Businesses Track Cargo, Rent Commercial Vehicles Through Tech Platforms

Businesses coping with the current challenges in supply chain management and commercial vehicle acquisition are finding solutions in technology platforms.

Ryder System reported Wednesday (Feb. 16) during its quarterly earnings call that two of its technology platforms are seeing a growing uptake by businesses, and the company will continue to expand its capabilities.

“I would expect us to continue to make those types of investments, and I think over time, technology will continue to be and become a bigger and bigger part of our story,” Ryder Chairman and CEO Robert Sanchez said during the call.

Tracking Goods on Trucks and in Warehouses

Two days before the call, the company announced it had added a warehouse management solution to a platform that already tracked the transport of goods. Dubbed RyderShare, the platform enables shippers, receivers, carriers and service providers to see in real time where goods are in the supply chain, whether on a truck or in a warehouse.

The company reported the platform eliminates the need for status requests because customers can see for themselves where the goods are. It also improves labor efficiency by reducing the number of emails going back and forth and boosts the ability to sell products by providing real-time inventory levels.

“Giving that end-to-end visibility, allowing customers to make smarter decisions, that is important,” Sanchez said. “I think we’re going to continue to invest in that type of technology, probably linking it more into the operational execution components over time.”

Enabling Peer-to-Peer Sharing of Commercial Equipment

Also seeing a growing adoption is COOP, Ryder’s digital platform that allows companies to lend and borrow commercial vehicles from their peers. With this service, businesses can list and rent to other businesses their vans, trucks, tractors and trailers.

“We’re seeing some nice gains in that part of the business, where more customers are getting comfortable with lending their equipment and renting their equipment to others — the peer-to-peer sharing,” Sanchez said.

In addition to businesses listing their vehicles on the days that they’re not using them, Ryder is seeing investors buy used trucks and then rent them on COOP, Sanchez said. He added that the program will be expanded across the country this year.

“We’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing so far, and we expect by the end of this year to really have a much better idea of the long-term opportunity for COOP,” Sanchez said.

The demand for commercial vehicles remains strong due to the industrywide low inventory and high demand. In a presentation that accompanied the earnings call, Ryder reported that its proceeds for used vehicle sales were up 111% for tractors compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 and up 99% for trucks in the same time frame.

“It’s still very hard to tell when things are going to begin to soften because there’s such a shortage of new trucks in the market,” Sanchez said during the call. “[Original equipment manufacturer (OEM)] truck production continues to be constrained, so that is really, I think, driving a significant boost for used truck prices. We think that’s going to continue at least through the middle of the year.”