This commentary was written by Shipwell CEO and co-founder Greg Price. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.
By Greg Price
Mobile devices are so common in today’s personal and professional world that it can sometimes be hard to imagine getting through your day without them. It’s no longer surprising that people pay bills, buy products and services, or do banking with their smartphones and tablets. The wide range of applications and mobility options are now simply an accepted and expected part of daily life.
While this is true for many industries, those in the supply chain have remained largely tethered to a computer for most of their work. However, these shippers and carriers now stand on the brink of a mobile market disruption. Fully mobile transportation management systems will help the remote workforce be more effective, allowing them to get their work done from anywhere.
Mobile technology transforms the operator side of the supply chain
Truckers have now joined remote workers in other sectors already using mobile technology. Today’s truckers use mobile technology to bid and secure cargo for hauling. As these capabilities rapidly evolve, they will also soon become standard for those responsible for ensuring carrier capacity and the staff who oversee freight scheduling. Mobile private networks, the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G and 6G will be key in this evolution.
Mobile apps complemented traditional workflows, allowed for more flexibility, and improved communication. Many devices have also become viable IoT sensors that open new gateways for businesses, even without specialized hardware. Those devices already include sensors like cameras and GPS that reduce the need for excessive paperwork by aiding in real-time tracking and uploading delivery data to the cloud.
The power of implementing mobile technology, and reaping the benefits of what it unlocks, can be seen in how companies have used it in their trucking operations to expand their businesses. These companies are taking advantage of a white space market opportunity in a sector worth more of $700 billion.
based in California trucker roadfor example, founded in 2013, accomplished a successful exit five years later by focusing on mobile services for truckers. Twelve years after its founding in 2000, Connecticut-based XPO Logistics it was made public, in part due to its effective use of mobile technology. After becoming one of the first cargo boards on the Internet, Idaho-based Truckstop.com, founded in 1995, used mobile technology for truckers. That strategy paid off in 2019, when it was acquired at a valuation of $1 billion.
And San Francisco-based Motive, formed in 2013 as KeepTruckin, reached unicorn status in 2019. The company was intentional in how it applied mobile technology to enhance the supply chain management experience. Its founders launched the business by creating a free mobile app for a logbook. He followed up with an excellent electronic recording device. Now Motive is a platform.
The Next Step: Carriers
Mobile technology for shippers is the next logical and evolutionary progression to drive supply chain communication efficiency. Mobile technology enables different functions within a company to perform and manage basic workflows and responsibilities. Shipping managers, warehouse technicians, sales and account executives, for example, will be able to log into their TMS platforms and quickly respond to customer inquiries, track confidential shipments and address issues in real time from anywhere. , either at their desks or Computers are no longer required. A logistics manager can be alerted when a shipment is late and respond instantly from her mobile device.
Mobile technology will enable actions, including booking, as well as the ability to view shipments, and any related delays, along with notes to shippers and additional documentation. Expanding its focus from the trucker side of the equation to a more holistic supply chain management tool, mobile technology will enable collaboration and communication between shippers, carriers and brokers in one place. Visibility enhancements that mobile technology will bring include messaging, location ratings, and the ability to check in and out of locations. Mobile technology will also allow faster creation of shipments and allow those shipments to be transferred to warehouse workers more quickly. An on-the-go warehouse and logistics planner, for example, armed with current data from the production floor, can use mobile technology to quickly manifest a shipment or reroute a shipment once it’s on the dock.
Mobile and emerging technologies
While 5G rollout has been slow due to network provider costs and implementation challenges, its arrival will usher in a new era of mobile applications, including real-time sensing, mapping, and machine learning. The vast majority of the world’s mobile users remain on 4G networks. With speeds 20 times faster than those networks, 5G will finally connect people, machines, objects and devices in ways that were previously impossible. Ultra-low latency, the time it takes for data to travel from one wireless device to another, is just one of the benefits this next-generation network will bring to supply chain management professionals using mobile technology.
Building on the possibilities of 5G networks is the continued development of 6G networks, which will be commercially available by 2030. Experts project that 6G speeds will be about 100 times faster than 5G, with even greater reliability. and a greater range of network coverage. Some say that IoT will enjoy 1,000% more device connection expansion per square kilometer than it will with 5G.
Enabled by the increased speeds provided by 5G and 6G networks, edge computing – the deployment of computing and storage resources where data is produced – will enhance the power of mobile devices to transform the supply chain. Instead of relying on the cloud in a data center, edge computing does all the work at or near the location of the data. Edge computing will allow applications to detect spikes in demand, for example, to ensure that necessary inventory adjustments can be made. Edge Computing will also spur the expansion of workflows in the shipyard, the front door, and for shippers on the move.
The coming mobile revolution
Once mobile technology is fully integrated into supply chain management, companies will have the ability to expand their businesses. The paperwork itself will be reduced, as well as the task of managing it. Most information will go digital or live in the cloud. Trucking, shipping, port and warehouse operations, and company staff members whose responsibilities intersect with the supply chain, will have the ability to incorporate planning tasks, improve communication and data processing speed, provide optimized pricing and routing options and improve other workflows.
Mobile technology allows all of these actions to be performed remotely. Eventually, mobile technology will bring real-time machine learning, the ability to detect unexpected supply chain disruptions, and the ability for carriers, carriers, and brokers to collaborate.
Mobile technology will soon have us wondering how we ever got by without it.
greg price is CEO and co-founder of Austin, Texas, based Shipyard, a cloud-based transportation and logistics company. He was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and spent seven years working at Lincoln Labs at MIT, where he earned master’s degrees in engineering and business.
the FREIGHTWAVES TOP 500 The list of contract carriers includes Logistics XPO (No. 8).