Tech Incubator Robinson Labs Disrupts How Transportation’s Been Bought for Decades With Launch of Procure IQ™

September 22, 2020

Amid the most volatile market in history, C.H. Robinson accelerates the release of new solutions to help shippers, using $1B in technology innovation commitment

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global logistics company C.H. Robinson is reinventing the way transportation is purchased with its launch of Procure IQ™, a new tool that leverages data from the world’s largest shipper and carrier community to disrupt the decades-old tradition and one-size-fits-all annual bidding approach to buying freight transportation. Developed inside Robinson Labs, the company’s innovation incubator, Procure IQ provides a personalized, data visualization of an individual customer’s shipping lanes, or routes, integrated with C.H. Robinson’s vast freight marketplace data, unlocking the optimal way to purchase transportation. By bringing together premier technology, that is built by and for supply chain experts, C.H. Robinson applies data science to the most comprehensive data sets in the industry to deliver shippers smarter solutions that cut costs and drive greater reliability.

Designed for large shippers of U.S. truckload freight, this free tool disrupts the traditional transportation-buying process by providing an opportunity to analyze each specific freight lane through a comparative pricing, volume and service analysis rather than solely purchasing transportation lanes in bulk during an annual bidding process. It allows a shipper to discover the most efficient way to buy with the ability to analyze each individual lane. For example, it is often more cost-effective and reliable to purchase less frequently traveled lanes with real-time pricing engines, while other more frequently traveled lanes are best purchased through a proactive contract in order to optimize savings and service.

“People are looking for technology that gives them an improved way to purchase all kinds of things from airline tickets to car insurance,” said C.H. Robinson CEO and President Bob Biesterfeld. “Why should buying freight transportation be any different?”

Procure IQ works by inputting customer shipping needs and data, such as lane origin and destination and volume estimates, and then integrating that with C.H. Robinson’s unmatched dataset filled with billions of transactions from a community of 200,000 unique carriers and shippers and 18 million annual shipments. Using this information advantage along with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence, Procure IQ provides shippers a custom visual analysis with tailored recommendations for optimal procurement and capacity strategies for each shipment.

Already, Procure IQ has helped large shippers uncover that up to 60% of their routes would capture an increase in savings and/or service reliability by purchasing that transportation through this consultative approach.

Matt Montour, Senior Director of Logistics at IPC, the purchasing cooperative for Subway® Franchisees, said, “As we navigate a historically volatile market, we are rethinking how we do business. Procure IQ’s advanced analytics can help us navigate uncertainty and has been invaluable in helping us develop a new, more efficient and cost-effective transportation-buying process, for everything from fresh food to kitchen equipment.”

The launch follows a June customer research study with over 1,000 of C.H. Robinson’s largest customers, which revealed that more than 50% are looking for tools like this to help them in the areas of predictive analytics, reporting and dashboard development. Currently, with a traditional, one-size-fits all, annual request for proposal (RFP), global and large-scale shippers are missing out on the opportunity to capture increased savings and service reliability that Procure IQ now makes possible.

“We are disrupting a decades-old way the entire industry buys transportation in order to drive better outcomes for shippers,” said Biesterfeld. “At C.H. Robinson, we are laser focused on solving customers’ toughest supply chain challenges, which is why we are accelerating the release of our technology. As customer expectations and market volatility reach new heights, we will continue to deliver against our $1 billion tech investment to bring smarter solutions that help our shippers increase efficiency, reliability and gain a competitive edge.”

The launch of Procure IQ is the latest in a series of technology-focused initiatives by C.H. Robinson—including an alliance with Microsoft, an unprecedented integration of 19 TMS and ERP platforms and the launch of new Freightquote by C.H. Robinson technology enhancements for small businesses. For more information on Procure IQ, visit www.chrobinson.com/ProcureIQ.

About C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for companies across the globe and across industries, from the simple to the most complex. With nearly $20 billion in freight under management and 18 million shipments annually, we are one of the world’s largest logistics platforms. Our global suite of services accelerates trade to seamlessly deliver the products and goods that drive the world’s economy. With the combination of our multi-modal transportation management system and expertise, we use our information advantage to deliver smarter solutions for our more than 119,000 customers and 78,000 contract carriers. Our technology is built by and for supply chain experts to bring faster, more meaningful improvements to our customers’ businesses. As a responsible global citizen, we are also proud to contribute millions of dollars to support causes that matter to our company, our Foundation and our employees. For more information, visit www.chrobinson.com (Nasdaq: CHRW).