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In the latest episode of "The FreightCaviar Podcast", we sit down with Grace Maher and Jonathan McCormack of OTR Solutions. They shared their take on the current freight market, freight fraud, and talked about OTR's new platform for carriers.
In this week’s episode of The FreightCaviar Podcast, we sat down with Grace Maher, Chief Operating Officer at OTR Solutions, andJonathan McCormack, Senior Vice President at OTR Solutions. They sit down and talk about the current freight market, the importance of new technology, and their newest product geared specifically toward carriers.
Catching Up at TIA Capital Ideas Conference
Earlier this month we caught up with Grace and Jonathan at theTIA Capital Ideas Conference to get their insights on the current freight market and how they see it shaping up in the future.
“I never really thought I’d see the rates this low again, post-COVID. We all thought what would be the new normal after it and I can’t tell you I would have guessed where it is today. I feel really bad for the carriers. I think we’re all looking a little more bearish than we did earlier.”
In Jonathan’s opinion, while the situation hasn’t gotten any better, people are slowly getting used to it.
“We spent a couple of years with it being such a unique whirl, it was hard to know what next month was going to look like. It’s still kind of that way, but at least you know how to weather that.”
Fraud and the Importance of Relationships
With fraud as widespread as it is at the moment, Jonathan emphasized the importance of good relationships in the industry and how it can affect your business, especially with today’s climate.
“I think with the fraud and risk, it’s opening eyes up a little bit to go back to your trusted carrier. I think relationships are going to be a big opportunity. Positioning yourself, doing what you’ve historically done well but doing it at a higher rate, is an opportunity you should be trying to seize right now.”
Introducing the OTR 365 Platform
Grace also brought up the subject of their newest product, the OTR 365 platform.
“We’re about to launch our product, which essentially is a high-performance platform for carriers that allows them to succeed. We’re utilizing our automation and AI, which we’re calling OTR Intelligence, which will allow carriers to get paid instantly, at any time of day, 24/7.”
Technology and Success in Logistics
Jonathan also shares his thoughts on tech in the logistics space and how to succeed on the market when building your own product today.
“When I think about the technology that’s in our space–there’s a lot of really cool stuff coming into the market. The players that are evolving, building the product for specific, everyday needs of a trucking company or a freight brokerage, are the ones that are going to win.”
Combating Freight Fraud
So what can we do to combat freight fraud?
“There’s a lot of cool technology out there that is helping, but more data and more collaboration is needed. The technology is only as strong as the data that it’s been fed. So pulling players together that have the data that they’ve made available that have trained their engines, is what’s really delivering actionable results.”
Learn how freight brokers can source vetted carriers faster using real lane activity, invoice-backed rate intelligence, and proactive fraud monitoring through OTR Select
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