John Rattay, chief revenue officer of Redwood Logistics, explains how an integrated and open ecosystem of freight data can help companies cope with the many challenges of today.

Driven by intensifying consumer demand, shippers and their logistics partners are seeking ways to navigate the challenges of today, Rattay says. “Folks are looking to optimize what’s in place [through] investments and partnerships, and how to take the next step to increase visibility, collaboration and operational effectiveness.” What’s needed to achieve those goals, he says, is adoption of an “open ecosystem” for freight data. 

The idea is to give visibility and control back to shippers and the logistics services that support them. When it comes to optimizing truck capacity, for example, achieving visibility of the entire system is key. “Truckers are looking to fill capacity, and shippers are looking for fair rates and expanded networks,” Rattay says.

Data and visibility can be made available through application of a logistics platform as a service (LPaaS). Under that model, “logistics providers come together to think not about projects, but about programs — about how continued investment can benefit both sides.”

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements are a major concern for logistics providers today. To comply with increasingly strict mandates, sustainability data needs to be layered into the platform.

“The first part is about measurement — understanding load by load what are the carbon emissions,” says Rattay. “That’s a building block to the next step, [providing] analytics and insights at a granular level. Then you can think about reducing the carbon footprint, through projects that can validate and verify, incorporating data into larger dashboards and data warehouses.”

All of these efforts work best with the existence of an open ecosystem that can “translate data into digestible components,” Rattay says. “That’s how folks are going to accelerate change.”