For providers of transportation management solutions, customer requirements around on-time delivery, product quality, visibility to in-transit inventory and access to actionable data have increased, says Joe Kouten, vice president of sales for Genpro Inc.
Kouten said the company engages strategically with its customers to understand and provide services aligned with those goals. Genpro, founded in 1989, specializes in the transportation management of temperature-controlled freight with a particular expertise in the movement of fresh produce commodities.
“We deploy technologies to streamline operations and enable near real-time shipment exception management,” Kouten said. Examples of current efficiencies gained from these technologies, he said, are reduced errors and resource optimization, real-time shipment tracking to include location and in-trailer temperature readings and closing information gaps between buyer, seller and transportation provider by hosting and supplying data.
Like many industries operating within the current economy, the transportation sector saw some challenges through 2023 and so far in 2024, Kouten said.
“Across all freight types (dry van, flat bed, refrigerated freight), 2024 shipment volume year to date has increased in comparison to 2023,” Kouten said.
However, there is an overcapacity of trucks, especially in the dry freight market. That, Kouten said, was due to many new carriers entering the industry during the pandemic.
“Transportation providers supporting the fresh produce industry are less impacted by overcapacity as the carrier base that transports the seasonal and highly perishable commodities is specialized and much smaller in number,” Kouten said.
Cargo theft is an overall concern that requires immediate attention, Rosen said, with data projections indicating cargo theft is at a 10-year high.
“Food and beverage commodities are among the top targets for cargo thieves,” Kouten said. “Industry leaders are aggressively collaborating on attacking the issue through increased diligence around carrier onboarding and vetting and proactive confirmation that the correct truck is being loaded at shipping point.”
2024 marks Genpro’s 35th year in business servicing produce shippers and receivers, Kouten noted.
“From the outset, we’ve focused on customer service, transparency and communication,” he said. “Our current base of produce customers within the retail grocery, produce wholesale and foodservice industries include many companies for which we provided services during our first year in business. We go to market by offering services based on customer pricing and logistics requirements; whether the customer wants to engage for spot pricing and capacity or wants to outsource their transportation program, Genpro can deploy a solution.”
