Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1004801
34 commercial carrier journal | july 2018 D ata scientists at Amazon and other e-commerce sites are experts at configuring algorithms to mine the search and purchase histories of con- sumers to recommend new products. Motor carriers are experiencing a similar phenomenon from some freight brokers and third-party logis- tics providers. Loads matching their present and future needs are being offered through apps, websites and phone calls without having to search for them. Such is the experience for carriers doing business with C.H. Robinson. As one of the largest 3PLs, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company does business with more than 73,000 car- riers. C.H. Robinson generates more than $14.8 billion annually in sales and has 15,000 employees. A team of about 30 data scientists is leveraging the company's large and expanding database of carrier and shipment data for some interesting uses. One ongoing project is making it possible to accurately predict where technology and when loads will become available from its customers and to secure future capacity commitments from carriers. With this ongoing analysis, "carriers are being offered loads before they ask for it," says Tim Gagnon, C.H. Robinson's vice president of data science and analyt- ics. The granularity of shipment tracking data from carriers is supporting this and other advancements. C.H. Robinson's Navisphere app uses the GPS on drivers' smartphones to track its shipments. The company also gets tracking data from a variety of telematics providers with the carrier's permission. Either of these methods can provide automatic status updates every 15 minutes, Gagnon says. Another way C.H. Robinson uses automated load tracking and visibility data is to analyze detention events at shipping facilities. Results from the analysis drive fact-based conversations with customers. "ELDs are bringing a greater urgency" to shorten the turnaround at shipping and receiving locations, he says. "All of the work we are doing in this space is trying to take the friction out and assist at all levels." Gagnon doesn't expect faster loading and unloading times happening at a large scale overnight, however. "I'd be lying if I said the insight has had a widespread impact," he says. "We are still in the early innings in executing on a lot of that learning." MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF Moving freight with data science C.H. Robinson leveraging carrier histories to predict next loads C.H. Robinson's Navi- sphere app uses the GPS on drivers' smartphones to provide automatic shipment updates. DATA MINING: Loads matching motor carrier needs are being offered through apps and websites. CRYSTAL BALL: C.H. Robinson is predicting where and when loads will become available. ROUND-TRIP FOCUS: The 3PL also is developing sophisticated methods to optimize loads for carriers.