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003 - Bryan Eichenberg of Freightsnap on Pallet and Parcel Dimensioners, Augmented Reality, and Finding a Fish in a Loading Dock in Memphis
105 Plays7 years ago
PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS
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EPISODE 3 BRYAN EICHENBERG OF FREIGHTSNAP ON PALLET AND PARCEL DIMENSIONERS, AUGMENTED REALITY, AND FINDING A FISH IN A LOADING DOCK IN MEMPHIS
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Welcome to Episode 3 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.
Our guest this week is Bryan Eichenberg of FreightSnap. FreightSnap is a really interesting company that has developed a modern cost effective device for measuring freight, all the way from individual cartons to full sized pallets and irregular shaped products. These devices and apps are all cloud connected and they make freight operations way more efficient with a really fast ROI. As part of the Chain.io network, we can connect FreightSnap's devices directly to your TMS or ERP for a seamless dimensioning experience. One of the things that we found really interesting in this conversation is how Bryan and his family found themselves in the logistics business. So many of us come up directly through operations and it's great to have a fresh outside perspective on the industry.
“It is always a tough thing to introduce any change to anyone’s process, but we try to make that as smooth as possible.”
Listen in as Brian and Bryan discuss:
- How a dimensioner works and what it was like introducing it to an unfamiliar industry
- Advice for developers trying to introduce process changes
- Augmented reality and direct integration updates to the FreightSnap App
- The craziest package Bryan’s ever dimensioned
Links and resources mentioned in the show:
- freightsnap.com
- FreightSnap’s LinkedIn Page.
- FreightSnap’s Facebook Page.
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!
Take care, and until next time,
Brian Glick
chain.io
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Transcript
Introduction to ChainIO's Profiles
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to Profiles by ChainIO. I'm Brian Glick, ChainIO's founder and CEO. Over the coming weeks and years, we'll feature the partners and customers who make up the ChainIO network. We'll focus on learning about the individuals within these companies and how they've helped build the organizations that drive our network.
Innovations in Freight Measurement Devices
00:00:35
Speaker
Together, we'll learn what drew them to the industry, why they made it such a big part of their lives, and where they see us all going in the future.
00:00:45
Speaker
On this episode, we're talking to Brian Eichenberg of FreightSnap. FreightSnap's a really interesting company that has developed a modern, cost-effective device for measuring freight all the way from individual cartons to full-size pallets and irregular shaped products. These devices and apps are all cloud connected, and they make freight operations way more efficient with a really fast ROI. As part of the chain IO network, we can connect FreightSnap's devices directly to your TMS or ERP
00:01:13
Speaker
for a seamless dimensioning experience.
Journey from Software Development to Logistics
00:01:16
Speaker
One of the things that I found really interesting in this conversation is how Brian and his family found themselves in the logistics business. So many of us come up directly through operations and it's great to have a fresh outside perspective on the industry. So without further ado, here's the episode. Brian, thank you so much for joining us today.
00:01:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's good to be here. I'm excited. So why don't we dive right in? And why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got into this world of logistics and supply chain? Yeah, so I kind of had probably a slightly different track into logistics than most. Started out more on the just software development side of things, doing some consulting work and mostly in the medical field.
FreightSnap's Evolution and Industry Impact
00:02:08
Speaker
But me and my father had started a family software development company. So we had always keep our eye out trying to come up with a new product. And one of the things that we had developed was an app. Initially, it was more so to measure houses for siting takeoffs, which is a totally different industry.
00:02:38
Speaker
As we went down that path, we were looking and researching for what else could we use this, what we thought was a pretty cool app. What else could it do? What other industries could it help? And we stumbled across LTL Freight and people measured that freight and we thought this could be a good application.
00:02:58
Speaker
we put together a quick demo video and threw it up on YouTube. And surprisingly, we started getting hits, people watching it, people reaching out to us and wanting to, hey, what is this? This is exactly what we need. So started following up on some of those calls. And from that point, we both didn't have too much experience in logistics.
Technology Behind FreightSnap's Dimensioning
00:03:23
Speaker
So started researching and
00:03:26
Speaker
you know, realize that, wow, this is a good fit. This could really help this industry. So we kind of went full steam ahead and, um, and the more we got into it and with talking to people kept requesting for more of a static dimensioning product that was more affordable. So we kind of have a can do attitude. So we just said, why not? And we dove right into that. And we've since come to market with an affordable,
00:03:55
Speaker
fully automated static palletized dimensioner to go along with our app. So it's kind of been a journey, but that's how I got into logistics. So for our listeners who may not have spent a lot of time on the loading dock side of the things, can you explain a little bit more kind of what the dimensioner does and kind of how it works? And I know you guys have some unique technology in yours, maybe, maybe dig into that a little bit also.
00:04:20
Speaker
Yeah. So, you know, on the dock side of things, the freight will come through and for a pricing tool, you can, you know, dimension, you know, get a dimensional freight, a cube is what's commonly referred to of that, uh, of that piece of freight. And we've basically developed a product that will be installed from the ceiling and it uses
00:04:43
Speaker
sensors to take a 3D image of the freight and provide an accurate measurement of the length, width, and height of that piece of freight within a couple seconds. And you pair that with the weight over a scale and you can basically automate that process of instead of using a manual tape measure to get those DIMS and then write that down in a ledger and take that to someone to get it put into a system to get a quote.
00:05:12
Speaker
that is instantly captured by the dimensioner. So what do you guys do once that data is in that device? Where does it go from there? How does it become useful outside of the physical device itself?
Cloud Integration in Logistics
00:05:28
Speaker
Yeah, that was definitely one of the main issues we wanted to tackle coming from the software side of things. Something that was very common to us was to basically create this
00:05:42
Speaker
a larger system to where it wasn't just a scale that sat there and you sat it on it and it read you the dimensions. It was, it would actually do something with the data. So we built in this entire cloud based platform behind the actual device itself. So that basically once you dimmed your freight, that data was captured and then sent directly to our cloud, which allowed anyone to install one of these dimensioners and instantly have
00:06:11
Speaker
a way to store that data and then easily connect that data to any of their systems once it was stored in our cloud. So that was a big, I think a big differentiator for us coming into the market, thinking about it through like a different lens where probably other providers of this type of technology think of it more as just a device or something you just put on a dock and then leave. And then here you go. You figure out what you need to do with it.
00:06:37
Speaker
You know, that was we, from day one, we wanted to be way more hands-on and helpful and actually getting that data and making it useful. Do you think that there was a influence from the fact that you don't come out of the industry? Was that a benefit or a detractor when you first started rolling these things out into the real world? They allow you to think differently or was it just this huge learning curve that you had to go through?
Entering Logistics: Challenges and Benefits
00:07:05
Speaker
I think it's definitely, it's both. I mean, we come,
00:07:08
Speaker
You know, like I said, we had this kind of a radical idea of like how we, how we price the unit and how we, how we integrated it with using the cloud and some of the old ideas of like, well, you can't do this because, you know, this how it's always been done and, and kind of really did look at it through a different lens. I think it was helpful, but then, you know, there was very large learning curves as far as just in the industry itself and.
00:07:35
Speaker
And what would work and what wouldn't, even from a hardware perspective in these docs, you know, that's something where, you know, we had never spent a lot of time on a doc and then, you know, we start developing a piece of hardware to go on a doc. And I remember going to our first, one of our first installs and I'm, and I show up and I'm just woefully unprepared to, for the elements of a doc and, uh,
00:08:05
Speaker
So we hang this thing up and I'm, I'm looking at it myself. I like take a picture. I'm covered head to toe and sit and, and I just can't, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I think I've, I think I've chosen the wrong industry. But, uh, and then they pulled that first piece of freight underneath the dimensioner. And it was, I think it was like an engine on a, on like a, some big kind of crazy looking palette and.
00:08:32
Speaker
And I think I underestimated the task that we, that we've tried to take on, but it's been good. I think that was all those things were, were good, but I do think it was a good thing to have this outside perspective because I think, you know, any, like in any industry, it can get, you can kind of get stuck in your ways of how things work. And, and I think it's always good to have things get kind of a,
00:09:00
Speaker
get shook up and something some people to look at it differently so if if i'm sitting down with
00:09:07
Speaker
you know, a CFO or even a manager at a facility and you say, Oh, it's cheaper and it's faster. They're going to go, that's awesome, right? That you don't have to tell them anything else. But when you go out there, you're actually doing these installs and, and working with a team that's physically has to use the, use the device and it's going to get integrated into their
User Adoption and Technology Reliance
00:09:25
Speaker
day. What's kind of the reception that you get when you go out there to do those, do those installs? It's to be, it's, it can be mixed, you know, you can get like really positive, you know, good,
00:09:36
Speaker
You know reviews from the guys like oh man. Yes, this is gonna make my job easier like right now I have to do this long process. I have to write this stuff down and I am constantly kind of under the gun to try to get some of this some of my work done and get it done accurately and I
00:09:57
Speaker
And so they see, they see the benefit right away, but then there are quite a few people that are, you know, like, Oh man, this is never gonna work for us. We're gonna, we're gonna hit it. We're gonna knock it down. You know, it's, it's definitely a mixed bag. I think that though, after the initial, you know, let's say someone is like on the fence with it, once they use it for awhile and they see like, Oh man, this is,
00:10:26
Speaker
this is truly making my life easier. And this process is now much quicker. And this is not that it's kind of a scary thing, but this machine and there's lasers and, you know, it's, you know, this seems kind of, they don't know what to do with it. But once they, once they get comfortable with it, I think most people now, if, if, if they ever have an issue and they call us, it's like, Oh no, freight snaps down. We,
00:10:53
Speaker
you know, we can't do our job without this. So it's, you know, it's definitely a, it's something that they can't live without type of thing where before we don't need it now. Oh my gosh, we, we have to have it. So, I mean, the reception is, is always, is always a tough thing to introduce any change to anyone's process, but we try to make that as smooth as possible.
00:11:18
Speaker
Not to to date myself too badly, but I remember as the beginning of my career installing the first PCs for secretaries and they said we'll never use these things and then suddenly they're using them and
00:11:35
Speaker
you know, the day that one of them would break, you know, they said, they would look at the type where to go, I can never, never possibly even consider using that. I said, you used it for 30 years. Uh, so I think, I think I understand what you're saying that these things become, you know, it's, it's cool. It's amazing how quickly people will adjust and then, and then it's, you know, that's the new normal and anything else is a step backwards. Yeah. They're like, I don't even carry a tape measure anymore. So I can't, I can't do my job. So it's cool to see that, you know, someone,
00:12:05
Speaker
change their, you know, like something you said, something they maybe did for 30 years and then to change, it changes their job and for the better to really help them. Then they, they say all the time, I can do a better job. I can, I can focus on other things that were probably more important to what really needs to get done.
00:12:25
Speaker
Is there a big difference that you've seen in when you deploy? I know you guys have some very large installs and also some single site. Is there a big difference to you whether you're going in to do multiple facilities for a big company and the change management around that versus just going in where it might be an owner operator or small team? There's definitely a big difference. I think there's pluses and minuses to both.
Deploying Technology Across Company Sizes
00:12:51
Speaker
On the big company side, you have
00:12:53
Speaker
You know, it's usually typically very organized. Everything is super laid out about, you know, what's going to happen here. And then, you know, this data is going to go here and everything is usually, you know, pretty well lined out. And that is, that's comforting, but it's also, you know, it can be a slower process to, to maybe go from point A to point Z to get the, get everything installed and up and running compared to
00:13:23
Speaker
Sometimes it is still fun to go into a smaller shop and, you know, you go in and they don't know, maybe they don't necessarily know how they know they need this product, but they don't know exactly how they need it and where it needs to fit in and to really help them just completely change their process for the better to where, you know, everything is now flowing through an automated system.
00:13:50
Speaker
and working with them pretty hands-on and with their IT team, it's a rewarding experience to really see that. You can tell that what you're providing them is helping them on a daily basis. So that's a cool thing.
00:14:09
Speaker
So is there anything that now that you guys have been doing this for a while that you really wish you knew at the beginning of this that you could share with somebody who might be starting out and getting into the space?
Beyond Measuring: Effective Data Utilization
00:14:23
Speaker
Yeah, so I mean, gathering the dimensions and the technology and the algorithms behind that have actually measuring freight.
00:14:33
Speaker
I mean, it's a large hurdle to get over. And I, I thought at the time, once we do that, we're good. We don't, you know, it's just going to be, we're just selling these and we're done. And what I found is that the actual important part is doing something with that data and getting to, and that's really where like, I found I was spending the majority of my time was just working with our customers.
00:15:00
Speaker
on integrations and doing integration work. And I think that that kind of caught me by surprise a little bit. I thought that that would be a little more established where they would, they would know instantly, Hey, well, I know I need this data. I need, and I need to get it here. Um, that that would be something that would be, I guess an easier task, but, um, you know, that's why I am excited for, you know, companies like chain IO to come through and,
00:15:30
Speaker
I think that streamlining the process of the way that all these different systems talk to each other is going to be a huge improvement for the industry. I'll have to put the check in the mail for getting a free plug in my own pocket. I truly mean it.
00:15:51
Speaker
It's been a really good partnership to be able to work with you guys and get you on board so that the next TMS and the next TMS after that, you're not distracting your team from building all the cool stuff I know you guys have coming up in the future. Want to tell us a little bit about that, about what's next on the roadmap?
Future Innovations at FreightSnap
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah, so we're pretty excited.
00:16:15
Speaker
kind of getting back to our roots a little bit, we're releasing a new update to the app, which is going to implement augmented reality, which is a cool new feature on a lot of these new smartphones and tablets. Or if you're not familiar with that, it will essentially, as you're looking through, like you turn your camera on the app,
00:16:42
Speaker
And then you're looking to the screen like you're going to take a picture of something. You're going to take a picture of the freight. What you can do is actually interact with that picture while it's on the screen live. And what this Apple allowed you to do is basically tap on the screen around the corners of the freight. As you walk around the freight after a few times of tapping on the screen, you'll actually
00:17:07
Speaker
The dimensions of the freight will pop up like a cube encompassing the freight. And at that point, you will have the dimensions. You can take a couple of pictures of the freight, and then you can upload all that data to our cloud real time. So you won't need any additional tools besides your phone to essentially create a fully automated process for dimensioning freight. And also documenting freight, which is
00:17:38
Speaker
which is also super important. It's one of the big uses of our product is just taking pictures of the freight as you received it or tendered it that you can reference later for damage claims and other items. So we feel that's a big need is to basically document just taking pictures of your freight of every piece of freight that you move.
00:18:04
Speaker
Um, you may never look at the picture, but you can let us worry about storing all that data. And then when you need it, you have it available. We're also looking into, um, we're getting ready to release an update to our, well, actually a new product to our parcel dimensioning line that will be smaller and more so fit on a tabletop and be operated from a tablet, um, to where.
00:18:32
Speaker
It's still, it's a static, so you wouldn't actually measure from a device, but it would sit on a tabletop over a scale, and it could, it will measure parcels, smaller parcels quickly, and then provide you direct integration with UPS, WorldShip, and FedEx, and be able to kind of automate that process for e-commerce businesses.
00:18:57
Speaker
So one of the things that I found really interesting with e-commerce is that you see these videos of these huge facilities, right? The conveyors are moving 60 miles an hour and scanning things at milliseconds. But how much of our businesses really run out of smaller facilities, doing e-commerce fulfillment for Shopify stores for things like that?
Parcel Dimensioning for E-commerce
00:19:20
Speaker
So is that the target market for this? Someone who's
00:19:23
Speaker
running their own facility or smaller 3PL who's not investing a million dollars in a conveyor system. That is definitely the target of that product. There's a ton of people and ton of products already out there that are very good at doing that high rate of speed parcel at fulfillment centers and
00:19:52
Speaker
And we didn't really want to compete in that space, but like you said, we see more and more are the smaller e-commerce sites that are, they don't need that type of volume, but they still do a lot of shipments per day and something to help automate that system and keep track of everything, you know, with an easy to use cloud-based backend. We thought there'd be a pretty good need there.
00:20:22
Speaker
So my daughter would be upset if I didn't ask this question. So going back to the AR product, are you going to be able to see Pokemon jumping out from behind the containers when you were in the AR mode? Yeah, exactly. We need to add in a feature to where, you know, maybe like a tape measure goes crazy and wraps around the freight or something like that. That'd be important. Integrate a game into it, then we'll get people to start measuring their freight.
00:20:53
Speaker
So what are, um, kind of going down that road of the crazy, what are, what are some of the weird things that you've seen the out there that you've had to dimension eyes before? So, so probably my favorite story, uh, from just going around and, you know, I've been on a lot of docs in the past couple of years and happened to be, uh, on a doc traveling. And I had, uh, I talked to my buddy, uh, who was my neighbor and he had, he had just gone to Cabo San Lucas and he went on a
00:21:23
Speaker
a pretty cool fishing trip and he caught a big, like a seven foot sailfish. So he was pretty proud of it. He got it, he got it mounted and sent it back. And he was telling me all about how, you know, Hey, a couple of days I'm getting my fish. It's coming in. So I was in, I was on this dock and I wasn't in the city of, I was like in Memphis or something. And I'm walking around the dock and I see like, Oh, that's a weird shipment. And I, well, I, I'm always interested to kind of see what these different
00:21:52
Speaker
looking things are. So I walk over and it had something on there. I said, you know, fish of some kind. I can't remember exactly what it said, but I was like, Oh man, I wonder if that's, you know, that's crazy. That's how they ship these fish. That's how my neighbor will be getting that fish. And I end up writing down the pro number and I was going to look at it later in the cloud and long story short, come home the next day and sitting on my neighbor's driveway.
00:22:18
Speaker
Uh, the truck is dropping off that package and I walk over and it was literally the same, same fish, same package. And I was like, Hey, I saw your, I saw your fish. I dimensioned your fish. So I thought that was, uh, you know, maybe it's just funny to me, but, uh, that thought was interesting.
00:22:37
Speaker
I go out on these tours all the time in these facilities and just once I actually want to see something that actually has my name or someone from my house's name on the deck. Out of the millions of pieces of freight that I see, then I'm on the dock that exact time that his fish is coming through. I thought that was the craziest thing.
00:22:56
Speaker
That really is the statistical chances of that happening. I'll have to get one of our AI partners on to figure out the odds of that one because that's pretty crazy.
Family Influence and Business Philosophy
00:23:10
Speaker
We love to talk about people and their journeys on the show. Could you tell us maybe who was a big influence on you and your career and what that influence was? Sure. I think I referenced earlier that
00:23:26
Speaker
So the FreightSnap is a family business. And the start of that was essentially my dad. He has been in the IT industry for many years and started a few different companies throughout his career. And as me and my brothers were all kind of getting through college, he kind of came together and was like, hey, we need to
00:23:53
Speaker
We need to try to do something. This'll be fun. Let's get together and, you know, let's just start thinking of different things that, you know, we can do software stuff until we kind of land on something we think is good and go with it. So he's definitely kind of been my influence throughout, you know, my life, and a very strong part of my career. And I'm really thankful that he had, you know, he took that chance to,
00:24:23
Speaker
didn't have to do anything. He kept going down his own path and he kind of made some sacrifices to say, hey, this will be fun too. Let's all work together and do something we enjoy. So it's definitely a lot of fun every day to come in and work with family, especially brothers and a dad. I'm sure you can imagine that, you know, we have our moments of brotherly love, but I would say that at the end of the day, that's always
00:24:53
Speaker
always makes us better because we typically bring the best out in each other. We always push ourselves to continually be better, whether it is programming or just in life. It's been a lot of fun. I'll tell you, for people who came up through my generation of this business, a lot of us had the honor of working for family businesses, either our families or someone else's.
00:25:23
Speaker
And especially where I come from, the international side, many, many of those companies have been subject to consolidation and may be part of bigger corporations now. And I've had the honor of working for several of them. It's nice to hear that that is still happening in this business.
00:25:42
Speaker
that there are companies who have those kind of strong foundational principles because I think they do matter when you're out there on the loading dock with that team. And they know that you guys are going to be there for the long run and part of they're invested in it personally. Yeah. I think a lot of our customers appreciate that, especially in this industry. Like you said, I feel like
00:26:04
Speaker
It's more respected that we're a family business in the logistics industry. We definitely get a lot of comments and a lot of people are happy or they choose us because, hey, they know who they're going to call, who they're going to talk to, and they appreciate how we operate. So if they want to call or they want to talk to you, what's the best way to get in touch with Freight
Contact Information and Episode Conclusion
00:26:33
Speaker
Snap?
00:26:33
Speaker
Yeah, honestly, the best way is go ahead and visit our website at freightsnap.com. That is the best way to get in contact with us. There's a contact form on there and there's probably probably a few people of ours floating around on LinkedIn. So we also have a Facebook page, but the website is typically the best way. And we'll have that link in the show notes as well.
00:27:02
Speaker
For any of the existing Chain.io customers who are listening, GreatSnap is already integrated into the platform so you can always reach out also to your Chain.io contacts and we can broker the appropriate introductions. Brian, it's been awesome having you and it's great to hear about a business that kind of had a non-traditional journey.
00:27:23
Speaker
through this industry and is doing so well. So thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you. It's been great talking and glad I could share my experience. Well, that's a wrap and thank you very much to Brian for taking the time to share his story with us. Be sure to tune in next time when we will be learning all about what it takes to move a multi-million dollar or even priceless piece of fine art. Thanks for listening.