Logistics technology innovator Fleet Enable announced no-charge electronic data interchange (EDI) order-taking and responses for freight transporters.

The Austin, Texas-based software creator said it’s offering carriers EDI with its Fleet Enable transportation management system free for two years. The technology permits freight haulers to receive digital orders and return responses from shippers without manual intervention.

Fleet Enable said it believes it is the only logistics technology provider offering no-charge EDI.

The technology has become industry standard for carriers hauling freight over the road. But for large carriers receiving thousands of electronic order requests and responses monthly, the cost can be significant.

“We’re making this technology available at no charge as an investment in the industry and in our client partners,” said Fleet Enable CEO Krishna Vattipalli in a release. “We’re doing this as a prime mover in the effort to automate transportation and logistics.”

EDI provides an automated connection to Fleet Enable’s Transportation Management System. The Fleet Enable technology platform automates all aspects of a freight hauler’s business, from ordering to route planning and billing. Fleet Enable signed an agreement with Illinois-based Kleinschmidt Inc. to help provide EDI technology to business partners.

How Fleet Enable’s System Works:

1. Shippers send electronic shipment requests to their carrier partners.

2. Fleet Enable’s Transportation Management System automatically accepts the EDI requests.

3. The system routes requests throughout the carrier’s enterprise, from warehouse to dispatch and billing.

4. The carrier can then automatically deliver confirmations, status updates, tracking information and exceptions back to the shipper via EDI.

EDI automates transactions to minimize manual handling, Fleet Enable said. Automation has been identified as critical to success in the increasingly competitive logistics sector. Efficient, lower-cost operators are considered likely industry survivors.

Electronic order-taking has replaced faxed requests for most shippers and freight haulers, Fleet Enable said. Some shippers, however, still transmit shipment requests via email. Fleet Enable said it has developed technology to automatically forward emailed requests to its Fleet Enable TMS.

Fleet Enable said through the end of 2023 it’s introducing no-cost EDI to the logistics industry for a two-year period.