David Jencks Previews Transportation Factoring Technology Symposium

David Jencks, Esq., of Jencks Law, P.C., provides a preview of the International Factoring Association’s upcoming Transportation Factoring Technology Symposium and shares his perspective on transportation technology, the future of the industry and what it all means for factors.

Thanks to greater adoption of real-time data sources and technologies, the transportation industry is undergoing a massive shift that will only accelerate in the next decade. To prepare factors engaged in this industry for the future, the International Factoring Association will conduct a two-day hybrid Transportation Factoring Technology Symposium from March 8-9 in Las Vegas.

This advanced course will be available both in-person and online and cover a bevy of topics that should be top of mind for transportation factors, including payment systems, load documentation, freight optimization, invoice auditing, data-driven carrier benchmarking, data’s roll in the future of transportation, advanced technology like artificial intelligence and more.

To register to attend either in-person or virtually for this event, click here.

As the event’s lead organizer, David Jencks, Esq., of Jencks Law, P.C., spoke with Commercial Factor to provide a preview of the symposium and share his perspective on transportation technology, the future of the industry and what it all means for factors.

Who can benefit the most from attending this event?

David Jencks: Transportation Factoring Executives and business leaders that are charting the long-term course of their businesses.

What can attendees expect to get out of this symposium?

Jencks: I hope this meeting provides a clearer picture of the priorities and the plans of major logistics companies in the United States in terms of technology and where the transportation sector is headed in the next five years or so. I think that transportation tends to run a little bit behind the rest of the world in the technology cycle; however, we're at a tipping point where there are many substantial developments within transportation and logistics technology that are going to have an impact on factors, and more so on their carriers.

What is the overall theme of this symposium and why was it selected?

Jencks: Most of the topics really revolve around one overarching concept, which is that transportation shipments are going to become heavily data driven. Factors, carriers, shippers and logistics companies will all be able to see in real time through measurable data when the load was picked up, whom the load was picked up by, exactly what happened during almost every minute of transit, when it was dropped off, whom it was dropped off by and whom it was received by. Then, maybe most importantly for factors, there's going to be data showing invoice approval and payment and it's all going to be in measurable metrics and close to real time. This is going to have a major effect on the way that factors verify and make funding decisions.

What role have you played/are you playing in the planning of this event?

Jencks: I'm just one member of a small team of people that are working hard on getting as many quality and substantial speakers as we can possibly get to share their priorities and views of the transportation and logistics industry in the next five years or so. We're also trying to schedule and make sure that we allow sufficient breakout times for our leaders to discuss and address some of the things we hear at this meeting and how it might affect factors. We hope to have at least two and maybe up to three breakout sessions, both online and in-person since this is a hybrid event, where leaders can share the information from speakers and discuss its applicability to factors and their carriers.

What can you tell us about the lineup of speakers?

Jencks: While it continues to be worked on, we are going to bring in some of the largest, most innovative and technology-driven logistics firms in the world to gain their perspective on where their industry is headed, where the motor carriage industry is headed and new and disruptive technologies in this space. England Logistics, CH Robinson and JB Hunt play a large role in every transportation factor's life right now, and with their emerging technology and a focus on transportation as data, it will play an even larger and evolving role. These types of groups have the ability to change what transportation factoring looks like.

How will the perspectives of guest speakers enhance the event and what areas will they cover?

Jencks: We will have people and companies there that are the logistics and technology leaders in their field, and their high-level perspective of where the industry is headed will be invaluable for factors planning for anticipated changes in the sector.

From your perspective, what types of technology are having the most noticeable effect on the transportation industry today?

Jencks: I go back to the data aspects of load management. If factors and carriers can measure all aspects of a load in real time, it's going to change how factors staff, how they prioritize, how they make funding decisions and how they verify the data aspects of load management, I believe we are about to change factoring and motor carriage in perhaps the most substantial way ever.

How can a greater reliance on data within the transportation supply chain help address the fraud and double brokering issues that have increased in the last few years?

Jencks: It might be the most exciting concept in transportation. When you look at something like shadow brokering or double brokering, there's always the questions of where the load was procured, who loaded it, who hauled it and who delivered it. Real-time data in the transportation chain has the opportunity to answer all of those questions, or at least flag potential problems. So, this real-time data extraction could be a powerful fraud detection tool.

How do you think the transportation and logistics industry will evolve in the next decade and what will it mean for factors?

Jencks: This symposium is looking a minimum of three years down the road. We're even talking about looking five or even 10 years down the road. So, I tend to be, for this course, most focused on that issue. But the way transportation is going to change is by no longer relying on phone calls or even emails to manage a transportation transaction. It will all be done in and with real-time data that is hopefully visible to a factor.