5 min read
Now that the word is out that SupplyStack has been acquired by Transporeon, (and our CEOs have spoken about why they are over the moon about the collaboration), we thought you’d like to know what you, our customer, has to gain from our brainchild.
We’re not going to carve our names into a tree trunk, but we do want the logistics world to know that what we’re doing together is really the talk of the town. Shippers, carriers, you name it...this acquisition is on everyone’s lips.
We sat down with Head of Product, Ashton Goonting, for a breakdown on how our products complement (and compliment) each other, how the acquisition fills a huge gap in the logistics market, and what’s been added to the transportation management mix to help our customers.
Spoiler alert: your logistics life is about to get much easier...and better.
Killer products
Prior to the match, Transporeon largely focused on managing FTL transport, targeting industries that do bulk shipments such as the chemical, paper and packaging, and agricultural industries. And they did this very, very well.
SupplyStack, on the other hand, offered a unique product that managed complex supply chain use cases such as LTL, parcel and multi-modal transport. SupplyStack made this a conscious choice. First, because we like to be different, and second, to concentrate on industries and transportation flows that were outside of Transporeon’s scope.
Now that we’ve teamed up with Transporeon, we can handle all transportation modes at scale, regardless of complexity, and address a much broader range of customers. This not only makes for a compelling argument to choose our product, but is also a first for the industry.
Transporeon’s stellar carrier network
Building up a carrier network is no easy feat. Over the years, Transporeon has created the largest road carrier network in Europe. By joining Transporeon, SupplyStack customers can onboard faster because, a sizeable number of the shipper’s carriers are already onboarded. This means there’s little to no need to introduce our tools and/or train folks to use them. Our customers will also be able to leverage existing carrier integrations from the word go, thus saving IT resources and shortening the time for implementation. All in all, it makes our customers happy, faster.
Control Pay for invoicing
Control Pay is the leading freight audit and pay provider in Europe, auditing more than 210 million shipments and processing invoices valued at more than 3.1 billion euros annually. Integrating with Control Pay not only makes our product better, but our customers can learn industry best-practices on invoicing from experts.
Before the acquisition, SupplyStack had been developing an invoice matching module, which we’re fully willing to admit did not hold a candle to Transporeon’s world class solution. Our goal was to fix the problem of automatically matching carrier invoices with the calculated (planned + accessorial) costs of completed transports.
Now that we’re able to offer Control Pay to our customers, we can stick to what we’re good at, AND free-up our R&D budget to keep on innovating our core TMS functionalities. Both companies are now in a luxury position where we can cherry-pick solutions without having to compromise on quality. We're creating a best-of-breed ecosystem of transportation management apps on a modular platform.
Multi-modal and Parcel added to the Transporeon platform
SupplyStack’s multi-modal and parcel capabilities offer a huge advantage to the Transporeon platform. This proves to us that it pays dividends to be a small fish in a big pond. And by pond, we’re talking ocean.
Multi-modal
Multimodal transport has been gaining steam these past few years with the EU’s Shift2Rail initiative. Plus, more companies are working towards creating a sustainable supply chain. But making this transition isn’t easy. When planning transportation, shippers often need to use multiple apps depending on the mode of transport. To top it off, most TMSs are not able to properly manage and track shipments across multiple transport modes (except ours, of course) so visibility is a big blindspot.
This acquisition allows SupplyStack to offer a one-stop-shop solution to a whole lot more shippers to manage and track transports over multiple modes. For example, during a road leg, shippers can potentially execute spot tenders that could reach a carrier pool of close to 130,000 carriers. Then, once assigned to a carrier, they can track the shipment in real time via Sixfold.
Real-time tracking provides shippers with truck positions and ETAs, meaning shippers can anticipate delays and act accordingly. If the main carriage is via ocean transport, our integration with LogitOne means we can now receive port/terminal milestones as well as GPS coordinates and updated ETAs of the vessel while at sea. The result? Total visibility for our shippers across pre-, main, and on-carriage shipping.
Parcel
SupplyStack’s TMS can support parcel flows and last mile deliveries on complex transportation flows. The flexibility of the transport data model and our robust technology platform allows shippers to manage shipments with over 50 stops, all the while tracking deliveries on the article level from parcel providers.
We not only bring parcel capabilities to the Transporeon ecosystem, we also extend the carrier network through integrated parcel providers. All part and parcel of what makes SupplyStack great for Transporeon, and vice versa.
Ocean capabilities set sail
Maritime transport underpins our global supply chain linkages. Ocean shipments account for 80% of global merchandise trade by volume and more than 70% by value - according to UNCTAD.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the maritime supply chain has been heavily disrupted resulting in congestion at ports and causing shipment delays that disrupt the overall supply chain. There has never been a better time for a solution that would empower shippers to better manage their ocean bookings and get visibility on the status and ETA of their containers.
SupplyStack has recently announced its product TM+ Multimodal that offers critical management capabilities of ocean shipments with direct connections to freight forwarders and shipping lines. Together with LogitOne, we will be able to provide real-time visibility and accurate ETA predictions of the vessel while it’s in transit. Plus, customers will have access to status updates from integrated ports and terminals around Europe, such as the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Convinced? We thought so.
There’s no doubt in our minds that this new alliance is groundbreaking, but we don’t need to convince ourselves. It’s you who needs to see the perks and discover how it will revolutionize the way you go about your logistics business.
Not everyone is always ready for change, but when the change is sweet, it’s a smooth ride into the future. We’d like to think we’re paving the way for that very easy journey. In the meantime, know that we’re working hard towards the common goal of bringing transportation in sync with the world.
