Transportation management system (TMS) software vendor MercuryGate International Inc. will partner with Amazon Freight, the online retailer’s transportation and freight brokerage arm, saying the move will help shippers cope with the trucking sector’s severe capacity constraints by tapping into Amazon’s large network and dynamic rates, the North Carolina-based software company said today.
MercuryGate also partners with other freight brokers, but says the new arrangement adds extra capacity for its customers, according to MercuryGate’s vice president of product marketing, Kathryn Buchanan.
The additional capacity includes more than 40,000 Amazon-owned trailers and a network of third-party drivers to move shippers’ truckload freight. Shippers can use Amazon Freight to ship full truckloads inbound to Amazon, to their own facilities, or to their customer’s facilities, using 53-foot dry vans.
“Freight moves fast, and shippers need access to an efficient freight partner who can help them keep up with demand and streamline their processes,” MercuryGate President & CEO Joe Juliano said in a release. “This partnership will make it even easier for shippers of all sizes to access Amazon Freight’s advanced logistics network and premium service offering to move their full truckload freight.”
According to Buchanan, the partnership benefits both partners, since Amazon Freight can now tap in to MercuryGate’s pool of shippers in order to bring more paying freight into its trailers, while MercuryGate customers benefit from expanded capability and capacity.
One of those new capabilities is that the Seattle-based e-commerce giant will also extend its complimentary lane-match analysis to MercuryGate shippers. Under that arrangement, the company’s transportation specialists work with shippers to overlay their lanes on top of the Amazon Freight network and identify opportunities for shippers to save money and optimize their network, Amazon said.
“As Earth’s most customer-centric company, we’re always working on new ways to make shipping as simple and reliable as shopping on Amazon.com,” Amazon Freight’s vice president, Hannah McClellan, said in a release. “MercuryGate has a strong reputation for being a technological leader in the transportation space, with a feature-rich platform and a focus on usability. When searching for an inaugural TMS partner, their platform and software solutions were a natural fit with our values and service offering— adding one more way for us to meet shippers where they are to help optimize how they move freight.”
