Paul Kazan, president of Target Interstate Systems Inc. in New York envisions a day in the not-so-distant future when all brokers, truckers and their customers in the fresh produce industry can use a common website to track loads and shipments.

The idea is further along than one might think as the website already exists: www.producelogistics.com. “If we can bring everyone together on that one site, customers could log into that one place and follow their shipments,” Kazan said.

Paul Kazan, president of Target Interstate Systems Inc. The technology to track loads has been developed and is being used. Large fleet operators have equipped their trucks with GPS systems, but even independent owner-operators can use smart phone based systems that can connect them with their broker, he said. While there is an element of Big Brother watching your every step, Kazan said “truckers have to embrace the technology” because truck brokers, shippers and the receivers want to keep track of each individual load and deserve to know where it is and when it is going to arrive. In addition, Kazan said Bluetooth technology exists to keep track of the temperature of the load remotely and have alerts programmed to notify all concerned parties when a problem arises.

As more and more truckers utilize these systems, this New York-based truck broker believes the next logical step is to tie everybody together on one web site. He argued that in today’s world, a shipper or receiver has many loads to follow at any one time and needs to log into multiple web sites to follow those loads. It makes much more sense, he said, if there is a common site where all the information about their particular loads can be accessed.

He believes it is only a matter of time before this becomes reality. Truckers, he said, can be enticed to use this system if it also has up-to-date information for their use such as weather and traffic conditions. He said most fleet operators can already offer traceability and visibility. But produce industry shipments are still largely the domain of independent owner-operators so they have to independently adopt the use of these systems to provide the same level of visibility in the fresh produce space.

Kazan said many independent owner-operators already have and others will follow when it is demanded.

“Sure when trucks are tight you are going to use whoever you can get, but when they aren’t, the trucks that are properly equipped are going to get the load,” he said, as a matter of fact rather than as a warning.

Kazan understands the push back but takes a pragmatic view. “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, why shouldn’t we know where you are at all times?”