Uber Freight has introduced Uber Freight Enterprise and Uber Freight Link — services that combine high-end operational capability with Uber’s stable technology platform to help enterprise shippers create agile supply chains that reduce costs for their end customers.
“Enterprise has always been a big part of our business, and a vast majority of the existing customers are enterprise as well. At Uber Freight, we offer them a very simple-to-use, one-stop-shop platform, and with the Enterprise solution, we would be providing them the same functionality that our small and midsized shippers have,” said Lior Ron, the CEO of Uber Freight.
With Uber Freight Enterprise, shippers gain end-to-end control of their freight, while sourcing capacity through its marketplace with controls to adjust coverage and pricing. The platform also provides enterprise shippers with visibility into truck estimated time of arrivals (ETAs), digital documentation copies, and actionable insights to improve freight operations.
Ron explained that the Enterprise solution was a result of Uber Freight addressing the needs of enterprise shippers, including integrating the tool within their existing workflows.
“If the enterprise shipper has a TMS, then we provide a real-time API for pricing and truck booking, which is integrated into their TMS. If they don’t have a TMS, we can offer our functionalities directly via the Enterprise platform. Now, enterprise shippers can choose to interact directly with us and not just through a TMS,” said Ron.
Ron cited COVID-19 as another reason for Uber Freight to come up with the Enterprise platform, as large shippers suffered from the market volatility brought about by the pandemic. Having visibility into facilities, monitoring ETAs, and having an exception management system in place can be essential for shippers to navigate the current freight climate.
“We wanted to provide tools that can help these shippers manage volatility better and help them understand where all the trucks are in the network. This can ultimately help them get better pricing control in an environment that is changing so fast,” said Ron.
The Enterprise platform is Uber Freight’s attempt to provide software tools directly to its enterprise shippers. Before this, shippers had to manage the tool on their TMS via API integration or by connecting with the Uber Freight team for insights.
The other tool, Uber Freight Link, is a load execution solution that provides seamless load tendering, real-time visibility and digital one-tap execution to shippers across their existing carrier network. Ron considers Link a breakthrough product that changes the game in connecting shippers and carriers directly.
“In the industry, we’ve been talking about digitalization and about equipping the carriers with more and more tools. Over the years, all that digital enablement has happened to carriers, but getting it for shippers has been a challenge. Link changes that,” said Ron.
Before Link, shippers could only have visibility into shipments handled by carriers registered within the Uber Freight network. Now, Link allows shippers to have full visibility into their loads — regardless of whether they are hauled by carriers that are not in the network.
“At the end of the day, regardless of the IT deployment, we have ways to interact with our shippers and share the benefits of the Uber Freight platform — whether as a TMS or via API integration. We want to make sure we enable the full range of options for shippers, who can then choose their best solution based on the choices,” said Ron.
***
More from Vishnu Rajamanickam
KeepTruckin’s App Marketplace 2.0 gives carriers more control over data
ShipChain’s Mainnet focuses on trust, transparency in supply chains
TIRPORT ushers real-time visibility into trucking industry
