The U.S. trucking industry generated an astonishing $700 billion in 2017, a 3.5% boost over the previous year. And the industry’s only going to get bigger and more complex.

But to convey just how complex it is, one has to start with the right scenario. Here it is:

We’re at a paper products company, where a forklift driver is carefully arranging pallets of napkins on a warehouse loading dock. A few feet away, in a cramped, dusty office, a warehouse manager is trying to figure a few things out.

The warehouse manager’s challenge: Get these pallets of napkins to a bunch of supermarkets in a major city, two states over. To make this happen, he has to hire a driver — also known as a carrier — to haul those super absorbents to their destination.

The manager worries about cost. But even more so, he worries about time.

He has a finite window to make this all happen. It could take hours to load the pallets onto the carrier’s truck and arrange them. It takes time to drive hundreds of miles. And then there’s weather and traffic and gas prices — other unknowns that he doesn’t even want to think about.

Now, let’s talk about the carrier — the person hauling the cargo. They can’t be on the road 24/7. They’ll need to sleep at some point during the journey. So it’s extremely important that they show up on time, load the truck on time, leave on time, and arrive on time.

Margin of error: 0.

For a big box retailer like Walmart, which has its own monster fleet of trucks and dispatchers, this is not such a big deal. Massive retailers have the formula and intel and network to make this happen.

But for the smaller company, like the one that manufactures paper products for a smaller chain of supermarkets, it’s definitely a big deal.

The shipping manager knows:

What needs to be shipped

Where the shipment needs to go

When the shipment must arrive at its destination

He does NOT know:

Who the carrier is going to be

If the carrier is going to show up on time

How long it will take to load up the truck

How much the carrier is going to charge

If the carrier has other cargo they need to drop off first

Whether the carrier knows the best route to the destination

If the carrier has a good, bad or neutral reputation

If the carrier is going to drive unsafely

If the carrier is going to respond to calls or texts or emails

If the carrier is trustworthy

There are too many unknowns. So the manager has to rely on someone else to find the carrier.

This someone else is a freight broker.

The freight broker is the ultimate logistics matchmaker. They know drivers and trucks that can deliver the cargo. And they’ll walk away with a nice, handy commission for sending a carrier to the warehouse and getting that cargo to the destination.

Make no mistake: The paper company manager would love to cut out the freight broker altogether and contact a carrier directly. It would save so much money and time. But he just can’t take the risk of finding someone and hoping for the best. So he’ll stick with the freight broker in the end.

This scenario — and so many variations of it — has stymied manufacturers and shippers for years.

And LaneAxis may have just found the solution: a mobile-enabled logistics blockchain.

With LaneAxis, shippers will be able to track their goods as they move — in real-time. They can store all the documents used along the way — proof of pickup, proof of delivery — on the blockchain.

And analytics born from gathered data will map out the best routes for drivers.

But LaneAxis will also empower the shipper and carrier to work together — directly.

How will this happen? Transparency.

LaneAxis is building a network that lifts the veil on logistics. Shippers will know which carriers routinely show up on time. They’ll also know which ones are usually late.

Shippers will be scored on how well they stick to a schedule, and they’ll get a rating based on their performance. And for the first time, the person who needs their services will see that.

LaneAxis has a clear vision of their network, and how it will simplify logistics. And they’re looking to XYO to deliver location data that makes their analytics even more solid.

LaneAxis is a relationship that could deliver big changes to a huge, vital segment of the American economy. And we look forward to helping them do it.