McLeod Software (McLeod), the leading transportation management system (TMS) for freight brokers and carriers, today announced the release of significant updates to existing partnerships as well as two new integrations as part of the 24.2 update to LoadMaster and PowerBroker. These advancements further enhance the platform’s functionality and integration capabilities, positioning McLeod at the forefront of the TMS industry.
As part of the 24.2 update, McLeod has forged new artificial intelligence partnerships with Greenscreens.ai and Parade.ai, two innovative leaders in data-driven solutions for the transportation industry.
The integration with Greenscreens.ai allows PowerBroker users to access real-time market rate data. This integration is available in the 'Rate Index', 'Pricing and Bid', and 'Market Rate Export' modules, ensuring brokers have up-to-date pricing information readily available.
The recently released integration with Parade’s Capacity CoDriver uses generative AI to enhance response efficiency for carrier load inquiries, streamlining offer management and load booking.
"The new AI integrations continue to bring McLeod into the 'new era' of TMS," said Tom McLeod, CEO & Founder, McLeod Software. "By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we are able to provide our users with more accurate data, enhanced efficiency and greater overall value, while extending the value they get out of McLeod."
McLeod has also strengthened existing integrations to provide users with a more robust and versatile platform. Key updates to existing partnerships include:
Samsara Reefer Tracking & Form and Manner Improvements:
The updated reefer tracking integration with Samsara simplifies the management of temperature-sensitive loads, enhancing reliability and compliance for such shipments. Efficiency in handling trailer IDs and shipping document IDs has also been improved to meet FMCSA compliance requirements more effectively.
Communication Updates with SMC³:
The enhanced partnership with SMC³ enables bidirectional communication for rates, order tendering, tracking, and document capture, connecting brokers with LTL carriers.
EROAD Improvements:
Updates to the EROAD integration allow for better maintenance scheduling through tractor odometer readings.
Detailed Mapping and Routing Solutions through Trimble:
Changes to 'PC*Miler' and ‘MileMaker Web Services' provide users with better distance calculations and routing capabilities.
"Ongoing collaborations with industry leaders such as Samsara, EROAD, Trimble and SMC³ -as well as others coming in future updates- are crucial in our mission to deliver a comprehensive, user-friendly, and highly effective TMS solution,” concluded McLeod. “These partnerships allow us to continually innovate and meet the evolving needs of our broker and carrier customers."
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Jan 15, 2025
Following a year in which global logistics networks were buffeted by labor strikes, natural disasters, regional political violence, and economic turbulence, the supply chain visibility provider Project44 has compiled the impact of each of those events in a new study.
The “2024 Year in Review” report lists the various transportation delays, freight volume restrictions, and infrastructure repair costs of a long string of events. Those disruptions include labor strikes at Canadian ports and postal sites, the U.S. East and Gulf coast port strike; hurricanes Helene, Francine, and Milton; the Francis Scott key Bridge collapse in Baltimore Harbor; the CrowdStrike cyber attack; and Red Sea missile attacks on passing cargo ships.
“While 2024 was characterized by frequent and overlapping disruptions that exposed many supply chain vulnerabilities, it was also a year of resilience,” the Project44 report said. “From labor strikes and natural disasters to geopolitical tensions, each event served as a critical learning opportunity, underscoring the necessity for robust contingency planning, effective labor relations, and durable infrastructure. As supply chains continue to evolve, the lessons learned this past year highlight the increased importance of proactive measures and collaborative efforts. These strategies are essential to fostering stability and adaptability in a world where unpredictability is becoming the norm.”
In addition to tallying the supply chain impact of those events, the report also made four broad predictions for trends in 2025 that may affect logistics operations. In Project44’s analysis, they include:
- More technology and automation will be introduced into supply chains, particularly ports. This will help make operations more efficient but also increase the risk of cybersecurity attacks and service interruptions due to glitches and bugs. This could also add tensions among the labor pool and unions, who do not want jobs to be replaced with automation.
- The new administration in the United States introduces a lot of uncertainty, with talks of major tariffs for numerous countries as well as talks of US freight getting preferential treatment through the Panama Canal. If these things do come to fruition, expect to see shifts in global trade patterns and sourcing.
- Natural disasters will continue to become more frequent and more severe, as exhibited by the wildfires in Los Angeles and the winter storms throughout the southern states in the U.S. As a result, expect companies to invest more heavily in sustainability to mitigate climate change.
- The peace treaty announced on Wednesday between Isael and Hamas in the Middle East could support increased freight volumes returning to the Suez Canal as political crisis in the area are resolved.
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Shippeo gains $30 million backing for its transportation visibility platform
Jan 15, 2025
The French transportation visibility provider Shippeo today said it has raised $30 million in financial backing, saying the money will support its accelerated expansion across North America and APAC, while driving enhancements to its “Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platform” product.
The funding round was led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund, with participation from existing investors: Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, Bpifrance Digital Venture, LFX Venture Partners, Shift4Good and Yamaha Motor Ventures. With this round, Shippeo’s total funding exceeds $140 million.
Shippeo says it offers real-time shipment tracking across all transport modes, helping companies create sustainable, resilient supply chains. Its platform enables users to reduce logistics-related carbon emissions by making informed trade-offs between modes and carriers based on carbon footprint data.
"Global supply chains are facing unprecedented complexity, and real-time transport visibility is essential for building resilience” Prashant Bothra, Principal at Woven Capital, who is joining the Shippeo board, said in a release. “Shippeo’s platform empowers businesses to proactively address disruptions by transforming fragmented operations into streamlined, data-driven processes across all transport modes, offering precise tracking and predictive ETAs at scale—capabilities that would be resource-intensive to develop in-house. We are excited to support Shippeo’s journey to accelerate digitization while enhancing cost efficiency, planning accuracy, and customer experience across the supply chain.”
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Donald Trump has been clear that he plans to hit the ground running after his inauguration on January 20, launching ambitious plans that could have significant repercussions for global supply chains.
With a new white paper—"The threat of resiliency and sustainability in global supply chain management: Expectations for 2025”—the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) seeks to provide some guidance on what companies can expect for the first year of the second Trump Administration.
As Mark Baxa, CSCMP president and CEO, says in the executive forward to the white paper, the incoming Trump Administration and a majority Republican congress are “poised to reshape trade policies, regulatory frameworks, and the very fabric of how we approach global commerce.”
The paper is written by import/export expert Thomas Cook, managing director for Blue Tiger International, a U.S.-based supply chain management consulting company that focuses on international trade. Cook is the former CEO of American River International in New York and Apex Global Logistics Supply Chain Operation in Los Angeles and has written 19 books on global trade.
In the paper, Cook, of course, takes a close look at tariff implications and new trade deals, emphasizing that Trump will seek revisions that will favor U.S. businesses and encourage manufacturing to return to the U.S. The paper, however, also looks beyond global trade to addresses topics such as Trump’s tougher stance on immigration and the possibility of mass deportations, greater support of Israel in the Middle East, proposals for increased energy production and mining, and intent to end the war in the Ukraine.
In general, Cook believes that many of the administration’s new policies will be beneficial to the overall economy. He does warn, however, that some policies will be disruptive and add risk and cost to global supply chains.
In light of those risks and possible disruptions, Cook’s paper offers 14 recommendations. Some of which include:- Create a team responsible for studying the changes Trump will introduce when he takes office;
- Attend trade shows and make connections with vendors, suppliers, and service providers who can help you navigate those changes;
- Consider becoming C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) certified to help mitigate potential import/export issues;
- Adopt a risk management mindset and shift from focusing on lowest cost to best value for your spend;
- Increase collaboration with internal and external partners;
- Expect warehousing costs to rise in the short term as companies look to bring in foreign-made goods ahead of tariffs;
- Expect greater scrutiny from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol of origin statements for imports in recognition of attempts by some Chinese manufacturers to evade U.S. import policies;
- Reduce dependency on China for sourcing; and
- Consider manufacturing and/or sourcing in the United States.
Cook advises readers to expect a loosening up of regulations and a reduction in government under Trump. He warns that while some world leaders will look to work with Trump, others will take more of a defiant stance. As a result, companies should expect to see retaliatory tariffs and duties on exports.
Cook concludes by offering advice to the incoming administration, including being sensitive to the effect retaliatory tariffs can have on American exports, working on federal debt reduction, and considering promoting free trade zones. He also proposes an ambitious water works program through the Army Corps of Engineers.
The 33-page white paper can be downloaded from CSCMP’s website for free.
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The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.
That accomplishment is important because it will allow food sector trading partners to meet the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204d (FSMA 204) requirements that they must create and store complete traceability records for certain foods.
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"Traceability requires data from the supply chain and – importantly – confirmation at the retail store that the proper and accurate lot code data from each shipment has been captured when the product is received. The missing piece for us has been the supply chain data. ReposiTrak is the leader in capturing and managing supply chain data, starting at the suppliers. Together, we can deliver a single, comprehensive traceability solution," Mark Hawthorne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Upshop, said in a release.
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Instacart announced the deals with DUMAC Business Systems, a POS solutions provider for independent grocery and convenience stores, and TRUNO Retail Technology Solutions, a provider that powers over 13,000 retail locations.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to Instacart, its Caper Carts transform the in-store shopping experience by letting customers automatically scan items as they shop, track spending for budget management, and access discounts directly on the cart. DUMAC and TRUNO will now provide a turnkey service, including Caper Cart referrals, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing technical support – creating a streamlined path for grocers to bring smart carts to their stores.
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