Firms Seen Bypassing Some Tech Options

Speakers Tell IT Conference That Customers Want to Track Freight

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HICAGO — Many trucking and logistics companies have been averse to using some of the available information technology tools in their operations, shipper and carrier representatives told the IT & Business Process Conference gathering that met here last week.

“We think of just-in-time inventory as an old term, but only 23% to 24% in the U.S. use it. There is still a lot of transition going on,” said Greg Smith, global segment manager of freight and logistics for IBM Corp., in his opening address to attendees of the event sponsored by T3 magazine.

Smith said there was wide-spread outsourcing of transportation needs to third- and fourth-party logistics providers — so-called 3PLs and 4PLs — and said that cargo security “is getting more important.”

Several of the speakers said that customers do not care who is providing what technology to allow them to track their freight, as long as they can see in real or close-to-real time.

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