Freight-focused since 2008
Most technology consultants serve whoever calls. Strong Tower Consulting was founded in Minnesota in 2008 to serve transportation and logistics companies, and that focus has shaped everything we do. Our people came up through carrier software training, installations and go-live weeks. We've worked inside dispatch offices, billing departments and server rooms, and we speak the language: lanes, tariffs, accessorials, FSC, detention, settlements, IFTA, DVIRs, OS&D and EDI 204, 214, 210 and 990.
That matters because freight technology problems are rarely about technology alone. A billing backlog is a paperwork, imaging and process problem. A driver settlement dispute is a pay-rule configuration problem. A deadhead problem is a planning and data problem. You need an advisor who understands the operation first and the software second.
Segments we serve
Every segment of freight moves differently, and so do its systems. Choose yours to see the specific challenges we look for and how our practices apply.
Truckload
Dispatch, deadhead, rating, FSC, driver settlements and ELD/HOS for dry van, reefer and flatbed fleets.
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LTL
Freight bill accuracy, cubing, linehaul planning, P&D, terminal transfers and OS&D.
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Brokerage & 3PL
Carrier onboarding, load boards, margin per load, tracking and carrier pay.
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Intermodal & Drayage
TIRs, last free day, per diem, chassis, and port and rail ETAs.
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Private Fleet
Cost per mile, backhaul, compliance and ERP integration for shipper-owned fleets.
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City Cartage
Multi-stop dispatch, hourly and zone rating, same-day orders and POD capture.
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Specialized & Heavy Haul
Permits, escorts, routing, project quoting and equipment-specific dispatch.
ExploreWhat every freight operation has in common
Segments differ, but the backbone is the same. Every freight company has to take an order, assign capacity, move the freight, prove it delivered, bill the customer, pay whoever hauled it, and stay compliant along the way. When we walk into a new operation, we look at the same core areas:
- Order-to-cash. How fast a delivered load becomes a clean invoice, and how fast that invoice becomes cash.
- Rating and accessorials. Whether tariffs, fuel surcharge and accessorial charges are configured once and applied every time.
- Settlements and carrier pay. Whether drivers, owner-operators and outside carriers are paid accurately without manual adjustments.
- Integrations. How ELD, fuel cards, imaging, EDI and accounting connect, and where people are still rekeying data.
- Data and reporting. Whether leadership can see margin by lane, customer and driver from data they trust.
- Resilience. Whether backups, access controls and documentation would survive a bad day.
7 Specialized Transportation Verticals & Technology Infrastructure Matrix
Each transportation sector operates on distinct operational constraints, pricing rules, and compliance demands. Strong Tower Consulting brings over 18 years of specialized advisory depth tailored to the unique systems footprint of each freight mode:
| Freight Vertical | Core Operating Profile | Critical Systems Stack | Primary Technology Bottlenecks | Strong Tower Advisory Solution & Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truckload (TL) Dry Van & Reefer |
Point-to-point linehaul, dedicated contract lanes, continuous round-trip planning | Enterprise TMS, in-cab ELD telematics (Samsara, Motive), EDI 204/214/210, automated fuel card FTP | Unbilled detention time, driver turnover from settlement disputes, manual EDI exception handling | Automates geofence detention capture, standardizes driver pay stubs, and establishes 99.8% EDI transmission reliability. |
| Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Crossdock & Linehaul |
Multi-terminal hub-and-spoke networks, crossdock freight sorting, density rating | LTL density rating engines, crossdock barcoding, dynamic linehaul routing, dimensioner scales | Missed reweigh/reclass revenue, dock freight misdirection, terminal billing lag | Implements automated scale integration for 100% reweigh capture, recovers 2-4% top-line freight revenue. |
| Freight Brokerage & 3PL Non-Asset Logistics |
High-velocity spot quotes, carrier vetting, split load margin tracking, QuickPay factoring | Digital freight matching, DAT/Truckstop rate APIs, Highway/MyCarrierPackets vetting, TriumphPay | Double-brokering fraud vulnerability, margin erosion from spot volatility, manual tracking calls | Automates real-time carrier fraud screening, locks in floor margins, and deploys app-less CheckPoint GPS tracking. |
| Intermodal & Drayage Port & Rail Terminals |
Ocean container & rail ramp pickups, chassis management, street turns, port gate TIRs | Intermodal TMS, port terminal EDI 322, CargoSprint/Advent eModal APIs, chassis telematics | Catastrophic demurrage & per diem fees past Last Free Day (LFD), chassis split billing confusion | Builds Drayage Watch automated LFD alert engines, tracks container per diem, saving up to $150k annually in port penalties. |
| Private Fleet Corporate Logistics |
Dedicated distribution to company stores/facilities, empty backhaul monetization | Enterprise ERP sync (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), routing & dispatching, maintenance DVIRs | Lack of cost-per-mile visibility against common carrier rates, empty return miles, backhaul compliance | Integrates private fleet TMS with corporate ERP, establishes true cost-per-mile accounting, and opens outside backhaul revenue. |
| City Cartage Metro & Final Mile |
High-stop-density urban delivery, straight trucks, liftgate accessorials, time-window SLAs | Mobile dispatch apps, zone-based rating tariffs, barcode scanning, instant digital POD imaging | Lost liftgate/residential accessorial charges, dispatcher dispatch bottlenecks, delayed delivery proofs | Engineers zone/hourly rate matrices, enforces automated accessorial billing, and deploys instant mobile POD capture. |
| Specialized & Heavy Haul Oversize / Overdimensional |
Lowboys, multi-axle steerables, state permit routing, escort coordination, project quoting | Project quoting engine, state DOT permit repositories, specialized axle-weight calculators | Unrecovered permit & escort expenses, equipment utilization blind spots, inaccurate multi-state quotes | Develops customized heavy-haul job-costing models that tie 100% of state permit/escort fees directly to freight invoices. |
One method, segment-specific detail
Our method doesn't change from segment to segment: Analyze, Streamline, Deliver, Sustain (see How We Work). What changes is where we look first and which numbers we put in front of you. For an LTL carrier that might be reweigh recovery and linehaul load factor. For a broker it's margin per load and carrier pay. For a drayage operator it's moves past last free day. Most engagements begin with a fixed-scope Technology Assessment, and the work that follows draws on our consulting practices, from Business Process Optimization to SQL Data Mining & Analytics.
I have found your service to be the most beneficial service, dollar for dollar, than any other IT service around. As an IT expert, I find it hard to locate someone who has more solutions than you.
Independent by design
Strong Tower Consulting never requires you to buy our software. Our sister company, Exspeedite, builds a TMS, and that's exactly why we know what's under the hood of yours. We work with the systems you run today. If staying put is the right answer, we'll say so. If another product fits better, we'll say that too.
The segment pages that follow are written from the operator's side of the desk. Each one lays out the specific problems we look for first, how our practices apply, what a typical engagement looks like, and the questions owners and managers ask most. None of it assumes you'll buy new software. Most of the value we find is already sitting in the systems, data and people you have.
Don't see your operation described exactly? Many companies run more than one segment, such as a truckload carrier with a brokerage desk or a drayage operation that also runs over the road. Tell us how you move freight and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.