Swick Logistics, a third-party logistics (3PL) freight brokerage with a reputation for “above-and-beyond” customer service, implemented the cloud-based, user-friendly Descartes Aljex™ transportation management system (TMS) integrated seamlessly with Descartes MacroPoint™ for real-time load tracking and AI-powered capacity
sourcing. The combined solution simplifies Swick’s freight operations across three international offices to move shipments efficiently via its fleet and partner carrier network while elevating the customer and carrier experience.
The vetted combo of Descartes’ brokerage-focused TMS, flawlessly integrated with Descartes MacroPoint turbocharges our productivity, elevates shipping performance, and enables us to deliver a tailor-made transportation experience for our customers—helping us skyrocket growth without the expense associated with a server-based solution.”
Omer Ramušević, Director of Business Development, Swick Logisitics
Success Story
Swick Logistics
Challenge: Skyrocketing Growth Outpaces Existing TMS
Founded in 2020, Swick Logistics has grown rapidly—today transporting 3,000-3,500 shipments/month across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and more than doubling revenue every year since opening its doors. To better manage growing operations in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Chicago, IL, Swick realized it was critical to find a brokerage-focused TMS that could communicate seamlessly with Descartes MacroPoint and other systems in its tech stack, such as QuickBooks, Triumph, and DAT’s OnBoard, CarrierWatch and RateView solutions.
With its existing TMS unable to deliver the speed, security, and flexibility required, the 3PL wanted a more scalable, cloud-based solution that was easy to use, provided enterprise-class security protocols, and offered fully integrated, real-time freight visibility and automated capacity matching to increase shipping efficiency while curtailing operating costs.
Solution: Simplified Freight Logistics Workflows
To meet customer expectations as it scaled load volume exponentially, the 3PL replaced its existing TMS with Descartes Aljex integrated with Descartes MacroPoint. The end-to-end solution simplifies and streamlines Swick’s transportation workflows to help the company cost-effectively book, cover and manage 3,000-3,500 shipments/month using its own fleet and 7,000+ active partner carriers.
“Given the sheer volume of freight we move, we needed a more efficient, cloud-based TMS that could communicate seamlessly with Descartes MacroPoint, so we could hit the ground running,” said Omer Ramušević, Director of Business Development at Swick Logistics.
“Unlike our previous TMS, the user-friendly Descartes Aljex enables our team to log in from anywhere and we can create different types of broker teams for various transportation services (e.g., reefer, flatbed, FTL) that work together within a single platform—a huge plus that saves us significant time, effort, and headaches.”
Swick also leverages Descartes MacroPoint’s capacity sourcing capabilities, synced with Descartes Aljex, to find capacity automatically—and book open loads up to 15 times faster than manual sourcing. “Based on the loads we have, the solution matches carriers to those shipments without any type of manual work,” said Ramušević. “We’re able to secure optimum rates to protect our margins while eliminating delays and building customer loyalty with consistent delivery performance.”
User experience was a critical factor in Swick’s decision to deploy the integrated solution. “With the carrier and customer portals in Descartes Aljex, we can set up carriers and new customers in minutes. Onboarding is quick and easy too, which makes a big difference when you’re adding 100 new staff to your roster,” noted Ramušević. “And if we ever have an issue, the Descartes team won’t rest until it’s resolved. My hat goes off to Descartes for the premium level of support they provide.”
Swick relies on Descartes Aljex’s powerful analytics and business intelligence dashboard tools to access valuable performance metrics. “The dashboard tools are phenomenal; it’s definitely the best reporting we’ve seen,” said Ramušević. “It’s super easy to pull up whatever details we need within seconds: financial, lane, shipment, customers, and more. It’s been a gamechanger for us.”
He added, “This is definitely going to be the platform for us for the long run. As we’ve grown hand-over-fist, we’ve added new employees, customers, and carriers and everything has just been absolutely flawless.”
Results:
Superior Customer Experience
With real-time load visibility and user-friendly customer portals, the Descartes solution helps Swick tailor services to customers’ unique needs, so the company can serve customers more proactively and strategically to heighten delivery performance.
Capacity Optimization
AI-driven capacity sourcing helps Swick book more loads, faster, without manual searches. The 3PL can also leverage additional lane details, such as backhaul movements, to find opportunities to improve asset utilization and reduce empty miles.
Simplified Onboarding
Swick can onboard employees to Descartes Aljex in minutes and train them quickly in a virtual environment. Team members can easily create new customers and customize their profiles to manage unique parameters, without relying on tech support for changes.
Increased Efficiency
The Descartes solution streamlines Swick’s transportation processes, eliminates manual workflows and reduces complexity to boost productivity for teams in multiple locations. Real-time load visibility automates tracking across the supply chain to save time and resources.
