We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Flock Freight bundles LTL shipments algorithmically
newsworthy

Flock Freight bundles LTL shipments algorithmically

August 7, 2019
Ben Ames
No Comments

The growing wave of overcapacity in the trucking industry is opening up opportunities for technology to create new efficiencies, according to freight technology startup Flock Freight.

After enjoying historically tight capacity conditions in 2018, fleets have rushed into the sector with new equipment, flooding the market with cargo carrying capability and leaving some drivers looking for loads.

One solution for the problem is an approach that combines a number of small shipments that would typically travel in the less than truckload (LTL) mode and "carpooling" them to create full truckload cargo that wouldn't have existed otherwise, Flock Freight CEO Oren Zaslansky says. "The LTL shipping industry is ripe for an overhaul as slow service, paper logs, and missing goods have become the standard," Zaslansky said in a release. "A multi-billion-dollar industry, and the millions of businesses it serves, deserves modernization."

Founded as AuptiX in 2015, the San Diego-based firm rebranded this week as Flock Freight. The venture-backed company is funded by a total of $40 million, including an $18 million round in 2017 from its largest backer, Google Ventures (GV), the venture capital arm of search giant Google Inc.'s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.

GV has built a record as a heavyweight in the logistics startup world, backing piece-picking automation vendor RightHand Robotics Inc., last-mile parcel company Deliv, and fleet management technology provider KeepTruckin Inc. That flow of cash represents a trend of venture capitalists raining tens of millions of dollars in checks on intelligent freight matching startups such as Convoy, Cargomatic Inc., and Transfix. Other entries like Uber Freight rely on funding from its parent company Uber Technologies LLC, and traditional freight brokers like C.H. Robinson and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. have been building their own digital tools.

Those ranks of suitors may crowd drivers' smartphones with competing freight-matching apps, but according to Zaslansky, the space is so big, there will eventually be several winners. "In the future, each driver will have two or three of their favorite apps, but they'll all have Flock Freight. Because you can't get these loads anywhere else on Planet Earth," Zaslansky said. "My loads were born LTL and then they were repackaged. Everybody else's loads are full truckload and they make it on the road by DAT and Truckstop.com, or C.H. Robinson and Coyote, or Convoy and Uber Freight."

In Zaslansky's view, Flock Freight creates unique new demand because it brings freight in from a different industry—LTL—into the truckload industry. "We're moving LTL freight as a multi-stop truckload," he said. "We're flocking your freight; we we will gobble up four-pallet shipments, combine them algorithmically, and have the trucks make multiple picks and drops. Think of it as arbitrage between truckload and LTL," he said.

Flock Freight says it has tripled its revenue in the past 12 months—although it did not provide specific numbers—thanks to the success of its flagship product, FlockDirect, a self-service app that now generates 50 percent of the company's revenue.

The single-solution shipping you've come to trust with AuptiX has gotten an upgrade. Introducing Flock Freight: the next step in our mission to revolutionize the way companies ship.

Learn more in our latest article from DC Velocity: https://t.co/61oyZ2Y9CE

— Flock Freight (@FlockFreight) August 7, 2019
Transportation Technology Trucking
KEYWORDS Flock Freight
  • Related Articles

    Tech startup Flock Freight collects $50 million in VC backing

    Flock Freight lands $215 million VC round for its "freight carpooling" model

    Flock Freight Signs The Climate Pledge, Committing to Achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2040 as Part of

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Hundreds of shipping containers burn at Turkish port after earthquake

ATA gains chassis freedom in legal win over ocean carriers

Norfolk Southern train derailment sparks blaze in Ohio

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Researchers: Ships can look to Mother Nature for energy-saving ideas

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

Now Playing on DCV-TV

C8c3bc6b a91d 4181 a18f 35f288257630

ACPaQ: Fast and reliable automated mixed case palletizer

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Fully Automated Mixed Case Palletizing ACPaQ is a universally applicable solution for fully automated order picking of mixed case pallets based on customers‘ requirements. Its software allows you to customize the palletizing order to increase efficiency during in-store replenishment. The mixed case palletizer...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing