Resources Blog

Building the future of freight, together

Convoy News, ShippersPublished on May 2, 2019

Convoy’s product team has worked closely with hundreds of businesses — from domestic glass makers to multi-billion-dollar energy companies — to better understand how we can give you more confidence, control, and knowledge throughout your shipping operations. We found that most organizations have similar challenges when it comes to shipping freight, and every business has a vision for how freight should work. The problem? Companies lack the budget and technical resources needed to make their vision a reality.  

We are excited to announce Convoy Innovation Partners, a program that pairs shippers directly with Convoy’s engineers, data scientists, and product designers to solve the industry’s most challenging problems.

The best ideas come from partnership  

At Convoy, we believe that significant improvements in freight are made by combining a deep understanding of shipper problems with world-class technology. We partner with businesses just like yours, every day, to understand logistics challenges. Then we work together to design technology-focused solutions.

“Every innovation we have brought to market so far has been due to deep partnership with leading shippers and carriers. With Convoy Innovation Partners, we are accelerating innovation at Convoy and the freight world at large.”

Ziad Ismael, Chief Product Officer at Convoy

Many of these inventions are available today: Dynamic Backup, a real-time rate inserted into the backup tree, was the result of our partnership with Anheuser-Busch. They came to us with a problem: too many shipments were hitting the spot market, wasting time and money. We partnered with them to implement a solution which increased their load coverage by 20%, and then released this Dynamic Backup innovation to shippers across the country.  

Dynamic Backup inserts a real-time, guaranteed rate into a shippers routing guide.

This is only one of many solutions co-invented with our customers. Join the Convoy Innovation Partners and bring your ideas and problems to the table, so that we can work together to solve them.


Recent innovations with shippers:

  • Convoy Go – Allows shippers to leverage our Universal Trailer Pool and nationwide network of power-only carriers.
  • Shipper Platform 2.0 – Gives shippers direct access to Convoy’s data and models for smarter decision making.
  • Flex Loads – Expands shipper capacity through flexible pickup and delivery dates.

Transform your shipping without a budget

Every business we’ve talked to wants to innovate within their logistics departments. However, the freight market has been tough for the last two years, which has led companies to de-prioritize any initiatives considered inessential to immediate shipping needs.

We’re opening up the Convoy Innovation Partners so shippers can innovate without having to ask their finance departments for support. You provide the expertise, the challenges you’re hoping to solve, and a bit of time, and we provide our engineering, data science, and design resources. Together, we build breakthrough solutions to freight’s toughest problems.

Wrestle with big ideas

The Convoy Innovation Partners program is looking for shippers who challenge themselves to think beyond the short term and aspire to transform freight for the better, just like we do. Your challenges aren’t simple, but we’re excited to work with you to solve them. Here are some of the questions Innovation Partners are asking:

  • How can I make freight a service for my customers and a profit center for our company?
  • If I know where my trucks are and what’s on them, can I never go out of stock and also reduce inventory levels?
  • How can I create stability and consistency in my shipping operations and pricing?

Julie Rooney of Sixpoint Brewery, a Convoy Innovation Partner, says, “Convoy is changing what we can expect from a partner. Their focus on pushing the envelope is unmatched.”

Interested in innovating with Convoy?

Our product and engineering teams want to talk to you! We have four initiatives that are currently incubating with our partners, plus a long list of projects we want to explore next. If you are a shipper who is excited to transform your business, join the Convoy Innovation Partners today.

Author

Esther Sedgwick

Esther Sedgwick is a Director of Marketing at Convoy focused on technology solutions for shippers. Prior to Convoy, Esther was a Director of Marketing at Microsoft where she launched 17 products across the Windows, Xbox, and Surface businesses over her 10 year tenure. Esther’s experience growing up on a commercial apple farm in Eastern Washington fuels her passion for using technology to improve efficiency and reduce waste in the freight industry.
View more articles by Esther Sedgwick