Mastery and Loadsmith's Journey Towards an Autonomous Future
Mastery Logistics Systems (Mastery), partnered with Loadsmith in May 2022 to provide a highly dynamic transportation management system that enhances visibility and increases automation across the Loadsmith Freight Network (LFN). The LFN will consist of professional drivers who will focus on first and last mile routes while fully autonomous trucks move the middle miles. The LFN will enable first and last mile drivers to receive higher pay on consistent regional lanes and provide shipper partners with elastic capacity.
Loadsmith is a leading third-party logistics platform with the goal of bringing to market the first fully autonomous and net-zero carbon trucking company. Founded in 2019 by Brett Suma, Loadsmith has set out to solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges.
A Key Partnership to Achieve Autonomy
Loadsmith’s core mission centers around redefining the transportation landscape. Loadsmith is creating a network that will generate elastic capacity for its shipper partners while simultaneously being the force-multiplier of the quality driving jobs of the future.
The Mastery team consists of transportation and technology experts with one goal, to build the world’s first lovable transportation management system. Mastery’s MasterMind (TMS) is designed to automate manual tasks, enhance visibility, and provide unlimited connectivity across an enterprise’s supply chain.
“The industry has seen its share of evolution during the 25 years I have been involved in it, but nothing has been transformative. We believe that we are on the brink of a transformation period in transportation and how goods are moved, both autonomously and net-zero.” Said Loadsmith CEO, Brett Suma. “We believe that Loadsmith can be the leader in this transformation, but we needed to partner with a team that was building the future software system that could allow us to operationalize, optimize and execute. That team is Mastery.”
When Loadsmith and Mastery first sat down together, the objective was clear. Loadsmith was in search of a partner and a system to achieve their goal, being the first fully autonomous net-zero carbon trucking company.
“We are excited to be part in this first of its kind venture in which a new logistics company has been born with eventual full autonomy as its targeted end state but with a stepped plan that will carry it from present through several key phases.” Said Mastery CEO, Jeff Silver. “Loadsmith has started by securing consistent volume freight in targeted lanes and then trailers to support those lanes. Today, carriers provide power with drivers in the truck from shipper to consignee. In the future, carriers will do the origin and destination regional work while autonomous trucks belonging to Loadsmith handle the long-haul highway portion. We have designed and built MasterMind from the start to handle multiple routes with variable capacity providers on a single load to support cross border moves, intermodal moves, and relays. This functionality will be perfect in support of Loadsmith’s efforts as well.”
Unlocking Tomorrow
The partnership with Mastery unlocked new opportunities for Loadsmith as they continued to put pieces of the puzzle in place to achieve their goal. Two of the major pieces that fell into place after the Mastery partnership, were Loadsmith’s partnership with Wabash National and Kodiak Robotics. Loadsmith is the first customer in the Wabash Trailers-as-a-Service platform which will allow small and mid-size carriers to take on higher-volume lanes without the need to maintain a trailer pool. Following its partnership with Wabash, Loadsmith announced its partnership with Kodiak in June 2023 which will equip the LFN with 800 autonomous Kodiak trucks. These trucks will move along the LFN and provide capacity opportunities in a similar fashion to the railroad.
How is Loadsmith better today than it was yesterday?
On August 7th, 2023, Loadsmith went live on MasterMind. In this short period of time Loadsmith has already noticed an increase in their margins and a decrease in costs. Some of the key factors contributing to this are:
- Digital bookings increased 4X since Go-Live.
- Carrier usage rates doubled.
- Electronic tracking increased 30% across the LFN.
MasterMind provides Loadsmith with an array of capacity procurement tools that streamline procurement and tap into underutilized capacity within their current network. MasterMind’s tools put Loadsmith’s most consistent and efficient freight directly in front of their core carriers.
Loadsmith and Mastery support the notion that technology should be additive to an employees’ productivity while enhancing the quality of their work. “MasterMind’s elegant workflows and automation have delivered that vision; our team members are not only more productive but are also more satisfied in the work they are doing.” Said Loadsmith Chief Operating Officer, David Stemm.
Partners Pushing the Industry Forward
The industry is on the brink of a profound technological transformation, making it critical to evaluate current strategies and ensure they align with future goals. David Stemm stated, “Becoming an early adopter of this technology was critical to us, and Mastery has given Loadsmith a seat at the table to help pave the roadmap for the future of the product. Mastery and Loadsmith have a collaborative relationship where each organization is always working in the best interest of the other.”
As Loadsmith continues to refine and deploy trailers across the LFN, they will work in lock step with Mastery to create powerful optimization and utilization tools, continuing their commitment to being a leader in the transformation of autonomous transportation.
About Loadsmith
Loadsmith is a leading third-party logistics platform headquartered in Denver. Founded in 2019, Loadsmith was built by industry professionals who have worked with America’s greatest carriers, large and small to deliver top of the line business management and transportation services.
To learn more visit: https://www.loadsmith.com/
About Mastery Logistics Systems
Mastery Logistics Systems was established in 2019 with the mission to help enterprise carriers, logistics service providers, and shippers manage complex transportation needs in an efficient, cohesive, and intelligent way.
To learn more visit: https://www.mastery.net/
