In a move to clear up cargo bottlenecks and relieve congested ports, the logistics tech firms E2open Parent Holdings Inc. and PayCargo today launched a partnership to expedite the freight payments process between supply chain trading partners by digitizing outmoded processes like exchanging paper checks.
By joining forces, the firms say they can speed up the freight payment process for carriers, forwarders, and shippers. Under the terms of the deal, E2open’s supply chain management platform will now embed payment processes to facilitate faster release of cargo at ports via PayCargo’s secure logistics payment solution.
According to the firms, that approach will eliminate the traditional, resource-intensive system of requesting, printing, mailing, and delivering checks, wire transfers, or cash, and thus provide a seamless process for booking, confirming, tracking, settling, and releasing cargo.
The news follows a similar initiative from the Nebraska supply chain tech startup BasicBlock Inc., which this week raised $78 million in backing for its platform supporting freight factoring service for the trucking industry. That approach helps truckers get paid for each delivery much faster than collecting the money themselves, instead acting as a middleman to pay the truck driver up front and then redeeming the invoice at a later date.
“With PayCargo, we extend our payment and settlement capabilities to additional modes, and have the opportunity to further streamline more than a quarter of the world’s cargo processes. This has a tremendous impact on the efficiency of freight movements and reduction of congestions, which positively impacts environmental sustainability,” Michael Farlekas, CEO of E2open, said in a release.
