Dallas-based Greatwide Logistics Services has been ramping up its investments in new technologies, including LeanLogistics' On-Demand TMS, McLeod software, RedPrairie and PeopleNet.

"Greatwide has made about 15 years of technological advances in the past year," said Raymond Greer, CEO of Greatwide Logistics Services. "The whole idea is to leverage our combined services in ways no one else can. The key to that is to have one common view of information as a basis to build truly unique products around our core dedicated, brokerage, warehousing and TMS competencies."

Greatwide, a non-asset-based logistics provider, will use the LeanLogistics technology to upgrade its Transportation Management Solution, which will now include procurement, execution, spot market management and financial management. The company will use Microsoft BizTalk to tie all of the systems together.

Using the newest McLeod software, the company will have more transparency across the network, giving load planners the ability to see all capacity. McLeod's LoadMaster IX will be integrated with PeopleNet, a mobile communications and on-board computing system. PeopleNet will allow Greatwide to gather driver hours of service information more quickly and efficiently, automate driver/dispatch functions to better serve its customer base and provide valuable performance data to its owner-operators for better management of their fuel efficiency.

"We have made huge progress in a short period of time thanks to the technology architecture platform the Greatwide team has adopted," said Lloyd Boyd, CIO of Greatwide Logistics Services. "I watched some companies ignore the need to have a common view of data and the limitations that puts on customer solutions."