Logistics platform developer says industry must adopt technology that defragments supply chain, maximizes capacity
With the pandemic’s ripple effects still disrupting global supply chains, ZUUM Transportation brought its technology and its vision for a new, optimized logistics industry to Manifest 2022, the foremost conference of logistics leaders, innovators, and investors.
ZUUM, founded in 2016, is the developer of a freight software platform that connects shippers, brokers, carriers, and drivers on one logistics super platform. ZUUM CEO Mustafa Azizi spoke as part of a panel on “The Adoption of Technology Across Transportation and Fleets” at the Manifest conference, Jan. 22-25 in Las Vegas.
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During FreightWaves 2022 Global Supply Chain Conference in February, Azizi said the logistics industry needs to move to a new vision that is suitable to the realities of the pandemic era, one that leverages the capabilities that reside around the world but also improves freight automation and reduces the risks of future disruptions.
“We’ve learned that it’s essential to defragment the industry in order to streamline and optimize supply chains,” Azizi said. “We need interconnected technologies that build collaborations and partnerships. A platform that unifies all players in the supply chain, from shippers to brokers to carriers, can identify and maximize capacity, accelerate freight planning and reduce spend.”
The pandemic revealed or magnified many challenges facing the industry, Azizi said: Talent gaps are wider than ever, end-to-end transparency remains elusive, and progress toward more localized, flexible supply-chain structures has been slower than anticipated. Signs indicate that the rate of investment in some digital supply-chain technologies like DFMs is slowing down, while the need for automation and integration is larger than ever.
As COVID-19 case numbers are decreasing globally, supply chain issues remain, particularly for businesses in the United States and the Eurozone. In 2021, many suppliers were forced to restrict production cycles and were unable to meet their delivery obligations in full.
Some supply-chain leaders have taken decisive action in response to the challenges of the pandemic, he said, by adapting effectively to new ways of working, boosting inventories, and ramping their digital and risk-management capabilities. But they still need to take decisive action to adapt their supply-chain footprint, modernize their technologies, and build their capabilities.
Throughout the pandemic, ZUUM’s software toolkit, connected by the Logistics Super Platform (LSP), improved processes for clients at all levels of the supply chain.
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The Shipper Transportation Management System (TMS) is connected to ZUUM’s Digital Freight Marketplace and provides instant freight quotes from ZUUM’s pre-vetted nationwide carrier network nationwide. On-demand transportation-capacity access is reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction by optimizing freight network and carrier management.
ZUUM’s broker software allows brokers to cover loads more quickly and provide automatic real-time visibility to clients. Digital document management, advanced reports, and analytics, as part of an extensive list of features, increase productivity.
The Carrier TMS helps transportation companies find more profitable loads, optimize routes, and book profitable backhauls, as well as simplify bookkeeping via digital document management. The Driver Mobile App automates notifications, eliminating manual check-calls, and digitizes documents in one place.