Order of the Day
Welcome to the 76th edition of The LogTech Letter. TLL is a weekly look at the impact technology is having on the world of global and domestic logistics. Last issue (a long, long time ago), I wrote about the strange differences in service cancelation expectations. This week, I’m recapping TPM22 and TPMTech and talking about an old-is-new again technology that’s creating renewed buzz.
As a reminder, this is the place to turn on Fridays for quick reflection on a dynamic, software category, or specific company that’s on my mind. You’ll also find a collection of links to stories, videos and podcasts from me, my colleagues at the Journal of Commerce, and other analysis I find interesting.
For those that don’t know me, I’m Eric Johnson, senior technology editor at the Journal of Commerce and JOC.com. I can be reached at eric.johnson@ihsmarkit.com or on Twitter at @LogTechEric.
As Boston once sang… “It’s been such a long time…I think I should be going.” Well, I took that to heart in February, which manifested itself into a longer-than-planned pre-, during and post-TPM hiatus. Planning for the event had become pretty all-encompassing and I needed a breather, and when that happens, the unpaid pastime takes a back seat to the paying gig. Hope you all understand and forgive me. But I’m back, and determined to stay on my weekly Friday schedule from here on out.
First things first, TPM22 and TPMTech were absolutely momentous. Both events surpassed my wildest expectations, both in terms of attendance, value, and (as the kids say) vibe. It was mostly just great to be back interacting with real people instead of getting into reductive Twitter spats that basically revolve around peacocking for a crowd of already established acolytes. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Twitter, if for nothing else than to vent after another demoralizing Leeds United capitulation.
But honestly, a day-and-a-half of in-person panels, sidebar discussions and dinner was probably equivalent to a month’s worth of Zoom calls. The industry clearly needed to be together. Like angsty teenagers blowing some small thing completely out of proportion, the cumulative effect of everyone being in their virtual Brady Bunch boxes the past two years has been a level of disconnect we probably all realize, but fail to truly appreciate. That was the most gratifying aspect of TPM and TPMTech for me: the ability to convene the industry in a truly substantive way, as only my colleagues at the JOC can. Special mention to all my teammates in operations, marketing, sales and our AV team for a literally flawless week.
On my flight back from LA to DC, I tried to think of what, in particular, stood out as themes from TPMTech. One was clearly incentives and adoption. Technology in the world of logistics is still primarily aimed at driving value for a single entity, sometimes at the expense of others. Talk of collaboration and communication still reign all these years later, but some of that talk is cheap. There are not enough incentives yet to draw people to technologies that can absolutely address their problems, much less those of commercial partners, customers, or suppliers. Want a clue as to how far there is to go? At TPMTech we had sessions on cargo visibility, on electronic documentation, on data standardization, and on managing detention and demurrage assessed on ocean containers. In 2022, not 2005. None of these topics are anything close to new or cutting edge.
I would have much rather the entire event had been about topics like no-code and mapping the world’s supply network, which were shunted (by me, of course) late into day 2. Yes, every technology provider is seeing fabulous growth and many are raising massive sums of venture capital, but the problems remain the same, and it’s mostly due to a lack of proper incentives.
So that was one theme. But another, more category-focused one was how many times I heard the word “order management.” Again, order management is nothing new. Jon Monroe, a 3PL veteran of decades, had an enlightening discussion on the final day of TPM22 about a range of topics, including the importance of PO management. Jon was an early pioneer of that technology, literally more than two decades ago. Why is it hot again now?
Because the supply chain pandemonium wrought by the pandemic rollercoaster the past two years drove many people to focus more intently on visibility. But visibility, no matter how good the data, is only a step on a longer journey. Visibility and data structured through automated logistics workflows need to be connected back up to the order. That’s where the data can be put into play, not just monitored.
As I’ve written here before, what’s old is new in logistics. Some of it is repackaging. Some of it is that ideas came before their time. Some is the adoption/incentive issue I discussed above. And order management seems to one of those areas where the time is now. The need, the incentives, the tech, and the messaging are all aligned. Which means I need to drill deeper into this category. I need to figure out who the key legacy providers are (beyond the ones I know off the top of my head), who the under-the-radar players are, and who the upstarts are. That’s my mission over the coming months.
Glad to be back in the groove.
Here’s a roundup of recent pieces on JOC.com from my colleagues and myself (note: there is a paywall):
Flexport’s mammoth round in early February is not scaring off other digital forwarders, or their backers. Forto this week landed another tranche of $250 million (just nine months after its last similarly-sized round) and a $2.1 billion valuation. And also this week, French forwarder Ovrsea came out of stealth, announcing a new North American office and its partnership with the Bolloré Group (which bought a majority stake in early ‘21). The company has 100 US customers and 700 overall.
The Port of Long Beach used TPM22 to provide further details on its Supply Chain Information Highway project, a free data resource for port users. Last week, it said it has gotten support from the Port of Oakland and The Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Peel piles have been a concept in the ports of LA/LB since at least 2015, and this week drayage provider NEXT Trucking threw its hat in the ring with a product that coordinates shipping line stowage at origin with live unloading of containers at shipper warehouses.
Expeditors’ cyber attack recovery saga drags on, but this week it received some relief from the US Federal Maritime Commission about tariff filing requirements.
E2open, whose CEO keynoted TPM22, announced it was acquiring parcel and last mile TMS provider Logistyx. It’s just the latest acquisition for E2open, which since 2018 has also acquired BluJay Solutions, Amber Road, INTTRA, and CloudLogistics.
I wrote this week about Loadsure, an insuretech company focused on freight that’s been around a few years, but is gaining traction with its model of real-time access to risk management. The company landed an $11 million round of funding Thursday.
And here are some recent discussions, reports, and analysis I found interesting:
A new feature at TPM this year was TPM TV, hosted by the indomitable Sarah Barnes-Humphrey and Jonathan Kempe. Three great episodes covering some of the chatter at the event, sit-downs with key speakers, and woman on the street interviews. A great recap, especially for those who missed out on the fun in Long Beach.
If you missed my discussion last week on LogTech Live with Vivian Chiang, COO of BlueX Trade, about digital quoting, payment, and regional variances in carrier uptake of online solutions, here’s the on-demand replay.
Aside from keynoting at TPMTech, I also interviewed E2open CEO Michael Farlekas at Manifest in Las Vegas in late January. Catch the replay here.
Interesting development here, with some big names in freight putting their weight behind an initiative to develop a national freight portal.
Mary McNelly, senior director of logistics at Crocs, was an undoubted star of TPM22, and here she is going deeper on her journey up the ranks on Let’s Talk Supply Chain and dissecting freight craziness with her colleague Gregg Mau on the NYSHEX podcast.
Some upcoming events I’ll be involved in:
I’ll be moderating a panel at the Supply Chain Summit at S&P Global’s World Petrochemical Conference later this month. The session, March 22 and 2:55 CT, is about moving from a reactive stance on visibility to a proactive one. Speakers from Intellitrans, TradeLens and RecycleGO will join me. Register for the event in Houston here.
I’m moderating a free JOC webcast March 31 on the future of freight procurement. A key question we’ll be addressing: What part of the procurement process has moved beyond the human scale, and what process still needs to be managed and executed by logistics professionals? Speakers TBD but this will be an interesting one for sure. Register here.
I’m also leading a visibility panel at our JOC Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference April 25-27 in New Orleans. My session, with representatives from Voyager Portal and FuelTrust, is at 4:25 CST April 26. Register for the event here.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is in no way affiliated with The Journal of Commerce or IHS Markit, and any opinions are mine only.