Much is said about the need, or even the possibility, of a more standardized process, but keeping the wheels of the truck rolling, meeting schedules, and meeting tight deadlines requires more than is necessary. Is required. Take it from concept to reality.
That’s why the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC) by San Francisco-based Uber Freight was recently formed. Uber Freight, a subsidiary of ubiquitous ride-hailing service Uber, uses its own app to match freight companies with packages to be transported. Seattle-based digital freight network Convoy. JB Hunt, a pioneer in trucking and intermodal services based in Lowell, Arkansas, aims to set industry standards for “simplifying scheduling, improving business automation, and increasing efficiency across the industry.” The main aim is to solve the challenges of freight scheduling by means of encourage.
as previously reported LMthe SSC is responsible for the urgency now needed to standardize how the respective skill sets and services of the founding members exchange information between facilities and transportation providers so that shipments can be scheduled. I explained that I was inflicting
The SSC also states that a major factor in its formation will depend on how the fragmentation of scheduling systems and interfaces represents what are called “points of friction” between carriers, brokers and shippers. I pointed out that
Top executives from each SSC partner company provided details on its origins, plans and goals in a newsroom note.
Spencer Frazier, executive vice president of sales and marketing at JB Hunt, said: “Scheduling appointments can be a manual-intensive process, and our customers have been asking for solutions to improve the process. Thanks to data and technology, we have made great strides towards an optimized supply chain. However, we are now working independently in different segments, and our three organizations are committed to working towards industry standards that will affect all ends of the supply chain. We knew we needed it to make it easier for our users to use it.”
Bill Driegert, co-founder and head of operations at Uber Freight, also said the standard will allow shippers and carriers to connect more seamlessly with each other’s systems, leading to more efficient data delivery throughout the supply chain. It enables sharing and efficiency gains.
Once implemented, this API standard will make it easier to set up and manage bookings, improve efficiency for drivers, shippers and consignees, and the enhanced visibility translates into broader operational efficiencies, he said. .
“API standards enable carriers, shippers, and technology partners to eliminate waste in processing, save critical operational time, improve warehouse internal planning, better information sharing, ease of integration, and By enabling the use cases that we have, we can reduce pick-up and delivery failures, which we haven’t even imagined yet,” Driegert added.
When asked why there has never been a uniform standard to address the problems SSC seeks to solve or fix, Convoy CEO and co-founder Dan Lewis said that innovation and adoption in the trucking sector argued to be important. is still in its early stages.
Further, Lewis said, over the past decade, connectivity and cloud technology have effectively removed limitations in data capacity, processing power, and scale.
“Then we had to connect trucks, warehouses and transportation systems and bring them online, which has been a big boost in recent years,” he said. “We are now in a place where we can focus on industry collaboration and scheduling orchestration to reduce delays and combine work to reduce free time. has adopted technology platforms and scheduling APIs according to their business needs and resources, and multiple solutions have emerged over time.Our customers rely on us to make these more efficient. Rather than exacerbate this issue, we recognize our position in the industry and our ability and responsibility to optimize our network to better coordinate freight for all involved. is an industry challenge worth collaborating with, and if we can align our data documentation and dissemination schedules with a single source of truth, everyone wins.”
Uber Freight’s Driegert explained what it takes to make SSC widely adopted in the industry. SSC is often the major obstacle you face.
“We know many in our ecosystem are experiencing issues related to the fundamental issues that this group is trying to address,” he said. “As we begin implementing these standards and see the real-world impact they have on scheduling efficiency, we hope that others will join in and become keen to adopt and contribute to the standards themselves. Of course, it takes time and investment from our contributors, but we believe in the impact this collaboration will have on the industry as a whole, so we are excited to start advocating for this collaboration.”
Going forward, SSC will focus on engaging other industry players such as brokers, 3PLs, TMS and WMS vendors. Also in terms of timing, the SSC’s first standards and documents, which focus on truckloads of cargo, are expected to be available to members by the first quarter of next year.
This is a big next step in getting things moving and expanding to other modes, and welcome and encouraging news.SSC is an initiative with a lot of potential and early momentum. Let’s hope that goal is achieved in the name of supply chain scheduling and predictability.
About the author
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor Jeff Berman is the next Group News Editor. Logistics management, Modern material handlingWhen Supply chain management reviewJeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, covering all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight forwarding and material handling sectors on a daily basis.Contact Jeff Berman