Choptank Transport, a third-party logistics company headquartered in Maryland, recently launched a new customer-interfacing market intelligence platform called ORBIT TI.
The company said ORBIT TI, designed to deliver real-time supply chain analyses, is a value-added, free-access benefit for all Choptank Transport shippers that is fully integrated with its transportation management system.
“One of the most exciting features of ORBIT TI is the Market Intelligence Center,” said Josh Bergling, vice president of technology at Choptank. “Protected by a secure user name and password, customers can access many useful data-driven analyses derived from their own shipping history. Here they can review frequently run lanes and see their related market conditions, including tender acceptance, truck-to-load ratios, weather (even snowfall amounts), and current diesel prices per gallon.”
Another helpful tool is the Capacity Utilization metric that runs all possible configurations of a palletized load on a trailer and reveals a customer’s percentage of utilization. The Stop-Arrival time feature gives customers a snapshot of their freight’s arrival times, marking them as early, on-time or late arrival. Detecting costly problem areas such as long dwell times can provide information for shippers and receivers alike.
Probably the most popular feature of the platform is the Shipments tab. This part of the ORBIT TI interface shows customers’ loads in one central location, with drill-down features that categorize shipments by upcoming, in transit, at facility and recently delivered. A tracked shipment can be viewed in real-time on an interactive map that also reveals weather conditions along the route and any stops along the way. Relevant shipment documents can be downloaded quickly, such as bills of lading, lumper charges, invoices and delivery receipts.
“As a seasonal shipper, the ability to view pickup information prior to loading was something that we found particularly valuable,” said the transportation manager for one Choptank customer. “The visibility really helps me be more proactive when tracking loads instead of reactive. We have a large volume of time-sensitive loads to ship in a short amount of time, many with early a.m. appointments. Instead of having to make check calls on each of these loads, having one place to see if they are on track is a huge time-saver.”
There also is a convenient accounting tab that houses information such as aged receivables and relevant Choptank documentation that is frequently requested by customers, such as certificates of insurance, W-9 forms and the Choptank Transport Buyers Guide.
“Access to real-time information gives our customers the powerful ability to make important logistics decisions without delays or inaccuracies, in ways that save them time and money,” Bergling said. “Providing this valuable addition to our services helps make our customer’s jobs easier, and that is always the goal.”
Visit choptanktransport.com for more information.
