MercuryGate launches collaborative freight exchange platform

Transportation management system (TMS) solutions provider MercuryGate International Inc. has launched a "dynamic information exchange" platform it says provides TMS users with access to a broad range of sources of available capacity.

Known as MercuryMart, the online marketplace takes a collaborative approach to connecting companies requiring capacity with open-market capacity providers, MercuryGate said Wednesday. Other freight exchange platforms require third-party services to leverage providers that are already established within the TMS, but MercuryMart allows suppliers to self-integrate into the exchange using a set of secure application programming interfaces (APIs), the company said.

"Collaborative supply chains are driving manufacturer growth and logistics innovation because sharing technology and excess capacity improves overall efficiency for all stakeholders," MercuryGate CEO and co-founder Monica Wooden said in a release.

In addition to enabling improved visibility and analytics, the MercuryMart "meta-marketplace" provides a quote search tool that can be customized based on defined pools of acceptable providers, constraints, and carrier and contract preferences, according to MercuryGate.

"Having adequate capacity is critical to supply chain execution, and MercuryMart provides shippers with access to a larger set of suppliers faster than ever before, all from their TMS platform," Wooden said. "For brokers, freight forwarders, or third-party services providers, MercuryMart offers a competitive advantage by enabling them to meet their customers' capacity needs quickly and seamlessly."

The release is the latest launch by MercuryGate, which said last month it had created a service that connects TMS users with pre-approved logistics service providers (LSPs) that can advise shippers on tricky supply chain applications.