November 2021 19logisticstechoutlook.comReinventing Freight Procurement with Transportation Technology We are the hub for shippers to run their annual and seasonal bids on all modes of transportationJepson. On top of that, a series of tools, like DocuSign, are also integrated into the platform for seamless digital contract management. Alongside, Emerge offers the ability to create and run scenarios in an automated fashion. In terms of spot procurement, shippers can work with their existing network of spot providers to bring back rates from digital providers like the `Ubers and Convoys' of the world or source rates manually in the Emerge platform, sometimes through existing networks. "Or, by using the Emerge marketplace, they can bring new capacity in a reverse action, and ultimately enhance the spot procurement process," asserts Leto. In short, the firm's goal with Emerge is simple: to facilitate long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between shippers and carriers and create a positive network effect.But what is truly unique about the Emerge marketplace is its openness. "Previously, a lot of marketplaces were unwilling to let shippers work with their existing networks as well as those that introduced them to the marketplace. We break that mold with Emerge," highlights Leto. "Our platform allows shippers and their providers as well as the marketplace to communicate using a real-time chat, specifically for our spot market." What's more? Emerge is built by the network effect; every shipper that joins the platform helps other shippers by bringing more capacity. Besides, the platform is simple and free to use. Clients only need to pay when they find a different capacity provider from their existing network. Furthermore, the platform makes it incredibly easy to ingest data in large quantities. "Every shipper is slightly different in terms of the data points that they want to provide. We allow custom templating, enabling each shipper to configure the data as well as the validations around that," avers Jepson.In an impressive feat, the firm helped a major brewery run mini bids using the Emerge platform. Previously, the client was using emails and spreadsheets to carry out the process. After the switch, the brewery saw a massive reduction in the time spent on compiling rates and awarding carriers. On the contract RFP side, the client also witnessed an enormous decrease in the amount of time required to create and collect rates and administer bids. "They were able to take it down from a period of weeks to days. Moreover, the client found eight percent of their capacity through the platform," states Leto.Treading ahead with many more similar success stories under its hood, the firm will continue to augment its offerings. "All of our shippers want one system to win their bids for different types of transportation. Hence, Emerge will soon offer other modes of transportation such as less than truckload (LTL), full container load (FCL), and less than container load (LCL), which is international bidding," affirms Jepson. Bringing benchmarked rates and thousands of trusted partners under one roof, the platform has reaped close to $2 billion of spot and contract revenue annually. The team strives to increase this number to $10 billion by the end of next year. Andrew Leto
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