b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comThe coming digital transformation of logisticsA conversation with Trade Techs Bryn Heimbeck on the challenges and solu-tions for the digital transformation of the logistics sector. By George Lauriat, AJOT1/0o nes andZ eRos netitself.IntheearlydaysAs a case in point, Heim-BrynHeimbeck,presi- oftheInternet,itseemeditbeck relates a story of an early dentandco-founderofshouldhaveprovidedtheventure. While he was working Trade-Tech, a global logisticsideal tool to addressing manyat Fritz, one of the most tech platform, is a digital devoteeof the communication snagssavvyfreightforwardersofhis vision is to deploy dig- thelogisticsindustryrou- itstime,Heimbecklaunched italization to break down thetinely encountered.a side business that provided information silos constrictingButembracinganewshipsailingschedulesover the logistics industry. And fortechnologyliketheinter- the internet. The product was aproponentlikeHeimbeck,netisntalwayssimple:Isuperior to the paper and fax thisdigitaltransformationthoughtatthetimeglobalcompetition and less costly to is the logical next step for antrade would be the next oneother products on the market industrythathasbeenslowinline,anditwasnt.Andatthetime.However,there inadoptingtechthatotherIvealwaysbeensurprisedwaspushbackastheinter-industrysectorshaveread- that its been taking 20 yearsnetwasconsideredawaste ilyembraced. AsHeimbeckforthisindustrytoembraceofofficetimeandavehicle exclaims,Fintechisflyingorevenstarttoembraceforinappropriatebehavior. in an airplane and the rest ofthecapacityoftheinternetAndHeimbecksaysofthe us are riding a horse. because it opens such a dif- pushback, in some respects To put his remark in per- ferentparadigmthatmakes(DIGITALcontinued on spective,Heimbeckenteredthings so much easier. page 18)thelogisticsindustryatthe horse and buggy stage of the industrys tech evolution. My first job, I was working for a customs broker here in Seattle [Trade-Techsheadquarters], typing bills of lading (BOL), and I was terrible at it because we had to use IBM Selectrics [typewriters]andusewhite-out[tomakecorrections], and it was just terrible. For Heimbeck,whorelatesI was always interested in com-putersthesolutionwasas simple as ones and zerosdigital BOLs.Bryn Heimbeck, president and co-founder of Trade-TechBut in the early days of digital commerce, computers haddifficultyworkingout-sidetheirownnetworks and global interfacing was a challenge. One obvious chal-lenge in the days prior to the globalInternetwaswhether thepartyoverseas(oreven nextdoor)usedthesame operatingsystems,thesame methodology, did they work moving freight the same way as you did?The light bulb revelation that digital documentation was the key to unlocking efficien-ciesinthelogisticsindustry started Heimbeck down a path that was anything but direct or simple. And many of the com-plexities of digital adoption he encountered along the way are still founding features of the problemsthelogisticssector faces today.t hep ushback tod igitaliZationFor example, take the Inter-'