Introduction

Synchrogistics, a leading third-party logistics (3PL) firm, was founded in 2010 by the Jackson family with the goal of combining high-level data analytics with expert consulting. With a background in both consulting and transportation, Founder Bill Jackson recognized the poor communication between shippers and carriers—resulting in insufficient data to make more informed decisions. 

Over the past decade, Synchrogistics has experienced exponential growth and has evolved into a multi-million dollar business that offers a comprehensive range of services—including brokerage, consulting, specialized solutions, and managed transportation in Raleigh, NC. Fueled by a strong desire to improve shipment visibility, Jackson started searching for a reliable way to track shipments—one that was in his control, as opposed to solutions where Synchrogistics could only rely on what drivers reported back to them. 

Jackson wanted full visibility into his customers’ freight, so he began searching for a product that offered everything he wanted—including real-time, end-to-end location and condition tracking. Jackson was introduced to Tive at Manifest, an annual industry event that unites international supply chain and logistics technology under one roof, and it didn’t take long for him to jump on board.

“Tive has the value combination that we need,” said Jackson. “I saw the Tive devices at Manifest and spent a lot of time talking with the team in their booth—and they offered me a few different ways I could test the trackers.” And Jackson knew exactly which Synchrogistics customer he wanted to test it on.

Improving Refrigerated LTL Shipments & Customer Service with Tive

Jackson and the Synchrogistics team had tested many different visibility products over the years, but none of them worked the way the team wanted them to work. According to Jackson, “The primary issue I had with a lot of these products was short battery life. Once you put them in a box, the signal gets so weak that the tracking doesn’t work anymore. It is the opposite with Tive.”

Synchrogistics had a new refrigerated LTL client that had made an acquisition, and they were dealing with some temperature-related claims and rejection issues. “The issue we needed to solve was what was happening with their shipments,” says Jackson. “We were able to use Tive trackers to identify where the temperature issues began—so we could stop them.”

“Tive fits into the broader vision I have for my company, which is to have the best customer service available,” says Jackson. “We provide the best service possible—and that’s not just us saying those words. With Tive, we can provide a high-quality service that’s completely verifiable. We make investments and we have KPIs, and we can easily demonstrate that our service is better—and that’s the reason we use Tive.”

Protecting Shipments Across All Industries

Synchrogistics currently uses Tive on 20% of their shipments—to protect products ranging from refrigerated food to medical equipment. The team uses a varying set of criteria to determine whether to use Tive on a shipment. For perishable cargo, it’s a given: the configurable temperature alerts afforded by Tive trackers protect these delicate shipments and ensure they are delivered in pristine condition.

“We have a new client joining us soon, and they manufacture medical equipment. We will definitely be using Tive on those shipments because the value is extremely high—ranging from $250,000 to one million dollars,” stated Jackson.

When it comes to keeping temperatures stable during transit, there are many ways things can go off the rails. For example, the carrier may claim the temperature in the truck is X degrees, the warehouse says they keep everything at X, and the shipper claims the temperature is also X. “And the only fact everyone agrees on is that when a temp check was conducted at the back of the truck, it was too high,” says Jackson. “Tive enables us to identify where things are going wrong—and fix issues during transport.”

Since using Tive, Synchrogistics has been able to reduce claims and rejections by over 50%. That alone is worth the price of every tracker.

Easy to Set Up. Easy to Use.

One thing Synchrogistics appreciates is how easy Tive is to set up and use, especially when it comes to setting up shipments and configuring location and temperature alerts. Says Jackson, “I decide how often the tracker captures and transmits data on a shipment-by-shipment basis—and I can change those settings while the shipment is in transit, as needed.”

For example, if there is an issue with a shipment—perhaps a truck isn’t making expected progress or it’s been sitting still—Jackson’s team can change the tracker from sending data once every hour to once every 10 minutes. This gives the Synchrogistics team much more timely and granular data, which enables them to make more informed decisions about next steps. Plus, there is an added bonus: “We surprise them with our knowledge of whether or not dispatch is aware of where their own trucks are, or perhaps they haven’t told us the entire story of what’s going on with that shipment”.

“That only happens once—and after that, they know we’re on top of it.”

In the summer of 2024, Synchrogistics had an LTL shipment heading from the northern U.S, down to Texas, where there was a heatwave going on. “We noticed the temperature rising as the truck was moving, and we were able to get in touch with the driver—who stopped the truck and cranked the temperature down. We saved a full truckload claim there because the ambient temperature outside the trailer was over 100 degrees,” says Jackson.

Ensuring that They Only Hire the Best Carriers

For Synchrogistics, Tive provides an easy way to evaluate carriers—which provides a huge operational benefit. To ensure that a carrier is trustworthy, Jackson’s team adds a tracker to a shipment—and later conducts a check call to ensure that what the carrier is telling them is accurate.

And although this hasn’t happened to Synchrogistics, the team feels confident that if a double-brokering situation occurred, then they would be able to stop it. “I am sure that if someone was attempting to steal our freight, we could isolate that situation very quickly—all because of Tive,” says Jackson.

Jackson also uses Tive in other tracking scenarios. “I traveled to India in early 2024 and added a tracker to my luggage. When I got to Delhi, the airline couldn’t find my bag—but by accessing the Tive platform on my phone, I was able to direct them to the exact terminal where my luggage was.”

Gaining Clear Competitive Advantage

Not only does Tive help Jackson’s team monitor the location and condition of their client shipments in real-time, but it also gives them a competitive advantage—and helps generate more business. “Our clients see that other companies aren’t using Tive, and they rest easy knowing that they’re working with someone who is investing in modern technology—which ensures that our quality of service is always the highest possible,” says Jackson

That extends beyond just bringing in new clients—because when current clients grow their own businesses, they insist on using Synchrogistics to cover those shipments, too. Jackson states, “One current client recently bought another company, and there was no question that Synchrogistics would take over transportation for that new company.”

Jackson has also used Tive to woo new clients, as well. “I showed the prospect a tracker and explained that his hyper-important, expensive shipments—which are worth up to one million dollars per truckload—needed to be protected by real-time visibility.” Many other 3PLs send their customers a website tracking link, which only shows the last terminal where their shipment had been docked.

“Synchrogistics is able to apply a higher standard for our customers. And if there ever is an issue, Tive helps us increase the likelihood of a successful resolution,” says Jackson.

Improving the Business—Across the Board

Synchrogistics is very happy to be using Tive—and one big reason is that the solution works exactly as it is supposed to. As previously mentioned, Jackson and his team had challenges with battery life when they tried other solutions. “If you have a shipment that ends up taking longer than expected, you could be in trouble. The longevity of the battery in the Tive trackers is perfect—plus the solution works on any mode of shipping, all around the world.”

Synchrogistics is one of the few managed transportation companies that has a significant refrigerated LTL practice. As such, they have relationships with many refrigerated LTL carriers, and using a device like Tive helps improve that business, too. Says Jackson, “They don’t want to make a claim for a damaged shipment, so if we’re able to tell them something is trending in the wrong direction, they can take corrective action—and prevent claims. That’s the name of the game.”

Alerts have also helped Synchrogistics protect several shipments from damage over the last few months. “I have been able to quickly call a carrier and tell them the temperature is trending upward,” says Jackson. “The carrier then calls the driver, and it turns out that the driver has switched from continuous cooling to cycle. But with Tive, we’re able to catch it—and the driver switches it back to continuous before the temperature exceeds the threshold.”

According to Jackson, “If you're moving high-value freight that’s going long distances, it’s subject to fraud or double brokering. Tive provides you with a solid way to proactively stop such things from happening. I give Tive a 10.”