Category: Blog

May 11, 2021 • by Heavy Duty Trucking Staff

EKA Solutions, which provides an integrated, cloud-based freight management “ecosystem” for carriers, brokers and shippers, is expanding its transportation management system to help brokers grow more quickly.

EKA Omni-TMS is a native cloud-based software-as-a-service system. It provides affordable,  easy-to-use functionality to give any size broker the functionality and services needed to be more productive and to grow their business, according to a news release from the company.

“EKA has rapidly expanded its broker TMS capabilities to enable any size and type of freight broker to grow fast,” said JJ Singh, EKA CEO, in a release.

New capabilities include:

• deployment of broker agent operations
• seamless connectivity with carriers and shippers via engineered APIs, portals and EDI
• load movement visibility via driver apps and telematics integration
• a full range of pricing methodologies
• ability to handle different loads and services, ranging from dry van, temperature control, flatbed, dry and liquid bulk, livestock, drayage, auto-haul and power only.

James Dockery-Jackson, director of Yeti Logistics, said the Iowa-based third party logistics company recruits agents from diverse backgrounds, from former drivers to salespeople from Fortune 500 companies. In the release, he said the EKA system allows them all to work together in a collaborative environment. 

“EKA’s intuitive workflows are easy to master, so new agents become productive quickly,” he said. “Also, EKA platform’s ability to support multiple business models on a single platform helps us compete effectively against larger competitors, and freight awards from our customers are growing.”

Yeti Logistics is a truckload-focused 3PL built on the Yeti Services platform, allowing drivers, fleets and shippers transparency and visibility to all parties and pricing.

Brian Straight, managing editor, Modern Shipper

Monday, May 10, 2021

For growing third-party logistics (3PLs) companies, the ability to quickly onboard personnel is critical to continued success. That includes getting up to speed quickly on various technologies.

For Yeti Logistics, a Women’s Business Enterprise National Conference-certified 3PL based in Iowa City, Iowa, that means working with technology partners that offer solutions that can be implemented quickly and are easy to train on. Yeti has found that combination with EKA Solutions’ Omni-TMS platform.

“We recruit agents from diverse backgrounds ranging from former drivers to salespeople from Fortune 500 companies, all working seamlessly together in a collaborative environment. EKA’s intuitive workflows are easy to master, so new agents become productive quickly,” said James Dockery-Jackson, director of Yeti Logistics. 

The Omni-TMS is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation management system that offers a quote-to-cash, intuitive platform for brokers of any size.

“EKA has rapidly expanded its broker TMS capabilities to enable any size and type of freight broker to grow fast,” said JJ Singh, founder, investor and CEO of EKA Solutions Inc.

Singh said the new capabilities include the deployment of broker agent operations, seamless connectivity with carriers and shippers via engineered APIs, portals and EDI, load movement visibility via driver apps and telematics integration, a full range of pricing methodologies and ability to handle different loads and services.

Omni-TMS can be used on various equipment types, including dry van, temperature control, flatbed, dry and liquid bulk, livestock, drayage, auto-haul and power only.

“EKA platform’s ability to support multiple business models on a single platform helps us compete effectively against larger competitors and freight awards from our customers are growing,” Dockery-Jackson added. “Adding experienced agents to our team, integrating with customers and connecting with carriers on the EKA platform means continued high growth ahead for Yeti Logistics.”

EKA offers a digital freight management ecosystem, dFEMX, that helps clients manage all of a customer’s freight business including freight exchange and third-party services. It serves as the system of record across multiple applications and seamlessly ties into other freight solutions (TMS, driver apps, etc.) and third-party services, the company said.

Under the dFEMX offering, EKA offers the Omni-TMS for brokers, carriers and shippers. Providing real-time information, EKA Omni-TMS enables brokers, carriers and shippers to provide visibility and transparency as they trade across an expanding and verified network with key, trusted partners.

EKA has announced strategic collaborations with a number of companies as it seeks to offer complete solutions to its customers. These include an agreement with Transflo to develop “transformational end-to-end digital and automated transportation document workflow solutions between shippers and carriers,” as well as an agreement with FreightWaves. That deal allows for the inclusion of FreightWaves’ SONAR data visualization tools for brokers, carriers and shippers with forward-looking analytics on freight movements including rates, volumes and market dynamics to be included.

In July 2020, EKA added a predictive visibility platform to its Omni-TMS offering. The platform is available as a stand-alone product for non-EKA subscribers. At the time, Singh told FreightWaves the solution can provide visibility within multiple time intervals, including minutes, based on the configured service level. The information can be transmitted by the carrier or broker to the end customer through most common transmission levels, including email, text and electronic data interchange.

February 8, 2021 • by Deborah Lockridge

As the supply chain increasingly moves toward greater interconnectedness and visibility between carriers, brokers, and shippers, EKA Solutions said 2021 has already started out strong with adoption of its cloud-based integrated freight management ecosystem.

EKA Omni-TMS for carriers is a transportation management system designed to give small and medium-size carriers the ability to compete with large fleets.

“In just three months, a rapidly increasing number of  small carriers have adopted the EKA Omni-TMS, empowering these companies to ‘tech up’ for the future,” said J.J. Singh, founder and CEO, in a news release.

He told HDT that at least 33% new customer growth expected in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

EKA’s goal was to target a diverse group of small-fleet customers for its TMS, typically those operating 30 trucks or less. “Rapid acceptance confirms our market assumptions were correct, which is very gratifying,” Singh told HDT.

These customers cover a diverse range of businesses, he said, including long haul, medium and short haul freight, using all classes of trucks, and with equipment including dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, bulk and livestock.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected its business in the first half of 2020, Singh said things turned positive in the second half of the year as the economy and freight business environment improved.

This year, EKA is targeting an “exponential growth in revenue,” Singh said. All of its TMS and visibility products are being continually enhanced, he said, and EKA will introduce Shipper TMS for small- and medium-size shippers in 2021.

Also, in 2021, EKA will integrate its supply chain TMS with third-party services to deliver key services at affordable prices to small and medium size carrier, broker and shipper customers.

“EKA TMS is helping small carriers transport all types of commodities, enabling them to handle different customer pricing methods, fluidly pay drivers and settle with owner-operators, and provide complete freight movement visibility to their customers and trusted partners at affordable technology stack and operating costs,” said EKA President Mark Walker in the news release.

CEO JJ Singh expects exponential growth in 2021

EKA Solutions announced Monday that its customer base is broadening and growing quickly.

EKA Omni-TMS is a software as a service (SaaS) transportation management system (TMS) designed to help small and midsize carriers grow. 

“It is empowering small carriers to deliver diverse transportation services including long-haul, medium- and short-haul freight, using all classes of trucks, and deploying different equipment services ranging from dry van, temperature control, flatbed, bulk and livestock,” JJ Singh, founder and CEO of EKA Solutions, said in a statement.

Singh told FreightWaves sales have already been strong in 2021 and he expects “exponential sales growth” this year for the company’s carrier and broker TMS software services. He added that small carriers without a TMS have an especially high adoption rate for Omni-TMS.

Singh said the company’s growth in 2020 would have been stronger if not for the hard hit to the U.S. economy and freight market in the first half of the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He told FreightWaves that EKA Solutions recently introduced the TransFlo mobile app for small carriers and will begin to implement it in March. EKA Solutions announced the partnership with TransFlo to digitize document workflows in July. FreightWaves previously reported that digitizing document workflows across the transportation chain could lead to six-figure savings for customers.

“These small carriers are enthusiastic about implementing TransFlo to derive multiple benefits, including digitizing document flows resulting in faster customer billing,” Singh said.

EKA Solutions debuted Omni-TMS for small and midsize carriers in June and FreightWaves explored the real-time information the TMS provides for carriers. Listed benefits of the SaaS included allowing carriers to easily communicate with partners in real time, adapt to changing business environments and optimize the use of resources and personnel.

EKA Solutions introduced a predictive visibility solution in July that is available for EKA Omni-TMS subscribers at an additional cost. Nonsubscribers can purchase access to the transportation visibility solution as a separate item. 

Singh noted that predictive transportation visibility will soon be a requirement for all supply chain trading participants.