Mobile app digitises freight for carriers

  • October 31, 2022
  • Steve Rogerson

A mobile app could be the next step in the visual, real-time digitisation of freight and asset tracking for North American carriers.

The FR8Focus app was developed by Canadian firm NorthStar Digital in collaboration with a private carrier over the past three years. It aims to address real-world pain points in transportation.

Allowing carriers to connect, mobilise, track and manage their fleets in real time, the app integrates seamlessly all facets of less-than-a-truckload (LTL) and truckload operations (TL).

“FR8Focus is about more than a single piece of technology,” said NorthStar Digital COO Dave Brajkovich. “It’s about flawlessly combining an assortment of technologies to solve industry-wide issues. Operations can see their entire fleets on the road at a glance, communicate with drivers instantly and adjust schedules ad hoc. From a carrier’s customer standpoint, we have eliminated a lot of frustration. When they see real-time route flows and receive instant notifications, there is no longer a need to ask where their shipment is.”

The application provides agility and visibility while reducing the antiquated processes of paper-shuffling from hours to minutes, even seconds, by completely digitising operational workflow. This lessens carrier overhead, eliminating all manual labour previously required to handle documentation.

Proofs of delivery are scanned by the drivers and uploaded instantly to backend transport management systems to provide next-minute customer invoicing. Customs documentation is uploaded immediately to expedite shipment release and border crossing. This is backed by document capture resolution that mitigates errors and ensures no carriers are leaving money on the table.

Australian firm Radaro, an enterprise technology platform that streamlines and optimises LTL and freight deliveries, worked with NorthStar to develop the platform.

“Working with a large LTL provider over these past two years allowed us to co-create an app that has solved many of the current LTL marketplace challenges while being simple to use, yet powerful to scale,” said Joe Thull, Radaro’s head in North America. “Our solution was developed with the carrier, the customer and the driver in mind, resulting in truly intuitive systems where workflows anticipate each step. FR8Focus complements existing tech stacks to allow for efficient integration and avoid the headache of replacing systems essential to running their business.”

Brajkovich added: “Customers, partners and transportation leaders are showing significant interest and excitement, not just for the impact FR8Focus can have on their bottom line, but for how quickly we can integrate. Our RoIs are well-established and the infrastructure is in place. We can integrate into a small fleet or trial portion of a larger fleet within a couple of days. Waiting for information is a non-starter for this day and age. With FR8Focus, we’re connecting the road to the back office.”

FR8Focus is alleviating operational pain points in the LTL and TL marketspace and delivering speed, accuracy and simplicity. Its use-case provides a detailed look into the real insights gained by one of Canada’s largest privately owned LTL carriers.