Convoy rolls out Convoy Innovation Lab, with an eye on helping shippers solve problems

Seattle-based digital freight broker Convoy announced today it has formally established the Convoy Innovation Lab.

Company officials said this initiative geared towards helping businesses address challenging freight-related problems by bringing together shippers with Convoy’s engineers, data scientists, and product designers.

And they added that since Convoy was founded in 2015, its product and technology team has worked with myriad companies across many verticals to understand logistics challenges and subsequently collaborate to build technology focused offerings, noting that it helps to lay down the groundwork for future collaboration between Convoy and its customers.

“Some of our biggest breakthroughs have been from deep partnerships with leading shippers and carriers. With the Convoy Innovation Lab we are accelerating innovation at Convoy and for the freight world at-large,“ said Ziad Ismail, Convoy Chief Product Officer, in a statement.  “We believe that significant improvements in freight are made by combining a comprehensive understanding of shipper problems with world-class technology.”

In an interview, Lindsay Watt, Convoy head of product-shipper experience, said that there were various drivers for the launch of the Convoy Innovation Lab.

“The Convoy model has resonated with shippers across the industry, so as we accelerate our growth we want to double down on our investments in shippers,” Watt said. “What we have found is that our best ideas and best solutions come from working hand in hand with shippers. Through the Innovation Lab we can accelerate innovation here at Convoy and bring fundamental change to the industry.” 

The Convoy executive laid out various benefits of the Convoy Innovation Lab for shippers, with a chief focus on addressing fundamental issues in freight.

“This means that customers can expect Convoy to be their technology partner in transforming their entire operation,” he said. “Through the lab we give shippers direct access to our engineering and technology teams, early access to unannounced projects and input into the design process because we believe it will bring more innovation to shippers, faster. Although the lab is focused on shipper problems, we believe that the solutions we develop will have positive impacts on carriers as well.  

Convoy described the Innovation Lab as “trucking R&D without a budget,” in that while most businesses have the same challenges relating to shipping freight, coupled with a vision for how freight should work, but it comes against the backdrop of lacking the budget and technical resources to make their vision come to fruition, leading to considering initiatives viewed as “inessential to immediate shipping needs” as not a main priority.

But the Convoy Innovation Lab, the company explained, creates an environment for shippers to tackle these initiatives, without needing to turn to their finance arms to cut a check to make it happen.

“Shippers provide the business expertise, the challenges they’re hoping to solve, and a bit of time, and Convoy provides its engineering, data science and design resources,” Convoy said. “Together, the lab builds breakthroughs to freight’s toughest problems.”

As for next steps for the Convoy Innovation Lab, Watt said that the company’s goal is to keep expanding the program, bring on more leaned in shippers and bring together some of the smartest minds to solve the biggest challenges Convoy sees in freight.

“We may also think about expanding to carriers in the future,” he said.