A Chicago-based Supply Chain Solutions company, CDL 1000, manages the entire port-to-door logistics process. This Firm specializes in handling, storing, and moving domestic freight, utilizing its cutting-edge technology platforms, AI solutions, and Drayage without Demurrage saving its customers millions and millions of dollars. CDL 1000, the third-fastest-growing company in America according to INC 5000, and just recently Awarded the Fastest Growing Company in the Financial Times Magazine, has introduced Drayage without Demurrage. Drayage without Demurrage cuts shippers’ transportation costs in half by eliminating port demurrage and railyard storage fees.
CDL 1000 is eager to introduce Batch, a digital platform that aggregates drayage and over-the-road shipments while offering large and medium-sized trucking companies an opportunity to make bulk purchases, similar to the Costco model, in addition to providing mid- to large-sized trucking businesses volume on lanes, streamlined routing, volume discounts, a decrease in the spot freight market, and better transparency, while offering coverage to enterprise shippers. You read that right—Costco of goods.
Concurrence With Current Trends
The staff at CDL 1000 had predicted and is now observing a slowdown in the market, much like other companies have, as shipping costs are declining. Margin pressure increases everywhere as a result of matching carriers and shippers. For this reason, solving these issues entails embracing a technologically advantageous position to profit from a downturn and an upturn in logistics. By introducing unique and cutting-edge offerings into the freight market, CDL has positioned itself to absorb and even benefit from these market shocks. For example, various ways exist as they reduce friction at ports and leverage AI to enable CDL 1000 to price essentially every lane across the continental USA daily. The CDL 1000 team has seen a significant market for short-term contracts that fall between spot freight and multi-month contracts. With each new offering, CDL can withstand and gain from more market shocks.
This expansion plan has always placed technology at the forefront of the supply chain. From the beginning, CDL 1000 made investments in technology advancements. The development of digital connection and automation has changed the game and given CDL 1000 the ability to get its foot in the door with Fortune 100 companies. Their strategic move of heavily investing in AI and Machine Learning allowed them to significantly enhance predictive spot and contract pricing, demand forecasting, and load-to-truck matching.
DaaS – Demurrage as a Service
According to recent surveys, demurrage fees have gone up by 12% just in the last two years. Nowadays, containers incur an average of $100 in demurrage fees for every use, particularly in light of the pandemic and labor scarcity issues. The supply chain shock of storage fees ripples inland to railyards like a wave of volatility emanating from the coasts and crashing on midwestern cities.
The Demurrage as a Service (DaaS) concept was developed as CDL 1000 witnessed these patterns and saw another hole in the market where they could reduce friction. DaaS brings several efficiencies where there were none before:
- Shippers can efficiently handle per-diems and demurrage fees in a single platform.
- It integrates a broad network of ports and terminals and automatically checks the compliance framework for each location rather than the shipper having to look up each location separately.
- Erroneous costs are identified and reported in real-time.
Although CDL 1000 offers other premium membership benefits, such as white-glove service, DaaS can be a self-service platform.
While DaaS create efficiency within Drayage, CDL 1000 has launched Drayage without Demurrage, eliminating fees for Fortune 500 Companies. CDL 1000 takes 100% accountability for these demurrage fees, and this relinquishes liability for the customer during shipping.
Differentiating Factors
CDL 1000 can stay nimble on a big scale due to it’s groundbreaking technology and strategic positioning within the supply chain. This means that when shippers experience unanticipated delays, they can respond with creative solutions to high-volume service floods with a quick response. They have a scrappy startup culture, eager to succeed and bring innovative solutions while scaling to win on bids and go up against competitors who have established contracts.
From 2020 to 2022, there were significant port backlogs from supply chain shocks associated with the global pandemic. This led to extraordinarily lengthy delays in organizing trains or trucks to pick up containers at ports. As these delays lengthened, there was a multiplicative effect in delays. CDL 1000 responded with a dual strategy to capitalize on being an agile market player.
- They sent trucks right away.
- They realized paying storage fees ahead of time saves everyone time and money.
These solutions are analogous to sending a tow truck to the airport to pick up your car for a two-month vacation. Instead of paying $50/day for airport parking for two months, you’d pay three days worth plus a towing fee, and your car would be waiting for you safely at home. In this way, everyone wins. You pay less, the parking lot has more space available, and the towing company makes a handsome profit.
Conclusion
Being a multifaceted technology and logistics company enables CDL 1000 to offer various client solutions to all customers. They are developing several AI technologies that will dynamically negotiate on the short, medium, and long terms with shippers and carriers, move large amounts of freight under “contract,” and obtain the nation’s most precise spot freight pricing. Additionally, they utilize AI and Machine Learning to develop even more creative solutions for sustainable freight that sit entirely outside the box.
CDL1000 is a leader in innovation with the supply chain led by Andrew Sobko. Their technology is state-of-the-art, and their team has been cherry-picked from various industries, mainly logistics. Despite being a smaller business, CDL 1000 has technology prowess on par with the big players in the sector.
