At the Industrial Exchange conference in Miami recently, a lot of conversations were focused on how companies can reduce the costs associated with freight and supply chain complexity.

Things are changing quickly, with Amazon and other digital players raising the bar of customer expectations. New technologies create opportunities for companies to make their supply chains more efficient, but also require companies to embrace new working practices.

On our panel, we heard from four companies all doing a lot to improve the supply chain space in complementary areas, including automated vehicles (6 River Systems), brokerage (Transfix), APIs (project44), and ocean cargo visibility (Crux Systems).

Today, software is easier than ever to integrate. Examples include the modern API platform from project44, the simplicity of access with Crux Systems, and our mutual integrations. Plus, faster implementations mean that you can start to see benefits from new systems right away.

Other ways that technologies are improving supply chain efficiency are through improved data quality. In addition, sensor and other hardware costs are coming down, with the added ability to deploy advanced automation systems like 6 River Systems warehouse automation.

None of this would be possible with on-premise solutions, or even with a cloud-based solutions that are specific to any one customer. Truly cloud-based multi-tenant systems enable access, simplicity, and cost benefits that stand out well beyond what any legacy provider can offer.