In today’s freight landscape, visibility into your shipments is no longer a luxury, it’s foundational. Whether you’re moving dozens of loads a week or managing a national network, how your carriers track and communicate shipment updates can directly impact performance, cost, and customer satisfaction.
Here’s a breakdown of the most common tracking methods carriers use today and how modern solutions like Emerge bring it all together with a smarter, more flexible approach.
Some carriers still rely on check calls, emails, and text messages to update shippers. While this method works for small operations or low-volume lanes, it becomes inefficient at scale and makes real-time visibility difficult.
Pros:
Tradeoffs:
Many larger fleets use EDI or API integrations to automatically relay tracking data. These systems sync directly with a shipper’s transportation management software, reducing the need for manual follow-ups.
Pros:
Tradeoffs:
Emerge takes a modern, hybrid approach to visibility.
Through a direct integration with project44, a leading real-time visibility provider, shippers can accurately track without requiring carriers to invest in complex technology. If a carrier doesn’t have a TMS or EDI setup, they can simply opt in via a mobile link sent to the driver—no special software needed.
Carriers can also proactively provide updates in-app for shipments that need to be tracked manually, so there's one central place to track where your shipments are.
This hybrid model allows Emerge to provide real-time shipment tracking across a broader carrier base, giving shippers the visibility they expect without adding friction to carrier operations.
Why it works:
Most carrier management platforms lock you into rigid workflows or require carriers to adopt specific technologies. Emerge was built to adapt. Whether you're working with a fully integrated fleet or a mix of regional carriers, ProcureOS is designed to provide reliable shipment tracking and communication without adding layers of friction.
Interested in smarter, more flexible shipment tracking?
Discover how Emerge supports every carrier in your network.