First scheduling API through the Scheduling Standards Consortium is released by Uber Freight

Earlier today, Chicago-based Uber Freight, a full end-to-end 3PL and 4PL logistics services platform, with managed transportation services and a digital brokerage,  is rolling out a pilot program based on a new scheduled application programing interface (API), which it said will represent the “first activation” of the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC) Technical Standard.

In October, as reported by LM, a group of logistics companies, including Uber Freight and J.B. Hunt, among others, initially collaborated in late 2022 to address the lack of application programming interface standards among freight providers and formed the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC). The focus: to establish industry standards geared towards “simplifying scheduling, improving automation for businesses, and generating industry-wide efficiencies.” What’s more, Uber Freight explained that today’s release represents what it called a “significant step” in regards to handling challenges seen over the years, in terms of scheduling system and interface fragmentation in trucking.

And Uber Freight explained that the new API, which it said is designed for its TMS, provides enhanced scheduling capabilities and fosters seamless communication across its network of shippers and carriers, adding that the active pilot is scheduled to be released for general availability in the second half of this year.

“In our industry, innovation and collaboration must go hand-in-hand to drive immediate and lasting impact,” said Lior Ron, Founder and CEO of Uber Freight, in a statement. “The partnerships and pilots that are emerging from the SSC are testament to that. Together, we are helping shippers worldwide gain the speed, efficiency, and savings they need to get and stay ahead, with technology by their side.”

Uber Freight highlighted various benefits of the API. For shippers, the benefits included: faster appointment scheduling; increased visibility and control, and enhanced carrier relationships. And on the carrier side, it cited: simplified integrations; improved appointment accuracy; and increased operational efficiency.

Uber Freight currently has approximately 10 Fortune 500 CPG (consumer packaged goods) shippers involved in its API pilot, with more planned to be ramped as it expands within the TMS business in the second half of the year, Raj Subbiah, Head of Product at Uber Freight, told LM. And he added that in addition to these businesses experiencing benefits from automated scheduling, on the other side of the marketplace, there are more than 2,000 carriers that have used its scheduling application. 

“We’ve been working at solving the problem of scheduling for years,” said Subbiah. “However, the output from the SSC has really been a catalyst to move the industry forward, ourselves included. Following the launch of the SPEC in November, we were able to move quickly to launch the pilot in January.”

When asked what the feedback, for the scheduling API, been like, from Uber Freight’s shipper and carrier partners, he said that brokerage has been very excited by the early results.

“In our industry, for carriers and brokers, just the cost to schedule a load can be up to $10, and delays in locking in appointment times increases carrier cost due to compressed lead times,” he said. “Now, we're seeing loads available in our marketplace almost instantaneously—this means better lead time for shippers and better carriers matched to the load.”

Looking ahead, Subbiah said that from Uber Freight’s product and technology perspective, its vision for the platform is to better connect shippers, carriers, and the broader supply chain.

“Scheduling is a critical component of executing every single shipment and we want our platform to be the easiest, most connected platform in logistics,” he said.

Uber Freight said that in 2023, more than 6 million appointments were scheduled across more than 1,500 facilities on the Uber Freight TMS. And with this announcement, it said that similar appointments are eligible for automated scheduling through the API to help shippers, and carriers save time and money through seamless communication and data sharing, as it has started testing its scheduling API on its brokerage business creating time efficiencies across brokerage loads. The API is available in Uber Freight TMS, with future plans to leverage and streamline operations for its managed transportation customers in the Fortune 500 over the next six-plus months.