Freight broker and third-party logistics provider (3PL) Echo Global Logistics Inc. said Tuesday it had integrated its proprietary transportation management system (TMS) with supply chain visibility technology from software vendor project44.
The move allows Chicago-based Echo to automate its management of less-than-truckload (LTL) and "volume LTL" shipments—those shipments greater than 12 linear feet but less than 28 linear feet—by using application programming interfaces (APIs) provided by project44, the firm said.
Chicago-based project44's software automates the flow of data among shippers, carriers, and 3PLs by allowing customers to get data through APIs that directly link computer databases instead of relying on third-party interfaces, such as email or electronic data interchange (EDI).
Integrating its TMS with project44's APIs allows Echo to provide its clients with more transparent, real-time, full shipment lifecycle data, the company said. Echo said it will also use the technology to tender shipments, access live end-to-end visibility, and receive delivery documentation, thus providing interoperability between its capacity providers, technology systems, and clients.
Echo also plans to extend the project44 technology to additional modes of transportation via future integrations, the company said.
