Specialty hauler Estes Logistics is reaping the rewards of a 15-year collaboration with logistics technology vendor Descartes Systems Group. Using the tech developer’s cloud-based logistics platform and mobile technology solutions, Estes has grown its dedicated and customized transportation solutions business to more than $500 million in annual revenue from less than $200 million during that time—all while maintaining an on-time delivery rate exceeding 98%.EARLY ADOPTERSEstes Logistics is a division of freight carrier Estes Express Lines, and its services include dedicated truckload operations, specialty transportation, and final-mile delivery. Looking to develop that business, company leaders said they needed a scalable, flexible platform that would meet the needs of its diverse customer base, which includes both large retailers and small accounts.Descartes’ technology offered the perfect solution.“We were an early adopter of Descartes technology, and we’ve grown together,” Brian James, senior director, pricing and analysis at Estes Logistics, said in a statement describing the partnership that began more than a decade ago.Estes utilizes Descartes’ Global Logistics Network (GLN) platform—an ecosystem of software solutions that connects hundreds of thousands of logistics, transportation, manufacturing, distribution, retail, government, and e-commerce businesses in more than 160 countries—along with its routing and mobile technology to coordinate and optimize its multifaceted fleet operations.“Today, the solution manages night-time unattended deliveries, multi-leg deliveries, pool distribution, cross-docking, dedicated deliveries to customer locations, managed transportation from customer distribution centers to stores, and many other services,” James continued. “We can commingle freight for multiple customers on a single truck to drive greater route density,…
