Shipper, 3PL and logistics customer input fuels SMC³ supply chain innovation

Shippers, 3PLs, carriers and other clients are the foundation of SMC³. The company creates innovative logistics technology solutions to help these groups optimize the LTL portions of their supply chains through tools that offer unrivaled shipment visibility, transit-time information and freight rating power.

Customers are always asking the team at SMC³ for something new – something to solve their logistics problems. This could deal with contract management difficulties in the marketplace, a call to action that SMC³ has answered with its contract pricing APIs, or issues with the current volume spot market, which has traditionally been a very manual process.

By paying attention to the needs of its clients, SMC³ has learned over time that in the supply chain game, the lowest price doesn’t necessarily win. This may at first seem counterintuitive, but customers come to SMC³ looking for the fastest response times. Shippers and 3PLs are concerned with how quickly they can receive an answer to a query, and SMC³ solutions help them quickly and reliably generate the answers to their problems. In all, SMC³ solutions currently process 50 million transactions each day, and there’s currently more than enough computing capacity to grow that number. Just as an example of the speed of SMC³ solutions, RateWare XL can return rates in milliseconds or batch-process rates at a speed of 60,000 shipments per minute.

It is of vital importance in this industry to constantly talk to end users, and that doesn’t mean simply sending emails every once in a while. There is so much benefit to picking up the phone and simply talking about the state of the market with a shipper, or planning a trip to visit a 3PL just to talk about the challenges they currently face. SMC³ has a rather unique perspective on the shipping community; the company serves 75 percent of the top Fortune 500 companies, along with myriad smaller shippers. The company has direct, lasting relationships with these clients.

At SMC³, customer service means listening to the entire supply chain constituency to gain a true industry perspective. Spending time with existing clients and talking to potential SMC³ recruits happens in business meetings and phone calls, but also at SMC³ conferences like Jump Start and Connections. Both conferences have ample networking and deal-making time built into their schedules. The relationship-driven SMC³ sales team has learned a great deal by simply being available and being in front of supply chain stakeholders.

The supply chain business is ever-changing based upon the current needs of logistics customers, and SMC³ has many new products in the pipeline to meet new demands and needs. SMC³ will unveil a truckload carrier procurement solution in the near future and will continue to offer more direct-to-carrier APIs to provide solutions to supply chain issues.

Rapid advancements in technology are changing the industry for the better, and at SMC³, the goal is to incorporate these new technologies into customers’ supply chain processes. SMC³ truly is a neutral third party that works for the good of the entire supply chain, helping supply chain companies separate lasting supply chain advancements from temporary industry disruptors.

SMC³’s goal is always to help clients get up and running as quickly as possible, so they can start consuming data via our solutions and begin to optimize the lifecycle of their LTL shipments.

To discuss how SMC³ tailors its transit-time and rating solutions to optimize your transportation spend and fit your logistics and supply chain needs, contact sales@smc3.com.