2023 Top Food Chain Technology

Technology is the backbone of the food supply chain. The “Top Food Chain Technology” program is an industry resource to identify standouts in the food transportation, logistics, distribution and supply chain industry. Managed by Food Chain Digest, this is the second year this program highlights technology platforms, applications, and innovators that help food shippers to be more aware of all the options available to them. After all qualified nominations are accepted, Food Chain Digest then sends out a ballot for professionals in the food supply chain industry to vote – which helps to validate the most relevant technologies in the industry. In March of this year, nearly 2,000 votes were received. For complete details on Food Chain Digest’s Top Food Chain Technology program, visit foodshippers.org and click “Top Lists” under the “News & Trends” tab. Here is a brief summary of the technologies named to this year’s list.

ALC Logistics

Provides a web-based Transportation Management System (TMS). Backed by 43 years of freight transportation industry expertise, this software helps address challenges by simplifying the processes involved in managing transportation and supply chain networks. alclogistics.com

Recent success story: A food shipper lost key members of their operations and asked ALC Logistics to provide a “managed services” solution to keep their operations on track and to highlight areas for improvement. ALC provided customized applications on their TMS to support their operations and after a four-month assignment they provided recommendations to improve their operations.

AutoScheduler

Creates dynamic warehouse plans directly injected into the WMS to optimize activities based on constraints, ensuring sites run optimally at peak performance. Provides dynamic dock scheduling, labor level-loading, inventory balancing, proactive crossdocking, and redundant workforce elimination. autoscheduler.ai

Recent success story: Drove savings of over $4M annually for a major consumer packaged goods company. AutoScheduler was deployed at one plant in Lima, OH, that used seven nearby satellite warehouses for storage with over 250 outbound full-vehicle shipments per day. This CPG company dramatically improved productivity when direct dockfrom-plant moves went from 57% to 83.4%, and bring-backs were reduced from 16% to 8.7%.

Breakthrough

Empowers shippers with data, technology, and market knowledge to reduce cost, create fair partnerships, and improve transportation network efficiency and sustainability. breakthroughfuel.com

Recent success story: Network Intelligence and the support of the Breakthrough team enabled a frozen goods and desserts company to maintain budget in their RFP by offering market guidance and recommending best-fit in-network carriers. Breakthrough recommended 60+ new carriers to their network, and those awarded contracts resulted in a savings of $1.03 million compared to prior RFP events.

BrillDog

Shippers benefit from the affordable, real-time, cloud-based supply chain functionality, analysis, and tactical/strategic supply chain advice. brilldog.com

Recent success story: Small- and mid-sized food shippers must get off their Excel spreadsheets and automate supply chain processes. BrillDog helped one food producer obtain rate quotes on transportation, create a bill of lading for shipments, dispatch, track shipments, and file claims for damage and lost shipments. This ultimately enabled the shipper to completely manage and track their LTL and TL shipments.

DAT Freight & Analytics

Operates the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America. Shippers rely on DAT for market trends and data insights based upon 500 million freight matches and a database of $137 billion in annual market transactions. dat.com

Recent success story: Using DAT iQ, a large food shipper gained actionable market insightsallowing them to better forecast allowances for freight costs, negotiate with confidence, reduce exposure to market shifts, and increase profitability. In turn, they showed to company leadership efficiencies and gained consensus around several long-term initiatives to further improve efficiency and carrier/broker partnerships.

Edge Logistics

Providing freight technology solutions, Edge Logistics’ CAPACITY platform and app offers food shippers cuttingedge algorithms to match the right carriers to the right loads. edgelogistics.com

Recent success story: A savvy food shipper needed a strategy to combat recent volatile market conditions – and built a tech stack including CAPACITY as a solution to find and secure more capacity.

Emerge

Revolutionizing the freight procurement process through a dynamic RFP application that eliminates manual work to procure freight. Food shippers use the tool to meet their parameters and easily complete bid events in a weeka task that once took months.

emergemarket.com

Recent success story: A large privately-held manufacturer and distributor of recognized beverage brands needed to streamline their freight procurement process to access more carriers, reduce time spent on their RFPs, and be more nimble. The company went from having very few standard procedures around freight procurement. The company reports that they have saved time and been able to gain more rate options by using Emerge solutions.

Emerson

Its core technologies help food shippers to mitigate food waste while ensuring only the freshest, safest products reach consumers. Cold chain solutions provide visibility into in-transit cargo shipments. emerson.com

Recent success story: A fleet needed to ensure proper temperatures within its refrigerated trailers and for both LTL and full truckload scenarios the GO realtime tracker solution has become a “first line of defense” for protecting these refrigerated shipments.

Everstream Analytics

Sophisticated technology that improves accuracy and speed of logistics predictions by combining billions of supply chain data points with power AI, advanced analytics and graph technology. everstream.ai

Recent success story: Many soup products of a major food manufacturer are susceptible to freezing during transit and because factors like weather conditions can change, risk management was a big challenge. This shipper received a daily overview of global risks that might disrupt their shipments –and this digitized supply chain risk system alerted them to potentially impactful risks.

FourKites

A supply chain visibility platform that extends visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, and stores. Combining real-time data and machine learning, FourKites tracks more than 2.5 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaches 185+ countries. fourkites.com

Recent success story: A multinational drink and brewing company automated realtime shipment tracking and leveraged analytics to save time, improve customers’ experience, and monitor and manage the performance of carriers and facilities. Through FourKites, this food shipper improved brewery operations with shipping ETAs that are 96% accurate, an 80-90% reduction in time spent on manual track-and-trace tasks, and improved carrier relationships and performance management.

FreightSmith

Premier pathway for digital payment processing and inbound operational agility through a suite of digital solutions. freightsmith.net

Recent success story: A retail distributor reduced the dwell between driver check-in and unload start by expediting door assignment process. The visibility of checked-in and available drivers instantly removed the timely process of continually checking the staging area, improving the dwell by an average of 12 minutes. The IMS solution also created an exception management task list allowing the dock supervisor to prioritize vehicles to reduce detention exposure by 16% and execute against the planned inbound schedule. Additionally, the distribution manager leverages the analytics daily as part of company continuous improvement initiatives.

Leaf Logistics

This platform connects shippers, providers and partners to gain network efficiencies and unlock a forward view of tomorrow’s transportation market and build their most resilient transportation plan. leaflogistics.com

Recent success story: Leaf Logistics used machine learning to identify hidden capacity for a leading CPG company – including planned and scheduled loads using digital contracts, and coordinated what would have been three separate shipments into a daily continuous move. The first continuous move reduced CO2 emissions from empty deadhead miles by 80%. This food shipper is expanding its work with Leaf across a broader transportation portfolio, targeting a similar 80% reduction in empty miles across $60M in annual transportation spend - reducing CO2 emissions by the equivalent to removing 665 cars off the road.

LoadSmart

Leverages technology and logistics data to build efficiency around how freight is priced, books and shipped. loadsmart.com

Recent success story: A large publicly-traded, multinational food shipper was finding difficulty in quickly onboarding carriers due to the rigor around EDI connectivity (cost, business fit, timing). They were looking to more easily and quickly add capacity to their network. Through a custom, bespoke integration, Loadsmart reduced their technical onboarding process so that carriers are able to receive and accept tenders in hours rather than weeks, allowing them to more effectively pivot and execute in near real-time.

Lytx

A provider of machine vision- and artificial intelligence-powered video telematics, analytics, safety, and productivity solutions for commercial, public sector, and field service fleets. lytx.com

Recent success story: A commercial bakery uses machine vision and artificial intelligence and Lytx all-in-one solutions to manage growth and reduce risk. As a result, it has experience 58% reduction in speeding, 54% reduction in overall risk, 50% reduction in cell-phone use, 46% reduction in drivers unbelted, and 44% reduction in instances of unsafe following distance. The bakery uses Lytx’s open API system architecture to connect the Driver Safety Program and Fleet Tracking Service with its proprietary driver application, and now can see how long drivers are in and out of delivery locations and access real-time video. The company also taps into Lytx’s driver smoking detection algorithm to reduce contamination of its baked goods. Fleet managers can also use the live-tracking feature to combat theft and leverage video footage as evidence.

NuVizz

An Atlanta-based delivery and transportation orchestration SaaS platform with a transportation visibility platform that quickly and easily empowers a transparent and fully optimized delivery and fulfillment lifecycle. nuvizz.com

Recent success story: The supply chain and transportation wing of an American fast-food restaurant chain implemented NuVizz across its entire outbound supply chain in distributing products from 10+ DCs to more than 10,000 store locations. The platform provides real-time visibility for the deliveries taking into account all the realtime events, which helps stores to plan for labor when needed. The solution also eliminates paperwork and manual handling of overages, shortages and damages (OS&Ds), and the scanning of each item ensures accuracy of deliveries and establishes clear chain of custody.

PCS Software

An AI transportation management platform leader fielding disruptive innovation for food shippers, carriers, and brokers. Could-based, API-integrated PCS automates the entire logistics operation via a single, comprehensive solution. pcssoft.com

Recent success story: A U.S.-based food and agriculture company now uses PCS to deliver a new AI dispatch planning feature to maximize driver utilization. The system calculates optimal driverload plans for the private fleet and finds the most affordable drivers. Initial results show that the optimization capability allows the customer to dispatch one additional load per week per company driver – creating a savings of millions of dollars annually. In addition, the system automates driver dispatching, saving time for dispatchers and reducing staffing needs as the fleet grows. Automation also helps meet this shipper’s goal of more sustainable operations by reducing deadhead miles.

PLM TrustLink™

A comprehensive, cloud-based IoT management solution for automated, touchless, supply chain ecosystems driving efficiencies at the product level. plmfleet.com

Recent success story: A premium beef processor needed to share critical tracking events and exchange key data for enhanced visibility and improved efficiencies that included temperature. TrustLink™ allowed them to digitize its entire ecosystem, making collaboration with trading partners easier and delivering mutual benefits.

Project44

Operates an end-to-end visibility platform that tracks more than 1 billion unique shipments each year for 1,200+ of the worlds leading brands. This platform drives greater predictability, resiliency and sustainability. project44.com

Recent success story: A major brewery is using project44’s platform to improve data quality, trackability, and predictiveness across their Western European Road shipments. project44’s truckload tracking solutions proactively track all truck types, including refrigerated freight, across North America and Europe with direct API (Application Programming Interface) carrier integrations and 800+ telematics/ ELD device integrations. Customers can continuously track shipment ETAs down to the purchase order or SKU to improve inventory management, seamlessly collaborate on transportation data across stakeholders, and track the temperature and condition of shipments to prevent costly spoilages and delays.

ShipWell

Empowers supply chains with increased efficiency and service effectiveness at scale. shipwell.com

Recent success story: A shelfstable food product partner needed to pivot operations during a period of high demand and saw order volume double. Using ShipWell, they increased efficiencies and saved time by eliminating manual processes and streamlining communications in order to ensure consistent on-time delivery, despite the increase in volume. This food shipper now can view and manage their entire shipping operation through one connected interface. Communication and order management are automated and streamlined, so teams can focus on high-priority tasks, enhancing the customer experience. They are now able to track 100% of shipments within our platform — from quote management to shipment tracking to payment processing — regardless of what brokerage they are using.

The Raymond Corp.

Provides intralogistics solutions that drive fulfillment and effectiveness through the optimization of people and processes. raymondcorp.com

Recent success story: A food pantry in Dallas County, Texas turned to Raymond Corp. to learn best practices of receiving/ shipping, to maximize efficient use of additional warehouse space and inventory control, and to safely and fully utilize all the benefits of a new distribution facility. By leveraging Raymond Lean Management (RLM) principles, this organization optimized its order picking process, donation center methods and shopping experience, as well as increased capacity in its new warehouse facility.

Tive

Provides real-time supply chain visibility insights to help logistics professionals actively manage in-transit shipments’ location and condition to ensure shipments arrive OTIF. tive.com

Recent success story: A major food company that grows, packs and ships fresh fruits and vegetables, was in search of a realtime tracker that was free of lithium batteries because one of their major customers was not allowing batteries with lithium in their facilities. The food shipper turned to Tive and within two weeks the company was up and running on the Tive platform and using Tive’s Solo 5G non-lithium that measures hyper-accurate location, temperature, humidity, shock, and light exposure of shipments and capture and transmit data in real time.

TransLoop

A battle-tested, technology-driven logistics company with cuttingedge technology, AI systems, and white-glove customer service for food shippers. transloop.io

Recent success story: A large food shipper needed to move 1,000-plus shipments in just four months with the support of TransLoop Sprint, which allowed this enterprise food shipper to see the carrier reuse data and live tracking when they had questions.

TruckStop

Empowers the freight community through a platform of innovative solutions for the entire freight lifecycle to increase efficiency, automate processes, and accelerate growth. truckstop.com

Recent success story: This past fall, Truckstop CEO Kendra Tucker took part in a ride-along with a driver and long-standing carrier customer. Tucker and this drive hauled 14,000 pounds of bread along the East Coast while discussing the growing needs of the trucking industry. During the drive, the two extensively discussed how the advancing technologies and offerings of Truckstop have provided drivers invaluable load opportunities and an improved business. Says this driver: “The freedom of driving a truck and the Truckstop Load Board give me the flexibility to set my own hours, choose the loads that fit my criteria and stay close to home.”

Uber Freight

A logistics platform with a mission to reshape global logistics and deliver reliable, flexible, and transparent solutions to food shippers. uberfreight.com

Recent success stories: A global food company moved from manual warehouse operations and shipping processes to Uber Freight’s Control Tower and Network Services – providing a single source of visibility, spurring over $30 million in savings and reducing GHG emissions by 12,000 metric tons. Leveraging 400+ driver reviews from Uber Freight’s Facility Ratings, another leading beverage shipper was able to make improvements and keep their goods moving. In fact, the beverage maker named Uber Freight in its top 5 transportation service providers. Armed with Uber Freight’s Warehouse Consulting recommendations, a distilled beverages distributor was able to redesign its facility – cutting costs by 47% and achieving $10 million in annualized cost savings.

UChain Group

Develops trend-setting services and cutting-edge technology that benefits our Distribution Center and transportation partners across the U.S. uchaininc.com

Recent success story: Customers gain a new level of control over their entire supply chain process, and find value in the following ways: improve carrier and vendor behavior by nearly 5%, save hundreds of man-hours between staff and on-site vendors, increase focus on uncovering efficiencies that trim active door times by 20%, and eliminate collusion 100% by removing any need for cash on docks.

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