry excellence and

business stability, as well as an unrivaled reputation as a trusted guardian of data se-curity. Through its twice-yearly educational conferences, Jump Start and Connections, the company offers the supply-chain com-munity a 360° view of innovation driving the industry and the best practices used by global supply chain leaders. The conferences also bring key players from across the entire supply chain industry together under one roof for three days of networking, educa-tion, and deal making.ww.smc3.com n

OPTIMIZING THE LTL SHIPMENT LIFECYCLE

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CarrierConnect® XL

Shipment Status

BatchMark® XL

RateWare® XL

CzarLite® XL

Imaging

Dispatch

Advanced Analytics.Enhanced Visibility.Orchestrated Solutions.The SMC³ Platform is the only integrated suite of technology solutions built to optimize decision making throughout the entire LTL shipment lifecycle.

SMC3 solutions enable shippers, 3PLs and carriers to simplify LTL:

• Price negotiations and bid management• Rating and transit-time requests• Shipment tracking• Freight bill auditing

Going beyond simple connectivity, the SMC³ Platform orchestrates among dispatch, tracking and imaging, leveraging real-time analytics to help build agile supply chains.

800-845-8090 | www.smc3.com

54 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com AUGUST 21.2017

I NTTRA is the largest neutral electronic transaction platform, software, and information provider at the center of the ocean

shipping industry. INTTRA’s innovative products, combined with the scale of its network, empower customers to trade with mul-tiple parties and leverage ocean industry information to improve their business. Connecting over 225,000 shipping professionals with more than 50 leading carriers and over 120 software alli-ance partners, INTTRA streamlines the ocean trade process. Over 700,000 container orders are initiated on the INTTRA platform each week, representing more than one quarter of global ocean container trade. One out of every four ocean shipments is pro-cessed on its platform.

INTTRA can help shippers manage all of their ocean shipments with multiple carriers in one place, helping shippers achieve service excellence goals in a profitable and time-efficient manner. We provide a superior customer experience with user-friendly products

and a deep commitment to customer care. INTTRA offers the abil-ity to search ocean schedules, book, submit shipping instructions and VGMs electronically, track containers, and much more.

As an industry leader in ocean shipping technology, INTTRA is dedicated to providing its customers with new and improved ways to help grow and expand their business. INTTRA is your direct connection to interact with a multitude of trading partners, opening the door for unprecedented business insights and streamlining your ocean shipping processes. n

LEADING THE INDUSTRY IN OCEAN SHIPPING TECHNOLOGY

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have an efficient process internally, they still see they can bring more efficiency, cost savings, and visibility to the whole process.”

It makes perfect sense that digitizing every step of the shipping process will create vast amounts of data and opportunities for optimization, INTTRA president and chief operating officer Inna Kuznetsova said. INTTRA is a neutral electronic transaction platform that connects carriers with their customers. “Already, there’s a relatively wide adoption of container-tracking technology, but many shippers and freight forwarders utilize multiple systems that don’t connect well with one another, leaving stakeholders lacking consistent views of data for partner performance, multimodal booking, and door-to-door

tracking of container location. Likewise, carriers struggle to consistently plan their allocations based on historical customer behavior, predict demand, or perform efficient inland container management,” Kuznetsova said. “Data is often incomplete and lacks sufficient quality for business analytics.” Many supply chain managers are left in a situation where they have extremely sophisticated software, but are unable to get true value out of it because of the quality of the data they are able to feed into it. That is changing, however. Kuznetsova described three technology trends that will converge to drive significant near-term improvement.

The first is an increase of integration across systems, applications, and partners. Immutable, transparent, smart contracts built

with technologies such as blockchain and RESTful interfaces will simplify transaction processes and reduce costs by distributing identity verification through shipment lifecycle management to transmission of bills of lading and letters of credit across an integrated network.

The rise of the Internet of Things, which will massively increase the availability of real-time status of containers and cargo, will be the second factor. Traceable identity of shipments paired with IoT-connected tracking devices increases the amount, timeliness, and quality of data, driving greater efficiencies in shipment planning.

Lastly, artificial intelligence and machine learning mean that software systems are now beginning

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T H E L A R G E S T N E U T R A L E L E C T R O N I C T R A N S A C T I O N P L A T F O R M , A N D S O F T WA R E I N F O R M A T I O N P R O V I D E R I N T H E O C E A N SHIPPING INDUSTRY.

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to be self-improving. Technological developments allow companies to transition from “big data” to more accessible business analytics through Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service models but, perhaps more importantly, AI is able to automatically replace bad data with better inputs, and monitor the success of its predictions to create a benevolent cycle of weighting and assessing data sources as truly useful. The speed and accuracy of forecasting should then greatly improve. “These technologies also advance bot usage, which can automate business processes and operations, such as confirming bookings, streamlining customer service, or navigating complex environmental and compliance regulations,” Kuznetsova said.

“As technology continues to advance, more and more data points are generated and being analyzed. This is both good and bad,” Slusher said. “We can filter out the white noise created by all this data flowing in, showing companies how to use

these vast troves of information to make better business decisions and orchestrate supply chain events.” As the supply chain is evolving, SMC³ is advancing in parallel, providing the solutions needed to achieve the results that consumers are demanding, he said. For SMC³, like any other logtech company, the challenge is delivering the right information at the right time so that customers — and the industry — can make better decisions.

Kuznetsova predicted that the shipping industry will adopt an IT strategy favoring targeted, short-term ROI technology solutions, often delivered by disruptive startups. The stakes are high, she warned. “The digital divide between companies embracing full digitalization and those lagging will widen.”

“The most advanced players will streamline significant parts of their operations and start building digital networks with other IT-savvy providers, increasing profitability and improving service delivery,” she said. Advancements in digitization,

integration across the transportation chain, and data flows will enable new business models, causing further competitive differentiation. “I think you’ll see shippers making far more dynamic decisions on where to route and engineer entire logistics strategies based on where they get the most consistently reliable service, and all of that is based on good information,” Thomas said.

Logistics professionals are pushing for smarter things to do with their data, Erickson noted. “One thing really coming to the fore now is the theme of actionable insight. Customers are saying: ‘Don’t just give me data; give me actionable insight.’ That’s one thing we’re seeing a lot,” he said. Kuznetsova pushed the idea further. “Those who fully embrace technology and select strong partners to drive innovation will occupy the winning side of the digital divide,” she said. n

Contact Helen Atkinson at helenatkinsonpr@gmail.com.

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