Sleek Technologies Named “Procurement Solution Of The Year” From SupplyTech Breakthrough For Second Year In A Row
Annual Awards Program Recognizes Sleek Technologies for Innovation in the Global Supply Chain Technology and Logistics Industry CHICAGO - June 22, 2023 – Sleek Technologies, a technology data company, and leader in AI-driven autonomous procurement, today announced that for the second year in a row, it has been selected as “Procurement Solution Of The Year” in the annual SupplyTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by SupplyTech Breakthrough, a leading independent market intelligence organization that evaluates and recognizes standout technology companies, products, and services in the supply chain technology and logistics industry around the globe. Advanced freight procurement data from Sleek Technologies helps shippers optimize their existing carrier network, as the AI-powered software instantly finds, vets, and transacts with any qualified truck across North America. The company provides both data visibility and automation, helping shippers understand truckload activity, optimize their entire carrier network and comprehend factors that may impact load cost. Sleek’s technology is able to match loads to compliant, asset-based capacity at the right time, location, and price. As a load becomes available, capacity is expanded. The platform implements over 80 configured shipper attributes, predictive AI algorithms, and a system of measures considering the likelihood of a driver’s interest in a particular load. Carriers who best match the criteria are the only ones granted access to bid on the load. This eliminates the middleman from the process and allows carriers to set market pricing. Sleek helps full truckload shippers across multiple verticals including Building Materials, Paper & Pulp, Plastics & Chemicals, Food & Beverage, Retail, and more. “A short-sighted approach to freight procurement will lead to temporary gains at the expense of long-term losses....
Revolutionizing Full Truckload Shipping: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing the Power of Autonomous Procurement
The logistics landscape is brimming with complexities and challenges, especially for large shippers who transport goods via full truckload (FTL). Their pain points are diverse and significant, with each capable of causing considerable disruptions in their operations. Therefore, understanding these pain points and how to overcome them is crucial to maintain a smooth and efficient supply chain. FTL Challenges: #1 Capacity: One of the major challenges is securing enough truck capacity to meet shipping needs, especially during peak seasons. The availability of trucks and drivers fluctuates based on numerous factors such as economic conditions, regulatory changes, and seasonal demands. #2 Cost: The costs of FTL shipping is unpredictable. Fuel costs, labor costs, insurance, maintenance, regulatory compliance, and changes in supply and demand can all contribute to the total cost of transportation. And when shippers work with brokers, there is no visibility into what the broker makes versus what the truck is paid. #3 Service: Delays can occur due to numerous reasons including mechanical failures, weather conditions, traffic, or other unforeseen events. These delays can affect the entire supply chain, leading to increased costs and unsatisfied customers. #4 Compliance: Adhering to a myriad of transportation regulations can be a complex process. Regulations may differ based on the type of goods being transported, the regions they're transported through, and they can change over time, creating a need for constant vigilance and adjustment. #5 Sustainability: With increasing awareness of environmental issues, many shippers are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. However, moving towards more sustainable practices can be challenging due to the nature of the trucking industry and existing infrastructure. #6 Integration: While...
Surge in Freight RFPs: Why Shippers Must Remain Vigilant
The logistics industry is witnessing a remarkable rise in the number of Request for Proposals (RFPs), marking it a record high year. It is expected that GDP will have slow growth between now and thru 2024 - 0.50%-1.00% on average. While this could potentially signal growth and expansion in the manufacturing sector, it also poses a unique set of challenges for shippers. Notably, with the freight market at a low point, rates are poised for a gradual increase. This imminent change, coupled with a diminishing number of carriers, might lead to a decline in acceptance rates. This is exactly why it is crucial for shippers to pay close attention to these market shifts to maintain efficient and cost-effective operations. Freight RFPs: An Indicator of Market Dynamics Traditionally, a high number of RFPs signify healthy market conditions, fostering robust competition among freight service providers. However, the current rise in freight RFPs coincides with the freight market's bottomed-out rates. In fact, spot for Reefer bottomed out back in April 2023. This situation can be attributed to several factors, including ongoing supply chain disruptions and varying capacity constraints that have led shippers to explore more competitive freight options. While lower rates might initially seem beneficial to shippers, they could create a precarious situation in the long term. As rates start to rebound, there is a likelihood of price instability, resulting in unexpected cost escalations. This situation calls for shippers to remain extra vigilant while negotiating contracts to ensure their operational costs remain within predictable margins. Decreasing Carrier Capacity: The Impending Challenge The logistics industry is also grappling with a concerning trend of carriers...
Accuracy and Transparency in Freight Cost Management Is An Urgent Necessity For All Shippers
Shipping is a complex and costly aspect of any supply chain, and thus, the way shippers plan and manage their freight costs is of utmost importance. Traditionally, shippers have leaned on historical 1st party data, along with market averages from 3rd party data providers, to gauge whether they were paying a fair price to transport goods. Digging into market averages on specific routes or shipping lanes that have similar distances, weight capacity, and other logistical factors, has become one of the most reliable points of comparison. Unfortunately, these approaches have limitations because they provide a snapshot in time, and assume market conditions have not changed. They do not account for things like changes in fuel prices, driver wages, seasonal fluctuations, and supply and demand shifts. Using these data sources can lead to a significant misjudgment in shipping costs, especially as new disruption occurs. Marginal Discrepancies in Transportation Management Costs Shipper Millions A 1-2% difference in truckload cost might seem small, but in reality, it can make a humongous impact. For instance, if a company spends $100 million annually on freight, a 2% discrepancy equals $2 million. This is a significant sum that could be saved or, if misjudged, unnecessarily spent. Effectively Manage FTL Budget with 100% Data Transparency The need for greater accuracy and transparency in freight cost management is pressing. Advanced analytics and actionable insights have helped many large shippers uncover resilience, sustainability & cost-reduction opportunities. “When shippers understand the “true-market cost” to ship their unique freight, they finally have actionable insights to effectively manage their freight procurement budget”, said Michael Paul, VP of Sales Sleek Technologies. Sleek Technologies...
Tales of A Transportation Insider: How Technological Advancements Have Enhanced, Not Hindered, My Team.
As someone who has worked in logistics for many years, I have seen firsthand the changes that have occurred in transportation management. For the most part, changes have been driven by unprecedented disruption, shifts in customer expectations, and the need to support sustainability. The main goal for any transportation team is to deliver goods on time while paying a fair market price. Unfortunately, it has become more difficult to predict and manage transportation efforts. To be successful, transportation teams need to be open to change, and need to embrace new technology that empowers agility, and quick pivoting as disruption occurs. I know technology can be intimidating for some people. However, I have found that technology makes my job more enjoyable, and more efficient. By eliminating repetitive tasks, I spend less time on tactical efforts and more time on strategic ones related to customer service and sustainability. Innovation has helped freight procurement advance, and here are some of the many benefits. Expands Carrier Options Spending hours negotiating back and forth with freight brokers can be eliminated with automation technology. For example, Sleek Technologies has helped optimize my carrier network by dynamically finding, vetting, and onboarding new carriers. With middlemen eliminated, I have reduced my truckload cost by 15% and strengthened on-time delivery rates to 98%+. Optimizes Existing Carrier Network Making decisions based on bias, relationships, or intuition has been replaced with stronger, data-driven ones. With Sleek Technologies, I have gained full visibility on what trucks get paid, which makes it easy to understand true market cost of each load. I now have real proof points that help level-set truckload price and...
A Methodic Approach To A Fragmented System: All Under One Umbrella
Are you thinking strategically about your transportation spending? Shipping is a complex and costly aspect of any supply chain, and thus, the way shippers consider variables like truckload cost and service levels (OTD)-- is of utmost importance. For a long time, shippers have relied on legacy transportation management processes to procure carriers. These processes are outdated, and siloed, which is why shippers have embraced technological advancements to streamline freight procurement which optimizes the entire carrier network for long-term success to effectively manage the cyclical freight market as conditions change. Introducing Autonomous Freight Procurement & Advanced Analytics AI-powered software, and 100% data transparency, provide a holistic approach to transportation management in 8 simple steps. #1: Once the software is integrated with the shipper TMS #2: Shipper configures load attributes and sets max allowable truckload price in SaaS platform. #3: AI dynamically finds and vets a pool of compliant carriers, which are usually “invisible” to the shipper or blocked by broker middlemen. #4: AI introduces the load to a VETTED network of new and existing carriers giving them the opportunity to haul for you by submitting a direct bid. The 1st carrier to bid at or below the shipper’s allowable price wins the load. #5. With 100% data transparency the shipper knows which carrier has won the bid, and what they are getting paid. With no middlemen involved the shipper understands the actual truckload cost (what the truck is paid), so they can level-set pricing across their entire carrier network. #6: Tracking is done through the carrier's native mobile application, which is all visible to the shipper. #7: Carrier invoicing and payment...
Autonomous Freight Procurement Eliminates Waste & Bias
Autonomous Freight Procurement is revolutionizing the transportation industry by eliminating waste and bias from critical over-the-road transportation management decisions. Many shippers, who have prioritized supply chain digitization, have embraced technological advancements and are actively uncovering resilience, sustainability, and cost reduction opportunities they never knew they had. What is Autonomous Freight Procurement? Autonomous Freight Procurement involves leveraging advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to automate the manual processes of finding compliant carriers, negotiating rates and terms, coordinating shipments, and managing invoicing. The primary goal is to streamline the logistics process, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. What are Autonomous Freight Procurement benefits? The benefits of Autonomous Freight Procurement are significant. First, it increases efficiency by reducing or eliminating manual, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks. Second, it always chooses the most cost-effective carriers, which reduces truckload costs. Third, it always selects the most reliable and compliant carriers, which improves on-time delivery and overall customer experience. Finally, it provides 100% data transparency, empowering shippers to make stronger, data-informed decisions. Overall, Autonomous Freight Procurement is a powerful tool for optimizing logistics operations and improving the bottom line. By leveraging advanced technologies such as autonomous freight procurement software, shippers can stay competitive in today's fast-paced business environment and deliver the best possible service to their customers.
Eliminate Costly Transportation Decisions By Closing The Data Gap
Imagine having to optimize something without having all the facts and data. This is what transportation/ logistics professionals are forced to do all the time. Unfortunately, many shippers don't have actionable data and rely heavily on historical benchmarks or market averages when making crucial transportation decisions. This approach leads to implications that could impact a large company's financial health by millions of dollars. Several issues can be solved by closing the freight procurement data gap, such as selecting the best possible carrier for each run, and level-setting truckload prices. Poor Carrier Selection Many shippers continue to use the same roster of carriers, even when far better options are available because they lack actionable insights to identify existing problem areas. It’s like the old saying… You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. Without complete and accurate carrier performance and pricing data, shippers can’t make informed data-driven decisions about which carriers to keep, drop or add. This leads to suboptimal carrier selection, higher transportation costs, and poor service levels which lead to unhappy customers. Not Understanding Truckload Price When working with freight brokers, shippers are presented with a non-transparent truckload cost, with no insight into how payments are divided between brokers and trucks/carriers. To truly comprehend the real truckload cost, it's crucial to obtain pricing directly from the truck/carrier without any hidden middlemen fees. Incomplete data puts shippers at a massive disadvantage and falls short of providing the insights necessary to level-set or standardize truckload pricing across the entire carrier network. Overpayment leads to millions of dollars in transportation budget overages, and underpayment leads to poor service levels and late...