About OpenRoad
OpenRoad Transportation Inc. is a privately owned, people-oriented, and technology-driven global supply chain and logistics provider. With a passion for connecting people, businesses, and goods, OpenRoad offers tailored services for shippers and carriers. While they excel in logistics, factoring, and trucking, their mission goes beyond that—to empower the logistics industry one shipper and one carrier at a time.
Established in 2004, OpenRoad was founded with the vision of creating a more meaningful experience for shippers, carriers, and employees alike. Over the years, they have expanded their portfolio to better serve the supply chain and logistics industry. In 2005, OpenRoad Financial Services was launched to provide comprehensive financial solutions. This was followed by the establishment of OpenRoad Trucking in 2007, further enhancing their capabilities. Recently, they introduced Global Freight Forwarding services to cater to the growing demand from customers and the market as a whole.
Since their inception, OpenRoad has been empowering companies to achieve more by offering innovative supply chain solutions and maintaining an unwavering commitment to delivering top-level service in every aspect. By consistently integrating the industry’s most advanced technological tools, OpenRoad remains at the forefront of providing better solutions.
Partnering with Logixboard’s Customer Experience Solution
OpenRoad’s leaders recognized the urgency of adopting technology solutions to stay competitive in the logistics industry by enhancing their customer experience offerings while improving internal efficiency. In March of 2023, this culminated in a new partnership between OpenRoad and Logixboard.
“It’s a personal belief that if you’re not investing in technology as a forwarder now, you’re going to risk existence in a handful of years,” said Charlie Hanson, International Branch Manager at OpenRoad Inc. “Whether that means going out of business or looking to sell your company because you can’t keep up.“
With the ever-growing wave of technology transforming the logistics industry, meeting customer needs with in-house solutions alone becomes nearly impossible. Particularly during the pandemic, customers demanded knowledge of their shipment whereabouts, and Logixboard has enabled OpenRoad to provide real-time updates at customers’ fingertips, eliminating the need for constant staff monitoring.
The technology stack offered by Logixboard streamlined operations, presenting customers with modern, intuitive tools while optimizing efficiency and data-driven decision-making.
“The technology is doing the hard work for us and putting that in front of the customer in a way that it is very modern, very simple, and intuitive to use,” said Charlie Hanson about OpenRoad’s utilization of Logixboard.
OpenRoad is dedicated to providing customers with the digital products they need and value to augment their highly personalized service. By leveraging technology and service options, OpenRoad aims to continue to provide the best possible experience for its customers.
Deciding to Buy vs. Build their Digital Customer Solution?
A leader at OpenRoad shared his past experience of being part of an organization that chose to build its own customer-facing solution, which turned out to be an incredibly expensive endeavor. The investment in the in-house solution created a sense of being married to it, regardless of its success.
“You’re into it [an in-house build], and the upkeep of it, and the continued development of it. It’s so heavy on cost that to me it’s a no-brainer to work with somebody who has the ability to scale that cost allocation out to all of us, as a community of customers, rather than trying to bear that entire cost ourselves,” said Charlie Hanson.
For small to mid-sized freight forwarders, there is less of an incentive to invest a significant amount of capital in developing their own technology. Instead, Software as a Service (SaaS) has become the preferred option to solve their digital customer experience needs. The alternative of doing nothing is no longer a viable choice.
“Software as a service is our option,” said Charlie Hanson about solving for digital customer experience solutions as a smaller freight forwarder. “Or do nothing, and that was never really an option.”
By partnering with a technology provider like Logixboard, OpenRoad can avoid the high costs and risks associated with building their own solution. This approach allows freight forwarders to focus on their core competencies, provide excellent customer service, and stay competitive in the industry without the burden of costly in-house development and maintenance.
Experiencing Logixboard’s Quick Time to Value
OpenRoad expressed their satisfaction with the ease of integrating Logixboard into their TMS and the resulting time to value. The team member responsible for the integration on their side spent a mere 15 minutes on the setup process, highlighting the simplicity and efficiency of the integration.
Logixboard takes on the heavy lifting of setup and integration, relieving freight forwarders of that burden and enabling them to redirect their energy toward onboarding their team and supporting customer adoption.
Within a two-week period, OpenRoad successfully launched their new platform for customers, allowing them sufficient time to familiarize themselves with the product, gain comfort in its usage, and make it readily available for their customers.
“It has to exceed anybody else’s ability to implement in terms of something so comprehensive and helpful for our customers,” said Charlie Hanson.
Leveling Up Offerings for Current Customers
OpenRoad’s search for a solution like Logixboard was driven by the increasing expectations of one of its largest customers. The need to fulfill digital customer experience requirements quickly and effectively prompted OpenRoad to explore Logixboard’s offerings.
The feedback received so far from OpenRoad’s customers, including their largest one, has been consistently positive. The implementation of Logixboard has allowed OpenRoad to meet and surpass its’ customers’ needs with a seamless and user-friendly experience.
To ensure customer comfort and adoption, OpenRoad is investing time in conducting meetings with customers to showcase the Logixboard platform. These meetings include demonstrations of key features and discussions on how customers can utilize the platform based on their specific requirements and prior interactions with OpenRoad’s operators.
Customers have expressed great satisfaction with the platform’s capabilities and its ease of use. However, OpenRoad remains committed to offering a mix of personalized customer service to all their customers, even as they onboard them onto the new self-serve platform. By focusing on both digital solutions and personalized service, OpenRoad aims to strike a balance that caters to the diverse needs and preferences of its customer base.
Winning New Business from Competitors
OpenRoad recognized that their partnership with Logixboard could not only cater to the increased digital customer experience needs of their existing clients but also act as a compelling differentiator to attract new business.
“This is something that’s different than most other providers have access to,” said Charlie Hanson.
They understood the potential of presenting Logixboard’s capabilities to prospects, offering a clear message on how they differentiate themselves from competitors, even when other factors such as pricing, service, and modes may be comparable.
This distinction was emphasized by OpenRoad as a crucial advantage that sets them apart, particularly in the middle market and downwards, where Logixboard’s usage becomes a defining factor for forwarders. They are confident in their ability to compete with the big names in the industry as well.
OpenRoad recently secured a new customer by demonstrating how Logixboard’s platform could address their visibility concerns. They showcased how the Logixboard platform would provide real-time updates, automatic notifications, and self-serve access to the latest visibility data for their upcoming air shipment. This feature was an integral part of OpenRoad’s pitch to the new customer, and it played a significant role in their decision to choose OpenRoad’s services.
The unique features and comprehensive visibility solutions offered by Logixboard have become a compelling selling point, setting OpenRoad apart from similar-sized competitors in the market.
OpenRoad’s Path Forward
With Logixboard’s platform driving rapid customer expansion and facilitating new customer acquisitions through its swift implementation, OpenRoad is capitalizing on this opportunity and diving headfirst into the remainder of 2023 and beyond.
“This is our future. This is our path forward,” said Charlie Hanson.
OpenRoad is further intensifying its efforts this year by concurrently hiring new salespeople to introduce more shippers to their competitive offerings. Selling in the current market conditions can be challenging, but OpenRoad is making steady progress, gaining traction, and securing new customers and opportunities on a weekly basis. The company recognizes that Logixboard’s platform is instrumental in its growth as an organization, and they prioritize leveraging its capabilities to drive its expansion efforts.
“This is how we grow out as an organization,” said Charlie Hanson, “by having this type of tool at our fingertips and leading with it.”
By combining Logixboard’s platform with their strategic hiring of sales professionals, OpenRoad aims to strengthen its market share and seize new opportunities in the logistics industry. They are confident in their ability to navigate the industry’s challenges and successfully grow their customer base, bolstered by the powerful tool that Logixboard provides at their fingertips.
Hear more from Logixboard customers here.
