Many applications of value to supply chain managers are now free, says Ethan Feldman, senior manager of shipper solutions at Loadsmart.

Feldman says the top three challenges facing shippers and third-party logistics providers today are price volatility, lack of visibility into carrier location and availability, and few affordable technologies for small and medium-sized businesses. They aren’t new, he says, but they have come into focus recently.

Fortunately, there are a lot of new tools that touch every part of the domestic freight transportation transaction, including warehouse management, scheduling, pickup and delivery appointments, tendering and tracking freight. “There are multiple [transportation management and scheduling] software providers that are now free. So if you're really tight on cash, I wouldn't say that's necessarily a roadblock to digitizing your supply chain. Looking at your entire operation from a holistic view, and seeing where you can implement technology, is a great place to start.”

Feldman says it’s important to look at historical data and create a network overview. “Look at the last 12 months of all the orders and shipments you've processed through your system. Create a diagram of the lanes you use, the pricing types on each lane, and understand where you're at to begin with. Then you can run an exercise to see how you can optimize this operation, whether it be from a pricing or a service perspective. That's how we could start.”

The need to integrate with many parties has stopped people from digitizing their supply chains in the past, he says. “But the advent of integrating middle layers, where one party takes on the responsibility of integrating thousands of different carriers or third-party systems, has changed things. That allows new technologies and new players to come onto the scene, connect once, and get visibility across the entire supply chain.”