Tech Delivers For Dry Bulk Truck Freight Industry
A new company, Roger, is focused on delivering one thing: new efficiencies for the dry bulk hauling industry.
“We are bringing a technology solution for some of the manual things shippers and carriers do,” says Roger CEO Jeff Schreiner. “We streamline communication and paperwork.”
The company has been in development since 2017, and its app is now available on the Google Play and Apple App Store. The charter companies are: The Andersons, Inc., Cargill, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., Koch Fertilizer, The Scoular Company, and Bushel.
“All of our charter members have the same common problems we are working to solve. And no one wants to use five apps in solving those problems. So, we are getting shippers and carriers to work together,” says Schreiner.
As for their focus on dry bulk, he says agriculture is the biggest dry bulk hauler.
Schreiner explains the technology cuts the time from origin information being generated to a carrier getting paid as well as digitizes paperwork, tickets and back-and-forth communication. Where it may have taken more than two weeks to get paid once a load rolls across a scale, Roger cuts that time to two days.
There are six features to the platform:
- Paperless ticket capture: Drivers simply snap a photo of a load ticket, and it’s saved in the app.
- Real-time shipment status: Roger users automatically receive updates when a trucker uploads critical load/unload data on the desktop dashboard.
- Fast digital payment processing: Once a haul is complete, carriers may request payment directly from shippers within the app.
- Integrations with major industry ERPs: This allows for seamless data integration.
- FieldDirect: This feature provides a real-time, visual look at where loads are at any time.
- Digital freight marketplace: Carriers can quickly find and book loads and identify backhaul opportunities to reduce or eliminate deadhead mileage.
“This is a huge benefit to everyone in the supply chain—shipper and carrier. There’s no paperwork involved. There’s no physical handling of the bill of goods. It’s all electronic. And it keeps folks in the cab of the truck and in the office.”
The efficiencies brought by using Roger are also inline with many demands put on this type of commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Once businesses get into using these tools, they’ll never go back to how they did business before. Once you cut that time and energy to make the process more efficient, it’s working really well and will be the new normal.”
