Instant Freight Rates? The Time Has Come

Having been in logistics 9 years there are two ways I love giving back to it. The first is though mentorship, and the second is through discovering and sharing the cool, new ways tech is innovating our processes.

With all the tech on the market, and integration of AI into daily activities, I often hear the question: "Will this new tech make me obsolete?" My usual response is no. The integration of AI and tech into our routines leaves room to learn new skills. Knowing that AI is only as good as it's user, makes me confident that human impact can never be replaced. It is also exciting to narrow down new skills to learn.

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the Founder and CEO of Freightify, Raghav Viswanathan. He's got impeccable timing, as he arrived in New York just in time to experience the worst snowfall of the last two seasons.

During our lunch, we talked about many things.

The current happenings at Freightify Freightify Expansion PlanBuyer profiles v. End user profiles

There were a few notable mentions from the conversation. First, we share a similar philosophy about tech in the work place. Second, we both appreciate the opportunity to contribute towards the innovation efforts in supply chain. Lastly, we both see a future with more female representation, and in more management positions within supply chain. Increasing female presence in our industry and throughout management roles requires visibility, vulnerability, and understanding.

Freightify has more than 200 employees globally. Since learning about Freightify more than two years ago, they've secured their Series A funding, grown to have more than 200 customers in 55 countries, have doubled the size of their team, and have revolutionized a product that will change the way freight rates are managed.

The best way I can describe the technology is that it allows a user to search for a freight rate much in the way we search for an airline flight for our next vacation. As described by Raghav Viswanathan:

“For too long, freight forwarders have been restricted to spreadsheets and legacy processes to do business. We set up Frieghtify to remove the heavy lifting of manually providing quotations, accepting email/telephonic bookings, managing documentation, coordinating and tracking shipments. Freightify solves these challenges by giving them and their customers a live pricing platform like the ones used by travelers to compare airfares, showing real-time rates on a single screen. Freight forwarders are like the travel agents for global trade, however, air travel is not as complicated as global trade. Supply chains require experts to manage cargo throughout the entire lifecycle and freight forwarders play a vital role in greasing the wheels.”

Over the course of my career forwarders, nvocc's, and brokers, have been my primary market. I've spent years learning about their various challenges, operating procedures, and target markets. Knowing a solution like Freightifyexists, makes me eager to watch the next chapter of our industry unfold. Team Freightify is eager to launch the US market, which is chock full forwarders that are in need of the best rate management solution with the best terms in the market.

As I mentioned, Raghav Viswanathan and I discussed the differences in user v buyer profile. Usually their decision makers are male, and the end user is predominately female. I look forward to exploring this angle more through collaboration with femmefr8, the Freightify team, and through understanding the end user experience.

Raghav Viswanathan and his team are on a mission to innovate on multiple levels. He sees the need for a rate management solution that evolves with their customer, and also with the industry and the end user. I am excited to witness the USA Market launch and the many different ways this solution will impact our industry and peers. 

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