Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/591405
INDUSTRY 12 www.FlatbedTruckingJobs.com November 2015 INSIDER by Aaron Huff The next generation spot market: S peed is the formula of suc- cess for freight brokers, but most are limited to the rate at which humans can make phone calls or send faxes and emails to fi nd loads and capacity. During the past year, a num- ber of new companies have entered the market backed with millions in venture capital to shake things up. One of these new entrants is Cargo Chief. Co-founder Abtin Hamidi worked in sales and operations at small and large brokerage fi rms before leaving for Palo Alto, Calif., aka "Silicon Valley" to join a high- tech startup. He then returned to transportation as a consultant for XPO Logistics and became its president. In early 2013, Hamidi returned to Palo Alto to start a non-traditional brokerage fi rm, Cargo Chief, with Russell Jones, the former chief executive of ClearVox Com- munications, an electronics manufacturer and shipper. Cargo Chief is a data company with brokerage authority. Its fi rst year in busi- ness was spent developing a proprietary search engine among other technologies. The engine's algorithm receives inputs from 30,000 sources every day to predict where capacity will be and at what cost. "When processing that much data, we think we can be within three percent of accuracy for pricing," Hamidi says. Hamidi compares Cargo Chief to the instant travel search engine Kayak.com. Instead of searching for fl ights or hotels, shippers use Cargo Chief to instantly fi nd the best options for capacity. "Brokers that have a tech- nology advantage have a real value to shippers," he says. "By aggregating data we can see things that shippers can't see." Cargo Chief automatically verifi es motor carriers' safety, insurance and operating credentials. A mobile app, Cargo Locate, resides on drivers' smartphones and provides customers with load tracking information from pickup to delivery. Upon delivery, drivers use the same Cargo Locate mobile app to capture and submit proof of delivery. Cargo Chief pays freight charges fi ve days later. Truck capacity and pricing on demand Cargo Chief has a mobile app, Cargo Locate, that makes it easy for carriers to find loads and track shipments.