Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Relay Payments launches freight payment solution for brokers

“Venmo for truckers” automates payments to carriers and factoring companies, saving time for brokers and truckers

Relay-Direct (1).jpg

Relay Payments, a financial technology (fintech) firm focused on the logistics and trucking industries, today launched a freight payment solution for brokers, saying it will replace slow, manual purchases with the type of secure, electronic exchanges that many consumers already use for retail shopping.

According to Atlanta-based Relay payments, its “RelayDirect” product lets brokers automate their payments to carriers and third-party factoring firms, offer flexible payment terms, improve cash flow, and reduce administrative burdens. In turn, carriers also benefit from the product through receiving instant payments and gaining the ability to use those payments within Relay’s network, which allows them to buy fuel immediately with their most recent payment and to reduce their exposure to fraud scams on fuel cards.


The firm’s technology includes a web portal, software solution, application programming interface (API) links, and smartphone app. Together they function like “Venmo for truckers,” according to Relay’s president and co-founder, Spencer Barkoff.

Without an electronic payment platform, truckers are often delayed by the need to conduct a manual exchange of cash and checks for paperwork and receipts at transportation nodes like warehouses and truck stops. Those delays add up quickly through daily routines like fuel purchases, lumper fees to unload freight, and claiming payments from brokers, Barkoff said.

To streamline the process, Relay first introduced its digital payment solution in 2019, saying it was a fast, secure way to eliminate long delays that force drivers to wait hours for payment approvals and authorizations. The startup has since attracted $100 million in venture capital backing, and Relay’s payment network now allows fleets nationwide to make over-the-road payments including diesel fuel and unloading fees. It is in use with more than 300,000 drivers, 90,000 carriers, and 1,500 truckstops across the U.S.

“This industry is underserved, but our technology can help make it more efficient to make payments, so trucks can stay within their hours of service caps,” Barkoff said. “That’s important in a world where the pandemic has changed work patterns and the ELD mandate is forcing trucking companies to be as efficient as possible.” 

 

 

 

The Latest

More Stories

ITS Logistics truck carrying Sherwin Williams products
ITS Logistics

Transportation challenges, solved

Sometimes, all you need is the right partner to solve your logistics problems.

In 2021, global paint supplier Sherwin Williams faced driver and hazardous material (hazmat) capacity constraints: There simply weren’t enough hazmat drivers available in its fleet to maintain the company’s 90% fleet utilization rate expectations for key partner store deliveries while also meeting growing demand for service. Those challenges threatened to become even more acute in the future, as a competing paint supply company began to scale back its operations in the Pacific Northwest, leaving Sherwin Williams with an opportunity to fill the gap.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

drone flying through warehouse

Robotic revolution

Robots are revolutionizing factories, warehouses, and distribution centers (DCs) around the world, thanks largely to heavy investments in the technology between 2019 and 2021. And although investment has slowed since then, the long-term outlook calls for steady growth over the next four years. According to data from research and consulting firm Interact Analysis, revenues from shipments of industrial robots are forecast to grow nearly 4% per year, on average, between 2024 and 2028 (see Exhibit 1).

market forecast for industrial robots - revenues graphEXHIBIT 1: Market forecast for industrial robots - revenuesInteract Analysis

Keep ReadingShow less
indigo software screenshot WMS

Aptean adds British WMS vendor in latest acquisition

The Georgia-based enterprise software vendor Aptean today said it had acquired Indigo Software Ltd., a British provider of purpose-built warehouse management and logistics software solutions.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Aptean said the move will add new capabilities to its warehouse management and supply chain management offerings for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and 3PLs. Aptean currently provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management systems (TMS), and product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms.

Keep ReadingShow less
schneider app screenshot for owner operators

Schneider seeks more business with owner-operators

Transportation and logistics service provider Schneider National Inc. is reaching out to owner-operators, encouraging them to do more business with the Wisconsin company using an updated digital platform.

Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.

Keep ReadingShow less
trucks used by jillamy 3PL

Texas 3PL Mode Global acquires Jillamy’s freight brokerage arm

The Texas third-party logistics firm (3PL) Mode Global has acquired the freight brokerage business of supply chain service provider Jillamy, saying on Monday that the deal advances its strategy of expanding its national footprint.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less