APRIL- JUNE 2022AUTO BUSINESS OUTLOOK 9a good example for process automation in the industry. An AI-based customs clearance and documentation management platform that dramatically reduces customs clearance time and cost for importers, brokers and freight, is working to resolve the "customs crunch." KlearNow not only provides tracking and visibility throughout the entire shipping process, but it will also move goods from a ship to final destination and with the detailed tracking, fewer trucks will be waiting.Another future enabler is the unprecedented amounts of data generated as a result of the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate and other telematics and mobile solutions. Also in Autotech's portfolio, HDVI, is the first commercial trucking insurance provider to build risk models based on real-time telematics data, reducing costs for small and medium sized fleets. Their suite of tools for improving safety and increasing fleet productivity keeps fleets in business by keeping both drivers and trucks on the road. This data comes with opportunities as well as challenges. Currently, most of the data is siloed within different parties (14 ELD providers serve 80 percent of the market), hence data integration layers are becoming a necessity for complete visibility. At an aggregated level, this data is very valuable for visibility, insurance and for load matching/efficiency purposes. Given that only 25 percent of the truck trips in the USA are 80 percent full, load matching optimization has been the ultimate goal or holy grail of the industry, presenting a multi-billion dollar opportunity by maximizing capacity utilization and margins in a competitive market.To that extent, we see that the aggregation of demand across different channels (i.e. load boards and marketplaces) is rapidly being commoditized, but demand has not yet been effectively matched with supply. Some companies are tackling this challenge directly with their own supply-side tools such as back-office automation,or automated dispatching oreven building virtual carriers, while others are using visibility as a beachhead. One such company we are really excited about is our portfolio company, Newtrul. It provides carriers a search engine to easily find and digitally book their customers' freight that it aggregates through TMS integrations. Newtrul is not a broker itself and does not compete with brokers, thus it is "neutral." This reminds us of the Global Distribution System (GDS) platforms (Amadeus, Saber etc) and meta-search companies (Tripadvisor, Kayak, etc.) in the travel industry. These supply chain issues are exacerbated by the imbalance between supply and demand. Today there is not only a driver shortage but also a truck shortage. The right formula is twofold: 1- get more trucks on the road, and 2- keep more trucks on the road longer. BasicBlock helps owner-operators and small fleets run more effectively with the financial services, like factoring, it provides.In summary, new opportunities for start-ups are being created by changing and even volatile market conditions. COVID-19 accelerated consumer adoption of e-commerce while underscoring how fragile supply chains can be and highlighting the need for solutions to handle not just the volatility in freight demand, but stable daily operations.Founders are answering that call with innovations that advance archaic and fragmented truck logistics. COVID-19 has created additional urgency for innovation to address key opportunities that are yet to be unlocked. There are multiple massive opportunities to digitize, automate and consolidate various components of the truck logistics' value-chain
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