ArcBest’s Innovation Puts Company on the FreightTech 100 List
ArcBest has once again been selected as a 2023 FreightTech 100 Company by FreightWaves. This award recognizes the most innovative companies in the freight technology space, highlighting the best and brightest that are actively disrupting the industry with new approaches and initiatives. More than 1,500 nominations for 423 companies were considered for the 2023 list.
ArcBest has a long history of innovation, and technology is a key enabler of our strategy. We continuously identify industry trends and analyze emerging technologies, so we can create processes and solutions that simplify complex supply chains. With a strong emphasis on disruptive technology and advanced analytics, we’re driving the industry forward with noticeable impact — making us a FreightTech 100 winner for the third time (2020, 2022 and 2023).
How ArcBest is disrupting the industry with tech and innovation
Each year, we invest nearly $150 million on technology and innovation, with 50% of that investment prioritized toward strategic projects and transformative initiatives. Our focus is on listening to our customers and capacity partners and responding by building technology that makes it easier for them to do business. We also focus on initiatives that help create a more sustainable supply chain.
Some examples of this include:
Investment in a 235,000 square-foot innovation warehouse
At this facility, our team of robotics engineers, mechanical engineers, fabricators, research and development analysts, software engineers, and data scientists test technology in an environment that mirrors our customers’ facilities, enabling us to create customized solutions that address their most critical needs.
Investment in ArcBest Innovation Lab
The ArcBest Innovation Lab provides a space for employees to experiment with a variety of hardware and software that helps guide decisions on implementing technology into our business and network. The lab is available to all ArcBest Technologies and ArcBest employees to test devices such as 3D printers, VR (Virtual Reality) headsets, Raspberry Pi computers, and to research and explore emerging technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing.
$25 million investment in Phantom Auto
Phantom Auto is the leading provider of human-centered remote operation software. Our investment in this technology centers around remote-operated forklifts and was developed for use in ArcBest customer locations — to create overall intralogistics strategies and help our customers build efficiencies in their own warehouses and distribution centers.
Development of our ESG Dashboard
As part of our work to collect, analyze and report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, we created an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) dashboard that can filter emissions by type, equipment, location and timeframe. These views give us a holistic approach to measuring our emissions, allowing us to benchmark performance, identify areas of improvement and monitor progress. In future phases, it will enable us to provide customers with insights on emissions related to their supply chain and to calculate and disclose Scope 3 emissions.
Learn more about our ESG initiatives.
Invested in pricing innovation
Dynamic Pricing is our first-of-its-kind program that uses machine learning to predict current market prices, connect shippers with available capacity in our LTL network, then ultimately provides our shippers with real-time pricing without negotiating a published price. It offers the right price on every quote at the right time and allows customers to onboard more quickly. Dynamic Pricing also has significant environmental benefits, lowering our customers’ carbon footprints by reducing empty miles.
ArcBest is building the future of logistics
This recognition as a FreightTech 100 company for a third time is a result of us listening to our customers, thoughtfully analyzing how what we do impacts their business, and creating transformative solutions that deliver value and drive our industry forward. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary next year, we remain committed to continuing to build the future of logistics by listening, responding and disrupting the freight industry with pragmatic innovation.
About FreightWaves and the FreightTech 100 Award
FreightWaves is the most trusted provider of global supply chain and logistics news, data and analytics — providing near real-time information and forecasts on developments that will impact the logistics market and participants. The FreightTech 100 Award was established in 2019 and recognizes 100 companies that are among the best and brightest, not just in the supply chain, but in the global economy as a whole. The 2023 nominees were considered in an internal voting process that included FreightWaves analysts, researchers, market experts and journalists.
