DB Schenker buys European rights to uShip digital freight booking platform
German logistics giant DB Schenker, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, will use technology developed by American company uShip to allow shipping customers to connect with trucking companies online.
The company says it has exclusive rights to the digital freight booking platform in Europe, for which it paid in the tens of millions of dollars according to the Wall Street Journal.
This represents a welcome step forward into online for the logistics industry, which traditionally has relied on paper and phone methods to book freight transport. DB Schenker, which took $17 billion in revenue last year, organises shipments by air, rail, boat and truck for retailers and manufacturers.
Other logistics businesses are spending heavily on developing their own solutions in a bid to better link big shippers to retail customers.
However, DB Schenker will be one of uShip’s flagship clients in one of its biggest deals since it founded in 2003. Its PRO application is being used in DB Schenker’s European trucking unit. Through the application, trucking companies can offer quotes for shippers and allows customers to book and track their shipments on mobile devices.
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