C.H. Robinson heralds integration of 19 TMS and ERP providers into its Navisphere offering

Earlier this week, Minneapolis, Minn.-based global logistics services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said it is taking steps to integrate 19 transportation management systems (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems into its flagship technology offering, Navisphere.

Navisphere is the company’s single global technology platform, which provides end-to-end visibility, consistent business processes, and strategy-driven business intelligence on a global basis and is used by CHRW employees, customers, and service providers to manage transportation and sourcing activities globally.

Company officials explained that this integration provides real-time pricing and capacity assurance access, coupled with nearly eliminating the required time to get market quotes and also book loads, which it termed “a virtually instantaneous process,” that saves shippers one hour for every shipment, on average. What’s more, they added that the automation provided through these processes gives shippers increased flexibility and efficiencies, which comes at an opportune time, due to changing consumer buying habits and supply chain disruptions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This was made clear with C.H. Robinson noting that its digital transactions are up 55% annually.

The 19 TMS and ERP providers that are integrating into Navisphere include a host of well-known industry players, including Blue Yonder, Oracle Transportation Management, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, among others.

In an interview, Mike Neill, Chief Technology Officer, C.H. Robinson, said that the company is always working to create innovative solutions that address its customers’ shipping needs.

“Integrating these 19 TMS and ERP systems into Navisphere allows us to further meet them where they are,” he said. “We have seen shippers turn to automation to streamline their shipping process in response to the pandemic, with our overall digital transactions up 55% compared to a year ago. These integrations answer their need for more shipping automation.”

In terms of the shipper benefits this integration providers, Neill observed that the integration of these 19 TMS and ERP systems allows shippers to work within their own native platforms to get real-time rates for multi-modal solutions across both Truckload (TL) and Less Than Truckload (LTL), , which, he said, is something no other company offers.

“It nearly eliminates the time required to get market quotes and book loads, making this a virtually instantaneous process,” he said. “And by accessing the largest capacity network, they are improving their service on their spot market freight with unrivaled capacity assurance.”

When asked about next steps as it relates to this Navisphere integration, Neill noted that the current 19 TMS and ERP systems it have integrated are industry leaders who were ready to be integrated into C.H. Robinson’s technology.

“We will continue to expand this list because we can seamlessly connect TMS and ERP systems our customers may use,” he said.