A few years ago, it seemed unrealistic for shippers, third party logistics providers or brokers to expect total visibility from all carriers in their freight networks.

Large and mid-size carriers probably had the technology to provide shipment visibility. Small carriers, however, traditionally have lacked onboard computers and software needed to automate an electronic data interchange (EDI) process and stand on equal footing.

About 97 percent of active, DOT-registered carriers in the market today operate less than 20 trucks, according to RigDig BI Online, a trucking industry business intelligence tool from Randall-Reilly. To bridge the technology gap with larger competitors, small carriers had to answer check calls or manually update shipment status using their customers’ web portals.

Sharing pricing information was another challenge, as a lot of time and resources were tied up in phone calls, emails and faxes to respond to rate requests from customers and prospects.

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