EDEN PRAIRIE, MN - C.H. Robinson is on the road to transportation domination, announcing multiple exciting developments in its operations this week. The company has integrated 19 transportation management systems (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems into its single, global multimodal transportation management system, Navisphere^®. This integration offers access to real-time pricing and capacity assurance and nearly eliminates the time required to get market quotes and book loads, making this a virtually instantaneous process.

“Without C.H. Robinson’s capacity assurance, the process would be like shopping online and hitting purchase when there may be no inventory to buy,” said Mac Pinkerton, President of C.H. Robinson’s North American Surface Transportation division. “We are proud to offer this unprecedented assurance along with other game-changing benefits such as providing real-time market rates, delivered by our unmatched network size and information advantage, to create savings and efficiencies in the transportation management process. Adding to the benefits is that shippers can access these capabilities within the tool they are already using to manage their transportation needs.”

These new systems save customers an average of one hour for every shipment. As stated in a press release, this automation also provides greater flexibility and efficiencies for shippers at a critical time when they are faced with changing customer buying habits and supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19. C.H. Robinson’s digital transactions are up 55 percent compared to a year ago, reinforcing that customers have a desire to further automate.

Among the list of leading integrated platforms are Blue Yonder, Oracle Transportation Management, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. As one of the world’s largest Truckload and Less Than Truckload providers and a leading global logistics provider, C.H. Robinson’s combined connectivity has streamlined the process for more shippers than ever before and is accessible for customers of all sizes, from small businesses to the largest global shippers. For example, this integration has helped one of the top three beverage companies in the world navigate an increasing number of new shipping lanes that have emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this solution, the company would have had to email dozens of carriers each day to manage these last-minute changes, but now that step is eliminated.

“Having our transportation management system connected into C.H. Robinson’s technology platform provides us with real-time market rates that we rely on to make the smartest decisions possible for our shipments. We instantaneously get the most competitive rates that we can book with one click, saving us thousands of hours so far,” one Senior Transportation Manager from among the top three global beverage companies shared. “C.H. Robinson has the capacity and reliability to back it up, which is why I trust their solution.”

With this advancement, customers can stay in their own systems to get real-time rates for multi-modal solutions across both Truckload (TL) and Less Than Truckload (LTL), something no other company offers, and capabilities will continue to expand globally. Additionally, with more truckload freight than anyone, C.H. Robinson offers unrivaled truck capacity assurance.

The company’s highly connected, algorithmic-based pricing engine pulls in data from its network of more than 200,000 shippers and carriers, giving it access to more data on real-time supply and demand, routes and shipments than any other provider. In the first half of 2020 alone, the company’s pricing engines have delivered over one million automated price quotes with capacity assurance to customers.

“At C.H. Robinson, we have a laser-focused commitment to create technology built by and for supply chain experts that delivers innovative solutions for our customers and carriers,” said Mike Neill, Chief Technology Officer at C.H. Robinson. “Building on our foundation as the most-connected provider in the industry, we are making the shipping process even easier and delivering strategic, tech-driven solutions. This enhanced connectivity is part of our $1B technology investment. We are dedicated to helping shippers around the world take cost out of global supply chains and grow their competitive advantage.”

Blue Yonder is one of the 19 platform partners that has integrated into Navisphere, delivering more automation and flexibility to shippers when they need it most.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has added extra elements to an already-challenged freight marketplace, so this is a critical time to provide companies with real-time data to make informed, intelligent, profitable decisions,” said Terry Norton, Vice President, 3PL & Transportation at Blue Yonder. “We’re glad to amplify our dynamic price discovery offering through one of the largest providers in the world and help C.H. Robinson further empower its shippers through near real-time pricing and capacity to help them move goods to the right place, at the right price, while meeting business needs in this challenging market.”

This is the latest in a series of technology-focused initiatives by C.H. Robinson—including an alliance with Microsoft and the launch of new Freightquote by C.H. Robinson technology enhancements for small businesses—designed to digitally transform global supply chains and improve savings, reliability, and visibility during this critical time.

In the market for some new innovative transportation services? Look no further than C.H. Robinson.

C.H. Robinson