trucks

Are You Prepared for the Peak Shipping Season?

2022 has had its fair share of supply chain disruption. Trucking rates through 2022’s Q3 haven’t seemed as volatile as in months past, as fuel prices have stabilized a bit. But even if things like fuel prices and inflation have peaked, Q4 is too vital for many businesses not to be prepared. Now that we’re heading into the Holidays, the peak trucking season is ramping up which will bring on more chaos and fluctuation in truckload capacity, service and rates. The key question to all large shippers is… how have you prepared for it? To help fend off potential risk, some shippers have continued to lock in long-term carrier contracts. But unfortunately, RFPs produce fixed pricing that does not fluctuate with market demand resulting in the shipper paying too much or receiving horrible service. Innovative shippers have taken a much deeper look inside freight management protocol, and they have determined that traditional practices, such as the time-consuming RFP, no longer work. Why? Because static and manual processes can’t keep up with today’s market turbulence. They don’t provide the flexibility needed to pivot as disruption occurs.  Forward-thinking shippers have embraced technology and industry 4.0 concepts, such as automation, AI, and visibility/ data. They have spent time and money overhauling critical supply chain processes, such as freight procurement, to help keep goods moving. Shippers who continue to rely on decades-old processes, like RFPs and freight brokers, will eventually lose their supply chain competitive advantage, and worse erode their margins and profitability.  Automation & Data Freight procurement automation utilizes AI to help shippers always deliver goods on time, and at a fair market...
Happy Carriers

Happy Carriers

AI-Powered Automation Helps Both The Shipper & Carrier Win!  If your business relies heavily on shipping to keep customers happy, there’s another group you have to keep happy, too. Carriers are the lifeblood of any shipping business, and maintaining strong carrier relationships helps to keep goods moving as planned– and most importantly arriving on time.   Unfortunately, small to medium-sized carriers are often overlooked, which is a big mystery knowing they represent the lion’s share of compliant, asset-based capacity on the roads today, and yield nothing short of industry-best service levels. This is precisely why FreightTech startups, like Sleek Technologies, have entered the space and worked hard to build strong meaningful relationships with small to medium-sized carriers across the US. And to help gauge carrier sentiment in relation to the competitors, Sleek Technologies most recent Carrier NPS [which determines the likelihood of a carrier to recommend the company to others] was 5X higher (57) than the industry average (10).  So what makes Sleek Technology so special? Sleek Technologies has advanced the decades-old way to procure freight by using AI and proprietary algorithms to dynamically source the perfect carrier, at the right time, place, and price for every load. So instead of relying on a small percentage [in some cases less than 1% through contracted carriers] of today’s available truckload capacity, large shippers can now automate carrier sourcing by tapping into a self-regulated freight marketplace. Shippers pre-configure load attributes, and AI dynamically matches out-of-network carriers who are checked daily for compliance. Without the middleman stealing economic value, both the shipper and the carrier win! With no hidden margins, the shipper reduces truckload...
Tracey

Sleek Technologies Announces Tracey Page as Business Development Director

Pioneer in AI-driven freight procurement automation adds to rapidly growing revenue operations team with the appointment of a business development director CHICAGO, Aug. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sleek Technologies, a technology data company, and leader in AI-driven freight procurement automation, today announced the hiring of Tracey Page as Business Development Director. With nearly two decades of technology sales executive experience, Page will help spearhead efforts to support Sleek Technologies’ ongoing growth. "We are so pleased to announce the addition of Tracey Page to our sales team," said Mike Nervick, CEO and Co-Founder of Sleek Technologies. "Sleek Technologies is now experiencing impressive growth both as a company and in terms of our technology and reputation. Tracey’s strong sales background speaks for itself, and we know that she will be a key cog in helping us push our growth to the next level.” Prior to joining Sleek Technologies, Page has served in a variety of sales leadership roles across the technology sphere including brands such as WestStar MultiMedia Entertainment, Times Media Group, Samsung Electronics, and Fourth Shift Corporation. Most recently, Page served as a Sports OTT Streaming Platform Business Development leader for NAGRA Kudelski Group. “Sleek Technologies is at the forefront of automating a trillion dollar industry, transportation. I joined the team because they have strong momentum and have worked hard to build an innovative solutions suite that helps evolve logistics,” said Page. “But I’m most excited about helping our customers uncover resilience, sustainability and cost reduction opportunities so the world continues to have access to the brands we all want and need.” About Sleek Technologies Sleek Technologies is the market leader...
Rail_cargo

Rail Disruption Impacts Truckload Capacity & Price

For months now, the supply chain has continued to battle one issue after another. Many shippers have had to modify the way they move goods due to backed-up ports, labor shortages, and lack of truckload capacity. And rail disruption is no exception, especially off the West Coast.  In fact, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) reported that the share of imports hauled by rail from Los Angeles/Long Beach fell to an all-time low Jan- April 2022, dropping 40%+ YoY. And while imports dropped, the average daily number of intermodal trains serving the ports dropped from 33 in 2019 down to 27 in 2022.  “Unfortunately, rail disruption is not an isolated issue”, said Michael Paul, VP Sleek Sales. “As with any mode of transportation, when disruption occurs all modes are impacted as shippers try to figure out how to keep goods moving so they deliver on time. To prove this point, DAT reports very tight capacity in LA and Abilene, TX with load to truck ratios reaching 4:1, which will cause over-road rates to increase during the fall peak season.”    Congestion at West Coast ports, along with the threat of labor shortages and strikes, has led to a steady increase of trade moving away from the West Coast to the East Coast. To understand market share, one can refer to trends in container volumes. From January through May, Port of New York import containers increased 11.5%  while Port of New Jersey increased 6.5%. To make matters worse, ports have begun to see an unusually early arrival of holiday products, including Christmas trees and Winter appeal. Household appliances are also part of long...
sleek carrier portal

Sleek Technologies Launches Native Carrier Mobile App to Advance Freight Procurement Automation Between Large Shippers And Small to Medium-Sized Carriers

Sleek Technologies launches native carrier app which dynamically matches shipper loads to compliant, out-of-network, asset-based carriers at the right time, place, and price, benefiting both parties CHICAGO, Aug. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To help shippers and carriers uncover resilience, sustainability, and cost reduction opportunities, Sleek Technologies has advanced freight procurement automation by launching a self-service mobile app for small to medium size carriers. Once downloaded, the app provides carriers with direct access to large, reputable shippers with high load volumes. “Sourcing the right carrier, at the right time, at the right price has been a struggle for many large shippers because most only have direct access to less than 1% of today’s capacity through contracted carriers,” said Mike Nervick, Sleek Technologies CEO. “By automating freight procurement, large shippers leverage AI-powered technology to remove intermediary barriers, and expand direct access to compliant, out-of-network, asset-based capacity which saves massive amounts of time and money.” Once the app is downloaded, machine learning goes to work to dynamically match shipper load requirements with carrier attributes. After a load is matched to a carrier, the load becomes available for the carrier to submit an offer. The load is only accepted when the carrier bids at or under the shipper’s designated truckload price. If accepted, load statuses are automatically updated into the shipper’s designated TMS via enabled APIs. The entire process happens behind-the-scenes, and is seamlessly integrated into the shipper’s TMS. “With the middleman eliminated, 100% of the carrier’s bid lands in the carrier’s pocket so they make more money,” said Andy Stump, Sleek Technologies CTO. “Plus, the shipper saves money by not paying hidden...
i win

While Shippers Struggle, Popular 3PLs Thrive!

Supply chain woes, high prices of fuel, and budget overages have many large retailers, manufacturers, and distributors that rely on shipping facing uncertainty. But not everybody is feeling the squeeze of these problems that have been ongoing since the onset of the pandemic. Popular third-party logistics companies (3PLs) – as well as large freight brokers – have taken advantage of this situation to the tune of record-setting earnings for multiple months in a row, according to Transport Topics. That’s good news for them, but many large shippers are still scrambling to find ways to trim expenses. Innovative shippers have turned to smart technology and automation to help remove waste.   Why 3PLs & Freight Brokers Are Thriving 3PLs help large shippers streamline critical supply chain operations such as distribution, warehousing, and packaging. Similar to freight brokers, most 3PLs also offer brokerage services and act as middlemen to set up shippers with third-party carriers. Unfortunately, as disruption occurs in the freight market, freight middlemen know that shippers are willing to pay an arm and a leg to move goods. And with hidden margins, these middlemen charge upwards of 30% more to pad their own pockets- hence record-setting earnings.   Take Control of Shipping With Technology Award-winning, AI-powered automation technology helps shippers uncover resilience, sustainability, and cost reduction opportunities by eliminating the need for middlemen. By automating freight procurement, 80+ configured shipper attributes-- along with artificial intelligence-- dynamically match loads directly to the right carrier, at the right time, location, and price. Logistics can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Automating freight procurement helps shippers overcome freight market volatility by always delivering...