Why Most Freight-Tech Projects Fail Before They Even Start

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts211/v4/d2/1d/4e/d21d4e3f-3b1e-7d2c-899c-c9af93feec3f/mza_5938872277855306771.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

The Freight Show

Vooma

10 episodes

6 days ago

The Freight Show brings stories of freight and logistics leaders who’ve shaped the industry. Through in-depth conversations, we explore their journeys, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the insights that have driven their success. Each episode uncovers the lessons, strategies, and wisdom of these freight leaders.

All content for The Freight Show is the property of Vooma and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Management

Business,

Marketing

Why Most Freight-Tech Projects Fail Before They Even Start

The Freight Show

44 minutes

2 weeks ago

Why Most Freight-Tech Projects Fail Before They Even Start

Ryan Schreiber—Chief Growth Officer at Metafora—joins The Freight Show to unpack why most freight-tech projects fail before they start, how to reframe “the problem” as an operational one, and why a broker’s goal should be zero inbound calls. We dig into AI’s real promise (natural-language workflows at 3 a.m.), the orchestration mindset (people × process × tech), and how to redesign the carrier org around strategic sourcing → advanced booking → coverage instead of asking one rep to do it all.

Brought to you by

VOOMA — AI agents that help brokers/carriers win and move more freight. Book a demo: https://www.vooma.com/

What you'll learn

Stop solving the wrong problem: Most “AI failures” are ops failures—misframed problems and incentives, not model quality.
Zero inbound is the goal: Every inbound call is a lagging indicator that upstream work (quoting/follow-ups/coverage) slipped.
Natural language as UI: Why chat/voice beats app labyrinths for drivers at 3 a.m.
Orchestration > automation: Harmonize people, process, and tech so the system can triage work and scale capacity thoughtfully.
Carrier org of the future: Cohort by strategic sourcing, advanced booking (≈48h), and coverage—and measure for carriers who want your freight, not just those who’ll take it.

Time-stamped highlights

(00:00) Drivers don’t want a call—they want a fix: NLP and AI as “the 3 a.m. workflow.”
(07:00) “Zero inbound” as a north star for brokers.
(10:30) Orchestration defined: aligning process, tech, and UX.
(14:45) Cloud-computing analogy for staffing & surge demand.
(22:30) Pilots that flop: answering calls vs eliminating the need for calls.
(29:45) Capacity Strategy: strategic sourcing → advanced booking → coverage.
(36:30) “Carriers who want your freight” and how to measure fit.
(41:45) Micro-decisions: when to post vs. invest in relationship routes.
(43:30) Ryan’s signature: “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but…”

Links & references

About Metafora (formerly CarrierDirect): https://metafora.net/ (transportation & logistics consulting + software)
CarrierDirect → Metafora rebrand background: https://blog.metafora.net/rebrands-metafora-adds-industry-executive (blog + coverage)

Guest
Ryan Schreiber — Chief Growth Officer, Metafora
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-schreiber/