Cleo Debuts Shipper Relationship Manager to Reduce Supply Chain Risk

Cleo has launched a tool for freight brokers, carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs).

The Shipper Relationship Manager is designed to help clients “manage their own performance against shippers’ expectations,” the ecosystem integration software company announced in a news release Monday (Feb. 10).

“Cleo’s solution is both welcome and timely given recent pressures in the logistics industry,” the news release said.

“For example, if freight-order responses are late or missing, shippers can suffer inventory shortages, production delays, or higher warehousing costs, thereby introducing unnecessary risk to their supply chain — causing them to look for a new 3PL or carrier to run their business.”

These delays, the company added, force shippers to book costlier last-minute transportation, with costs jumping by 50% per shipment in some cases, damaging relationships with preferred 3PLs and/or carriers.

The Shipper Relationship Manager, the release added, can prevent these “costly and unwelcome” scenarios from ever coming to pass.

“By leveraging scorecarding, proactive alerts, and real-time intelligence, 3PLs and carriers can optimize their processes to ensure they meet shipper commitments, requirements, and expectations — from freight-order capture to invoicing,” said Mahesh Rajasekharan, president and CEO of Cleo.

“With real-time visibility and improved cash-flow predictability, supply chains run far more smoothly. The result is stronger shipper relationships, which are the foundations of most logistics businesses.”

The news comes one week after Cleo announced it had acquired DataTrans Solutions (DTS), a deal that allows it to add DTS’ procurement automation capabilities to Cleo’s supply chain orchestration solution, the Cleo Integration Cloud.

As noted here at the time, these developments are happening as retailers and manufacturers are investing in digital tech to improve procurement operations and limit business disruptions caused by future supply chain breakdowns.

Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence and Corcentric collaboration, “Digital Payments: Modernizing Procurement Processes,” found that 31% of retailers and 42% of manufacturers were already investing in procurement systems, while another 53% of retailers and 44% of manufacturers were planning to follow suit.

In other logistics news, PYMNTS spoke recently with Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani about the future of robot delivery.

“There are a lot of things you can deliver,” he told PYMNTS. “Imagine medications, pharmacy [items], parcels, groceries.”

He also foresees offering “reverse logistics” services, using the delivery robots to return products for customers, as well as for local commerce as well, with robots picking up clothing or shoes from local stores and bringing them to shoppers to try them on.

“There’s a lot of other things we can do with these robots once they’re out there,” Kashani said. “They’re making the cost of the last mile substantially lowered.”

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