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Day: 29 November 2022

Cut forklift emissions with HVO fuel

Posted on by David Priestman

With the growing drive to tackle the root causes of climate change, companies of all sizes now demand the most sustainable energy solutions for their forklift fleets, writes Toyota Material Handling UK’s Sales Training and Product Development Manager, Sam Gray.

HVO – the latest fuel to come on to the market – is said to allow IC engine-powered forklift truck users to cut their net CO2 emissions by as much as 90%, reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx), and cut both particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

Unsurprisingly, many experts consider that HVO has a vital role to play in helping the UK achieve its 2050 net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions.

HVO – or, to give it its full name, Hydrotreated vegetable oil – is a low carbon, low emission, fossil-free, environmentally-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional fossil diesel. Part of the paraffinic family of fuels, it is clean and safe and meets all relevant fuel standards and EN 15940:2016 specifications.

Synthetically produced

Endorsed by a wide range of original engine manufacturers, HVO is synthetically produced using a complex refinery process that removes oxygen from vegetable oil and waste animal fat molecules and creates hydrocarbons very similar to regular diesel. But it is important to understand that HVO is not biodiesel: it’s fundamentally different and, as such, doesn’t suffer from any of the negative issues sometimes associated with biodiesel.

Impurities are removed from the fuel during the production cycle leaving a consistent, quality product that significantly reduces harmful emissions from diesel engines.

To add to HVO’s green credentials, only completely renewable materials are used in the production process and the crops from which the fuel is made are grown and harvested without damaging the environment or the natural ecosystem.

No need to modify forklift

Already used to power a wide range of modern vehicles as well as construction machinery and industrial power systems, HVO is considered an eco-upgrade on diesel because it is a fuel that not only reduces emissions and burns more cleanly, but is also safer to handle than mineral diesel. While reduced particulate production during the combustion process reduces the ageing of engine oils and improves local air quality.

One of the biggest advantages of HVO is the fact that truck users do not need to modify their diesel-powered forklifts to use it. For example, nearly all Toyota industrial IC engines will run perfectly with HVO fuel and, importantly, no changes are required to the daily running or servicing regimes of Toyota diesel engines if the switch to HVO is made.

Interchangeable with existing diesel

A further plus-point is the fact that, because HVO is 100% interchangeable with conventional fossil diesel, it can be blended at any ratio. So forklift users can simply ‘top-up and go’ without any need to drain or clean fuel tanks. This ability to be interchanged with an absolute minimum of fuss has been recognised and most major engine manufacturers’ warranties will support an instant switch from diesel to HVO.

Possibly the only down-side is that when it comes to price HVO is slightly more expensive than traditional diesel. However, with the high-profile of climate change and environmental concerns always close to the top of the business agenda, many lift truck users believe that the relatively modest extra cost is a price worth paying to be seen to be doing the right thing for the planet.

Cut forklift emissions with HVO fuel

Posted on by David Priestman

With the growing drive to tackle the root causes of climate change, companies of all sizes now demand the most sustainable energy solutions for their forklift fleets, writes Toyota Material Handling UK’s Sales Training and Product Development Manager, Sam Gray.

HVO – the latest fuel to come on to the market – is said to allow IC engine-powered forklift truck users to cut their net CO2 emissions by as much as 90%, reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx), and cut both particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

Unsurprisingly, many experts consider that HVO has a vital role to play in helping the UK achieve its 2050 net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions.

HVO – or, to give it its full name, Hydrotreated vegetable oil – is a low carbon, low emission, fossil-free, environmentally-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional fossil diesel. Part of the paraffinic family of fuels, it is clean and safe and meets all relevant fuel standards and EN 15940:2016 specifications.

Synthetically produced

Endorsed by a wide range of original engine manufacturers, HVO is synthetically produced using a complex refinery process that removes oxygen from vegetable oil and waste animal fat molecules and creates hydrocarbons very similar to regular diesel. But it is important to understand that HVO is not biodiesel: it’s fundamentally different and, as such, doesn’t suffer from any of the negative issues sometimes associated with biodiesel.

Impurities are removed from the fuel during the production cycle leaving a consistent, quality product that significantly reduces harmful emissions from diesel engines.

To add to HVO’s green credentials, only completely renewable materials are used in the production process and the crops from which the fuel is made are grown and harvested without damaging the environment or the natural ecosystem.

No need to modify forklift

Already used to power a wide range of modern vehicles as well as construction machinery and industrial power systems, HVO is considered an eco-upgrade on diesel because it is a fuel that not only reduces emissions and burns more cleanly, but is also safer to handle than mineral diesel. While reduced particulate production during the combustion process reduces the ageing of engine oils and improves local air quality.

One of the biggest advantages of HVO is the fact that truck users do not need to modify their diesel-powered forklifts to use it. For example, nearly all Toyota industrial IC engines will run perfectly with HVO fuel and, importantly, no changes are required to the daily running or servicing regimes of Toyota diesel engines if the switch to HVO is made.

Interchangeable with existing diesel

A further plus-point is the fact that, because HVO is 100% interchangeable with conventional fossil diesel, it can be blended at any ratio. So forklift users can simply ‘top-up and go’ without any need to drain or clean fuel tanks. This ability to be interchanged with an absolute minimum of fuss has been recognised and most major engine manufacturers’ warranties will support an instant switch from diesel to HVO.

Possibly the only down-side is that when it comes to price HVO is slightly more expensive than traditional diesel. However, with the high-profile of climate change and environmental concerns always close to the top of the business agenda, many lift truck users believe that the relatively modest extra cost is a price worth paying to be seen to be doing the right thing for the planet.

Durable drives for belt conveyor systems

Posted on by David Priestman

Nord Drivesystems has specially developed the MAXXDRIVE XT industrial gear unit for the requirements for conveyor technology drives in the bulk goods and mineral industries. It provides output torques of 15 to 75kNm with speed ratios from 6.3 to 22.4 and is offered in seven sizes for powers from 22 to 2,100kW.

The power and speed ranges of the two-stage right-angle gear unit have been specially designed for industries in which low speed ranges are required in combination with high powers – such as the bulk goods and mineral industries. Its robust design makes the MAXXDRIVE XT resistant to dirt and reliable in rough operating conditions. A special sealing concept reduces maintenance. Large roller bearings and centre distances increase the load capacity and service life of the components.

As standard, the industrial gear unit is equipped with a heavily ribbed UNICASE housing and an integrated axial fan. Due to the increased surface and the airflow covers, the cooling airflow is optimised and a very high thermal limiting power is achieved. In many cases, additional cooling is not required.

Individually configured drives

“As with other application areas, our drive solutions for the industry are individually configured for customers according to the modular principle,” emphasises Jörg Niermann, Head of Marketing at Nord Drivesystems. This is based on a comprehensive range of frequency inverters, motors and gear units, as well as coupling and brake systems, each with a wide variety of options. Features such as hydraulic couplings tailored to the particular process or Taconite seals, which effectively protect radial shaft seals against abrasive dust and corrosion, ensure smooth operation.

Nord also offers innovative predictive maintenance concepts for heavy industrial gear units. Nord drives networked via the frequency inverter communicate their status data via the control system or directly into a secure cloud. With optional vibration monitoring, condition changes can be detected at an early stage and predictive maintenance can be scheduled in good time. Performance data recording also ensures optimal system dimensioning as well as continuous condition monitoring of the drives.

 

Durable drives for belt conveyor systems

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Nord Drivesystems has specially developed the MAXXDRIVE XT industrial gear unit for the requirements for conveyor technology drives in the bulk goods and mineral industries. It provides output torques of 15 to 75kNm with speed ratios from 6.3 to 22.4 and is offered in seven sizes for powers from 22 to 2,100kW.

The power and speed ranges of the two-stage right-angle gear unit have been specially designed for industries in which low speed ranges are required in combination with high powers – such as the bulk goods and mineral industries. Its robust design makes the MAXXDRIVE XT resistant to dirt and reliable in rough operating conditions. A special sealing concept reduces maintenance. Large roller bearings and centre distances increase the load capacity and service life of the components.

As standard, the industrial gear unit is equipped with a heavily ribbed UNICASE housing and an integrated axial fan. Due to the increased surface and the airflow covers, the cooling airflow is optimised and a very high thermal limiting power is achieved. In many cases, additional cooling is not required.

Individually configured drives

“As with other application areas, our drive solutions for the industry are individually configured for customers according to the modular principle,” emphasises Jörg Niermann, Head of Marketing at Nord Drivesystems. This is based on a comprehensive range of frequency inverters, motors and gear units, as well as coupling and brake systems, each with a wide variety of options. Features such as hydraulic couplings tailored to the particular process or Taconite seals, which effectively protect radial shaft seals against abrasive dust and corrosion, ensure smooth operation.

Nord also offers innovative predictive maintenance concepts for heavy industrial gear units. Nord drives networked via the frequency inverter communicate their status data via the control system or directly into a secure cloud. With optional vibration monitoring, condition changes can be detected at an early stage and predictive maintenance can be scheduled in good time. Performance data recording also ensures optimal system dimensioning as well as continuous condition monitoring of the drives.

 

Clark GTS range with new engines

Posted on by David Priestman

Clark has equipped its popular GTS series with new HMC diesel and LPG engines. The environmentally-friendly industrial engines comply with EU emission level 5 and ensure equally powerful and economical operation.

The GTS series consists of diesel and LPG forklifts with lifting capacities from 2 to 3.3t and lifting heights of up to 7,315mm. As is standard at Clark, the GTS series is also built according to the “built to last” principle and accordingly has a solid construction with high-quality and durable components. The standard wet multi-disc brakes, the transmission in separate design, the stable, vibration-free steering axle and the ergonomic driver’s workplace make this series not only robust and reliable, but also comfortable and safe.

This makes the truck series ideal for intensive use in multi-shift operation in goods distribution, production or warehousing. In addition, maintenance costs are extremely low over the entire life cycle. The new low-maintenance timing chain also contributes to this. This has a positive effect on the total cost of ownership of the vehicles.

New engines for low-emission

The new powerful HMC four-cylinder industrial engines with diesel particulate filter ensure powerful acceleration and reliable operation with more economical consumption. The engine power is 48.7kW with a displacement of 2,199cc. Since the engine and transmission are installed separately from the drive axle (split transmission), vibrations and oscillations at the driver’s seat have been reduced and smooth driving behaviour ensured.

To optimally adapt the performance to the individual application, the maximum speed can be adjusted via an optional speed limiter. Compared to vehicles with drum brakes, the GTS series with enclosed and oil-cooled multi-disc brakes requires up to 50% less effort. In addition, downtimes and costs for brake maintenance are eliminated, as they are maintenance-free compared to drum brakes. Another advantage of wet multi-disc brakes is that operating the truck in a dusty or wet environment has no negative impact on the braking effect.

Ergonomic driver’s workplace

The driver’s workplace is designed so that the driver enjoys plenty of headroom and legroom. The suspension seat and the tilting steering column can be individually adjusted. The pedals are arranged in a car-like manner and can be operated intuitively. The vehicle is operated via hydraulic levers that are conveniently positioned on the bonnet. Up to five hydraulic functions can be implemented directly from the factory.

The hydrostatic power steering enables easy and safe steering with just a few turns of the steering wheel. In addition, the driver has a good field of vision through the mast. This is ensured by the low front wall and the nested mast profiles. The clear driver display informs the driver about all important operating data at a glance. On diesel engines, it also serves to monitor the diesel particulate filter.

Safe and quiet load handling

The nested mast profiles and the robust 6-roller fork carriage provide high strength even under the heaviest loads. For low-noise lifting operations, the trucks are equipped with mast damping as standard. During lifting operations, the transition between the individual mast profiles is smooth. This protects the goods and lift mast components and allows smooth and precise load handling.

In order to guarantee a high level of safety in different operating conditions, numerous safety features are available for the trucks, such as a highly visible orange safety belt, automatic neutralisation of the direction of travel if the belt buckle is not closed with sequence monitoring, blue LED warning lights or the CLARK SafeView@360 camera system so that the driver has everything in view around the truck. Hydraulic accumulators are also designed to prevent the load from swinging up on uneven floors.

Wide range of additional equipment

In order to adapt the trucks individually to the application, Clark offers a wide range of additional equipment, such as wide track, twin or non-marking tyres, integrated or mounted sideshifters, fork positioner, lockable fuel filler cap, additional hydraulic functions, quick-change system, rear-view mirrors, strobe lights as well as different seats and cab variants.

With a full cab, for example, the two-part driver’s doors can be opened 180° and fixed to the truck frame. This makes it possible to move the truck with the doors open, for example in summer. A heater, electrically heated rear window, front and rear windscreen wipers, easily accessible storage compartments and a radio with Bluetooth function round off the comfortable full cab.

 

Clark GTS range with new engines

Posted on by David Priestman

Clark has equipped its popular GTS series with new HMC diesel and LPG engines. The environmentally-friendly industrial engines comply with EU emission level 5 and ensure equally powerful and economical operation.

The GTS series consists of diesel and LPG forklifts with lifting capacities from 2 to 3.3t and lifting heights of up to 7,315mm. As is standard at Clark, the GTS series is also built according to the “built to last” principle and accordingly has a solid construction with high-quality and durable components. The standard wet multi-disc brakes, the transmission in separate design, the stable, vibration-free steering axle and the ergonomic driver’s workplace make this series not only robust and reliable, but also comfortable and safe.

This makes the truck series ideal for intensive use in multi-shift operation in goods distribution, production or warehousing. In addition, maintenance costs are extremely low over the entire life cycle. The new low-maintenance timing chain also contributes to this. This has a positive effect on the total cost of ownership of the vehicles.

New engines for low-emission

The new powerful HMC four-cylinder industrial engines with diesel particulate filter ensure powerful acceleration and reliable operation with more economical consumption. The engine power is 48.7kW with a displacement of 2,199cc. Since the engine and transmission are installed separately from the drive axle (split transmission), vibrations and oscillations at the driver’s seat have been reduced and smooth driving behaviour ensured.

To optimally adapt the performance to the individual application, the maximum speed can be adjusted via an optional speed limiter. Compared to vehicles with drum brakes, the GTS series with enclosed and oil-cooled multi-disc brakes requires up to 50% less effort. In addition, downtimes and costs for brake maintenance are eliminated, as they are maintenance-free compared to drum brakes. Another advantage of wet multi-disc brakes is that operating the truck in a dusty or wet environment has no negative impact on the braking effect.

Ergonomic driver’s workplace

The driver’s workplace is designed so that the driver enjoys plenty of headroom and legroom. The suspension seat and the tilting steering column can be individually adjusted. The pedals are arranged in a car-like manner and can be operated intuitively. The vehicle is operated via hydraulic levers that are conveniently positioned on the bonnet. Up to five hydraulic functions can be implemented directly from the factory.

The hydrostatic power steering enables easy and safe steering with just a few turns of the steering wheel. In addition, the driver has a good field of vision through the mast. This is ensured by the low front wall and the nested mast profiles. The clear driver display informs the driver about all important operating data at a glance. On diesel engines, it also serves to monitor the diesel particulate filter.

Safe and quiet load handling

The nested mast profiles and the robust 6-roller fork carriage provide high strength even under the heaviest loads. For low-noise lifting operations, the trucks are equipped with mast damping as standard. During lifting operations, the transition between the individual mast profiles is smooth. This protects the goods and lift mast components and allows smooth and precise load handling.

In order to guarantee a high level of safety in different operating conditions, numerous safety features are available for the trucks, such as a highly visible orange safety belt, automatic neutralisation of the direction of travel if the belt buckle is not closed with sequence monitoring, blue LED warning lights or the CLARK SafeView@360 camera system so that the driver has everything in view around the truck. Hydraulic accumulators are also designed to prevent the load from swinging up on uneven floors.

Wide range of additional equipment

In order to adapt the trucks individually to the application, Clark offers a wide range of additional equipment, such as wide track, twin or non-marking tyres, integrated or mounted sideshifters, fork positioner, lockable fuel filler cap, additional hydraulic functions, quick-change system, rear-view mirrors, strobe lights as well as different seats and cab variants.

With a full cab, for example, the two-part driver’s doors can be opened 180° and fixed to the truck frame. This makes it possible to move the truck with the doors open, for example in summer. A heater, electrically heated rear window, front and rear windscreen wipers, easily accessible storage compartments and a radio with Bluetooth function round off the comfortable full cab.

 

Fashion group DK Company gets new racking

Posted on by David Priestman

NC Nielsen, AR Racking’s Danish strategic distributor, carried out the design and installation of the new warehouse of the multi-brand fashion group DK Company in Ikast (Denmark) in an extraordinary time of just nine weeks leading the comprehensive management of the project.

DK Company has become one of the main European suppliers of fashion brands for men and women. With a presence in 35 different markets, the Danish company has a new 11,000 sq m operations centre to meet the growth experienced in recent years. Specifically, in 2021 it increased its revenue by 20% compared to the previous year and the forecasts for 2022 are along the same lines.

The storage area, which covers a total surface area of 3,000 sq m, stands out for its versatility and rapid location of the goods. NC Nielsen, considered the high number of references and diversity of the volume of the products to configure a solution with adjustable pallet racking that integrates levels for manual picking operations. In total, 4,000 pallet positions, of which 60% will be for picking.

Top quality racking for DK Company

DK Company communicated to NC Nielsen the urgency to have an agile, easy to configure, secure and adaptable warehouse. “It was a very quick and continuous process: from the first meeting to the first layout, the order and completing the installation in a total of nine weeks,” said Niels Henrik Hagelskjær, DK Company Warehouse Manager.

With more than five decades of experience, NC Nielsen stands out for its reliability, specialised service and high quality standards. “DK Company needed a fast project turnaround time, so having a top quality racking manufacturer and supplier such as AR Racking allowed us to fully focus on the study, design, advisory and planning aspect of the project to offer the customer the best storage solution in the most competitive timeframe possible,” explained Lars Kjærgaard Stenberg, NC Nielsen Project Manager.

Solid and strategic partnership

AR Racking’s commercial presence in more than 60 countries is mainly coordinated and consolidated through its distribution network. In Northern Europe and Scandinavian countries, AR Racking has been competing for years with total reliability and efficiency thanks to strategic partners such as NC Nielsen.

María Cossio, AR Racking Area Manager, explained it as follows: “We offer close support to the distributor, providing them with our specialisation as a manufacturer to effectively fulfil the needs of local companies in storage matters; however, none of this would be possible without having trusted partners such as NC Nielsen.”

 

Fashion group DK Company gets new racking

Posted on by Keith McKinley

NC Nielsen, AR Racking’s Danish strategic distributor, carried out the design and installation of the new warehouse of the multi-brand fashion group DK Company in Ikast (Denmark) in an extraordinary time of just nine weeks leading the comprehensive management of the project.

DK Company has become one of the main European suppliers of fashion brands for men and women. With a presence in 35 different markets, the Danish company has a new 11,000 sq m operations centre to meet the growth experienced in recent years. Specifically, in 2021 it increased its revenue by 20% compared to the previous year and the forecasts for 2022 are along the same lines.

The storage area, which covers a total surface area of 3,000 sq m, stands out for its versatility and rapid location of the goods. NC Nielsen, considered the high number of references and diversity of the volume of the products to configure a solution with adjustable pallet racking that integrates levels for manual picking operations. In total, 4,000 pallet positions, of which 60% will be for picking.

Top quality racking for DK Company

DK Company communicated to NC Nielsen the urgency to have an agile, easy to configure, secure and adaptable warehouse. “It was a very quick and continuous process: from the first meeting to the first layout, the order and completing the installation in a total of nine weeks,” said Niels Henrik Hagelskjær, DK Company Warehouse Manager.

With more than five decades of experience, NC Nielsen stands out for its reliability, specialised service and high quality standards. “DK Company needed a fast project turnaround time, so having a top quality racking manufacturer and supplier such as AR Racking allowed us to fully focus on the study, design, advisory and planning aspect of the project to offer the customer the best storage solution in the most competitive timeframe possible,” explained Lars Kjærgaard Stenberg, NC Nielsen Project Manager.

Solid and strategic partnership

AR Racking’s commercial presence in more than 60 countries is mainly coordinated and consolidated through its distribution network. In Northern Europe and Scandinavian countries, AR Racking has been competing for years with total reliability and efficiency thanks to strategic partners such as NC Nielsen.

María Cossio, AR Racking Area Manager, explained it as follows: “We offer close support to the distributor, providing them with our specialisation as a manufacturer to effectively fulfil the needs of local companies in storage matters; however, none of this would be possible without having trusted partners such as NC Nielsen.”

 

GoFreight raises $23m

Posted on by David Priestman

GoFreight has announced that it raised $23m in Series A funding, co-led by Flex Capital and Headline. The round includes participation from LFX Venture Partners, Palm Drive Capital, and existing investors like LA-based Mucker Capital, Cornerstone Ventures, and Red Building Capital.

GoFreight offers an all-in-one cloud-based software that consolidates the complex and meticulous work of freight forwarders into a single software platform solution. GoFreight’s software helps its customers manage the transportation of goods via ocean, air, and land routes with features tailored to freight forwarding. The platform is accessible from any device type, including mobile phones, desktops, and tablets.

“The global freight forwarding industry has grown immensely in the past 10 years but the technology freight forwarders use to run their businesses has not changed,” says Trenton Chen, CEO, and Founder of GoFreight. “Many of these companies still use antiquated ERP systems that were developed over 20 years ago. With GoFreight, a freight forwarder sales rep can turn an inquiry into a quotation that can convert into a new job with just a few clicks.”

GoFreight customers benefit from funding

Freight forwarders can win more bids with a dynamic quotations tool and automate their workflows by removing much of the manual data entry and transference. The software helps freight forwarders track shipments with real-time, carrier, EDI-integrated, container-tracking, visibility–close files with integrated payment processing and accounting–and oversee the efficiency and general health of the business with dashboards containing both out-of-the-box and customizable reporting and analytics. GoFreight will use the new capital for further product advancements and team expansion, specifically around research, development, and customer experience.

“We will expand upon the platform to develop products and features like smart quotations, rate management, and purchase order management,” says Chen. “This will help freight forwarders grow their businesses by providing a more frictionless experience to service the freight forwarder’s end customers. We believe this is the correct path to truly digitalise the freight forwarding industry, and further help the entire global supply chain become more efficient and resilient.”

The Series A funding will also fuel the continued buildout of GoFreight’s customers’ end-user-facing applications to lessen the burden placed on forwarders to manage their customers’ manual requests for information related to shipments and containers. GoFreight will expand its Product and Customer Experience teams with this funding. It follows a high-growth year for GoFreight, which saw its sales more than double.

“When GoFreight began, it had one mission in mind: to revolutionize the Freight Forwarding industry with modern tools designed by industry experts,” says Chen. “It exists for a customer base that has not seen innovation in their tech stack in the past 30 years.”

State-of-the-art tools

GoFreight says it serves its customers by empowering them with state-of-the-art tools and applications in a platform that is easy to implement and boasts a modern user interface for swift adoption. GoFreight’s comprehensive analytics suite with prebuilt dashboards and reports can help busy managers easily oversee their business. Further, the platform is designed to connect all freight management features into one easily accessible, centralized location. Its software makes use of EDI integrations with carriers to reduce repetitive data entry, and easily transpose documents into the platform where they can be sent to freight partners and carriers electronically.

“GoFreight’s cloud software is transforming the freight forwarding process, a $186 billion segment of logistics that is often overlooked,” said Tom Gieselmann, Partner at Headline. “GoFreight’s all-in-one software provides greater transparency to freight movement, allowing freight forwarders to better manage their business, which can range anywhere from 0-1500+ users, end-to-end. This versatility makes the product incredibly impactful, and a big reason behind why we’ve identified them as one of the most promising logistics tech companies on the market.”

 

GoFreight raises $23m

Posted on by David Priestman

GoFreight has announced that it raised $23m in Series A funding, co-led by Flex Capital and Headline. The round includes participation from LFX Venture Partners, Palm Drive Capital, and existing investors like LA-based Mucker Capital, Cornerstone Ventures, and Red Building Capital.

GoFreight offers an all-in-one cloud-based software that consolidates the complex and meticulous work of freight forwarders into a single software platform solution. GoFreight’s software helps its customers manage the transportation of goods via ocean, air, and land routes with features tailored to freight forwarding. The platform is accessible from any device type, including mobile phones, desktops, and tablets.

“The global freight forwarding industry has grown immensely in the past 10 years but the technology freight forwarders use to run their businesses has not changed,” says Trenton Chen, CEO, and Founder of GoFreight. “Many of these companies still use antiquated ERP systems that were developed over 20 years ago. With GoFreight, a freight forwarder sales rep can turn an inquiry into a quotation that can convert into a new job with just a few clicks.”

GoFreight customers benefit from funding

Freight forwarders can win more bids with a dynamic quotations tool and automate their workflows by removing much of the manual data entry and transference. The software helps freight forwarders track shipments with real-time, carrier, EDI-integrated, container-tracking, visibility–close files with integrated payment processing and accounting–and oversee the efficiency and general health of the business with dashboards containing both out-of-the-box and customizable reporting and analytics. GoFreight will use the new capital for further product advancements and team expansion, specifically around research, development, and customer experience.

“We will expand upon the platform to develop products and features like smart quotations, rate management, and purchase order management,” says Chen. “This will help freight forwarders grow their businesses by providing a more frictionless experience to service the freight forwarder’s end customers. We believe this is the correct path to truly digitalise the freight forwarding industry, and further help the entire global supply chain become more efficient and resilient.”

The Series A funding will also fuel the continued buildout of GoFreight’s customers’ end-user-facing applications to lessen the burden placed on forwarders to manage their customers’ manual requests for information related to shipments and containers. GoFreight will expand its Product and Customer Experience teams with this funding. It follows a high-growth year for GoFreight, which saw its sales more than double.

“When GoFreight began, it had one mission in mind: to revolutionize the Freight Forwarding industry with modern tools designed by industry experts,” says Chen. “It exists for a customer base that has not seen innovation in their tech stack in the past 30 years.”

State-of-the-art tools

GoFreight says it serves its customers by empowering them with state-of-the-art tools and applications in a platform that is easy to implement and boasts a modern user interface for swift adoption. GoFreight’s comprehensive analytics suite with prebuilt dashboards and reports can help busy managers easily oversee their business. Further, the platform is designed to connect all freight management features into one easily accessible, centralized location. Its software makes use of EDI integrations with carriers to reduce repetitive data entry, and easily transpose documents into the platform where they can be sent to freight partners and carriers electronically.

“GoFreight’s cloud software is transforming the freight forwarding process, a $186 billion segment of logistics that is often overlooked,” said Tom Gieselmann, Partner at Headline. “GoFreight’s all-in-one software provides greater transparency to freight movement, allowing freight forwarders to better manage their business, which can range anywhere from 0-1500+ users, end-to-end. This versatility makes the product incredibly impactful, and a big reason behind why we’ve identified them as one of the most promising logistics tech companies on the market.”

 

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