Hwy Haul co-founder and CEO Syed Aman wants to keep fresh produce flowing into US grocery stores. It’s one of the few categories that still drives shoppers to buy in-store. However, as some points in the fresh produce supply chain are still outdated, Aman is dragging trucking into the digital age with the added bonus of reducing food waste and eliminating unnecessary transportation emissions.
According to Aman, the trucking industry is fragmented and driven by individual relationships. Through Hwy Haul, Aman is trying to unite all stakeholders -shippers, truckers and retailers- in one place. Hwy Haul's app digitally connects growers with fresh produce to truckers who can deliver the loads to buyers around the country.
According to Max Gorobets, associate director of transportation for Lakeside Produce, one of Hwy Haul's clients, before the app, would have to get on the phone to call each trucking company to find a truck and a driver to pick up and deliver his load: "You spend a lot of time and effort and money to get it done manually.” Now Gorobets enters his load’s origin and destination information into the Hwy Haul app, and drivers on the other end can decide to accept it.
Aman’s key metric of success is reducing rejections and therefore reducing food waste. According to him, produce spends half its shelf life on a truck. He wants to keep an eye on the produce at all times during the route. Hwy Haul uses sensors to monitor metrics such as temperature and location that are uploaded in real-time to its portal.
Source: greenbiz.com