Dive Brief:
- Uber Freight is rolling out a new data analytics tool called "Freight Insights" to its shipper platform this month, the company said in a blog post.
- The tool will provide shippers a dashboard with real-time information as well as aggregate data over the long term. For example, long-term data reveals the length of time drivers spend at specific facilities.
- Uber Freight said its quantitative analytics tool "provides clarity to complex businesses, helping them streamline their supply chains."
Dive Insight:
This latest tool from Uber Freight is another move by the company to promote transparency in the logistics industry.
The company last month launched Lane Explorer, allowing shippers to view dates and prices two weeks out in a Google Flights-like interface. Uber Freight claimed the feature sets a "new standard for price transparency." Competitor Convoy has also made strides toward data insights transparency. It launched Shipper 2.0 last month, which provides market trends data and lane-level insights.
Actionable data, whether through Uber Freight or another platform, can no doubt improve efficiency in the supply chain.
"While many facilities help drivers get unloaded, loaded, and back on the road quickly, others are backlogged and result in several hour wait times," Uber Freight wrote. "If shippers had direct visibility into inefficiencies like this, they would be empowered to make changes to improve both their operations and reputations ."
The desire for freight transparency is not unique to the trucking industry. With intermodal shipments growing, shippers desire visibility into all parts of a shipment, no matter the freight mode. Carrier CMA CGM responded to that customer desire by posting instant quotes and booking on freight rate marketplace Freightos.
