To stay competitive in an industry with rapid technology changes, freight brokers and third-party logistics firms will need to adapt to survive. This topic was the theme of the inaugural 3PL Technovations conference, hosted by TIA in Tucson, AZ on November 6-7. The Falvey Shippers team joined 200 attendees to discuss approaches and philosophies on navigating rapid change. The agenda included:

Day 1: Technovation Showcases

Three showcases featured a total of 15 presenters who gave short, 7-minute “TED Talks” about how their solutions could help Logistics Providers. During the breaks between each showcase, attendees had the opportunity to chat with presenters at their kiosks to get more in-depth information.

• Showcase 1: Falvey Shippers

Matt Rebello, vice president of IT at Falvey Insurance Group, introduced attendees to the latest insurance technology innovations. His presentation focused on how the thought of dealing with insurance companies usually makes people cringe, but Falvey Shippers takes a completely different approach. Falvey shoulders a lot of the overhead, working with businesses to create tailored solutions to solve their individual problems. Plus, Falvey has all capabilities in-house—from the technology and underwriting to claims—and a full API integration, including invoicing and reporting.

“The highlight of the 3PL Technovations conference was speaking with various 3PLs and TMS software providers about their operations,” said Rebello. “We had the chance to ask about their current inefficiencies, and discuss how our integrated shipping insurance solution could streamline and improve their day-to-day.”

Day 2: Thought-Leadership Sessions

The agenda for the second day included networking time and thought-leadership sessions that educated Logistics Providers on how to implement, understand, and control technology changes affecting their business.

Top Conference Takeaways

• Rapid increases in computing and processing power are driving the emergence of artificial intelligence technology, which will dramatically transform the industry.

• Logistics Providers need to embrace these technology advancements and use the applications for the benefit their customers and create efficiencies while gaining a competitive advantage.

• Approximately $1.1 trillion in venture capital and private equity has been invested in the industry and is waiting to be leveraged.

• Technology has huge potential to strengthen the supply chain. For example, improved data sharing can offset the truck capacity shortage by curbing unused or misused miles.