SMC³, the one-stop knowledge hub for less-than-truckload technology, data and education, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

By joining BiTA, SMC³ is supporting the group’s myriad technology goals, which include developing and disseminating blockchain standards that the industry can use to build transportation applications, establishing a platform for dialogue about blockchain’s logistics use cases, and educating the industry about new trends in the blockchain arena.

BiTA has seen major success in its first year of existence by bringing together industry stakeholders to examine blockchain’s uses in the transportation, supply chain and logistics markets. More than 230 companies including truckload, LTL and parcel carriers; insurance companies; finance firms; tech start-ups; and e-commerce merchants are members of the alliance.

“SMC³ has always been at the forefront of the LTL industry, developing crucial solutions for shippers, 3PLs, carriers and other stakeholders that help streamline their operations by utilizing the latest available technology,” said Andrew Slusher, CEO and president of SMC³. “By joining BiTA, SMC³ is recognizing the importance of blockchain in the modern supply chain. I look forward to a truly symbiotic association with the BiTA.”

“We are excited to have SMC³ as part of the BiTA membership. SMC³’s longevity and wealth of experience working with all segments of the supply chain will be extremely valuable to BiTA as we ramp up our standard-setting activities,” said Chris Burruss, president of BiTA.

SMC³ fuels the entire LTL shipment lifecycle with innovative visibility, transit-time and rating solutions, taking shippers, 3PLs and other supply chain stakeholders through transportation procurement, pricing and transit-time analysis, all the way to shipment execution and audit. The company’s CarrierConnect XL and RateWare XL products allow for detailed, data-driven analysis, while SMC³’s CzarLite is the third-party base rate most widely used by shippers and 3PLs to level the rating playing field with carriers.

These solutions are transmitted to customers through the SMC³ Platform, an innovative hub of LTL transportation technology solutions. The platform also provides customers with transactional LTL freight APIs that are tailored for efficient and powerful direct-to-carrier communications.

During SMC³’s Jump Start 2018 conference, Tim Leonard, CTO of Trimble Transportation, spoke to attendees about the value of blockchain applications in a supply chain setting. Leonard told the audience that blockchain’s potential in the transportation industry has only recently been established and that industry use is still in the very nascent stages.

“There are huge opportunities to go ahead and improve on [the bidding process],” Leonard said, while discussing how his company has helped numerous logistics companies eliminate manual processes with blockchain technology.

In June, panelists at SMC³’s Connections 2018, which will be held at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, will continue the blockchain conversation.