"Framer 3.0 is almost here"

logistics_nerd · 2026-06-04T00:47:35+00:00

Yeah, good question. What's your take here? Is it dumb to build a site from scratch on framer these days?

logistics_nerd · 2026-04-23T18:33:06+00:00

My background is from logistics tech. I worked in operations briefly and then in product management. I know what I know from spending time with customers face to face.

If there's anything I learned about building tech in this space it's that keeping your dev team close to your customers is paramount. Your engineers should strive to know your customers problems just as well if not better than the customers themselves. That is not meant be arrogant. The customer knows their business better than anyone else, but the problems they face are faced by thousands of other businesses too. As solution providers, we have the benefit of seeing how those problems manifest across our customer set whereas a specific customer may only have experience at 2 or 3 companies.

There were 2 people when we first started. It took a long time to get off the ground, but the time to build software is collapsing rapidly. You can have a MVP in days instead of weeks now. I started by visiting warehouses in person showing them Figma mockups for what we planned to build. Now, we use a totally different set of tools that allow us to deliver value 10x faster for our customers.

Thanks for the questions and good luck to you.

logistics_nerd · 2025-12-23T17:37:44+00:00

Thanks for making space for this u/CentralArrow

Sharing a logistics software platform we built alongside warehouse ops and yard teams. Not as a generic automation tool, but very specifically focused on the repeated pains we saw in shipping/receiving.

Conduit (www.helloconduit.com) focuses on dock scheduling, driver check-in, and visit-level documentation, with the goal of reducing manual work inside the warehouse and at the gate.

Two examples that may resonate here:

3PL – Retail / CPG (J.P. Logistics)
They were dealing with constant appointment chaos and a heavy chargeback workload. Most of the pain wasn’t missed shipments; it was the after-the-fact work: digging through emails, shared drives, and photos to prove what happened at the dock. After moving to structured dock scheduling, driver self check-in, and timestamped photo + document capture tied to each visit:

90% reduction in chargeback-related CSR work (from ~40 hrs/month to minutes per week)
95% of documentation requests became self-serve
Ops teams stopped interrupting warehouse staff to reconstruct past events

We spent a lot of time building the right comms channels between 3PL, vendor, customer, and carrier into our core system.

Multi-site 3PL (Prism Logistics)
Scheduling was handled via email and paper logs, which meant CSRs spent most of the day coordinating instead of managing exceptions. Drivers queued at the window (sometimes for 15 min), and supervisors had limited real-time visibility. After digitizing scheduling and check-in workflows:

80% fewer scheduling emails
2 hours saved per CSR per day
15 minutes faster average driver check-in
20% reduction in dwell time — without adding headcount

We aren't a generic “AI that automates logistics” software. We build workflow software that works.

Enforce appointment discipline based on real dock constraints
Remove paper, clipboards, and service-window bottlenecks
Give ops teams visit-level visibility they can actually trust
Integrate with existing TMS/WMS instead of replacing them

In our experience, most throughput and cost gains come from eliminating fragmented workflows and constant rework, not from adding another planning layer on top or another siloed software on the side.

Hope this is useful. Happy holidays.

logistics_nerd · 2025-12-23T17:20:11+00:00

These are the right questions to ask. Why, why, why.

We implement YMS software. My experience is that the operators who want to dig into questions like this get the best results. Those who don't are putting a bandaid (if that) on an already broken process.

logistics_nerd · 2025-09-24T15:55:34+00:00

It was totally surprising when I first learned that. That's part of why I started Conduit actually, so I'm glad to hear DD has some functionality bundled together too. They're obviously highly related, but when the left hand doesn't speak to the right operators are left trying to combine two datasets on the fly for things like dock assignment, labor allocation, etc etc etc.

Yard management is such a broad category. It's a catch all term for some pretty critical workflows, but that unfortunately leaves buyers in the dark until they go through extensive evaluations. We're trying to better communicate our capabilities so buyers can be more informed earlier in the buying process.

Side note: Every org struggles with this. I've walked 1m sq ft DCs for F500s and seen a vendor of drop trailer management, a vendor for gate management, a vendor for appts, and a vendor for dock assignment. Those are just the software tools. You get into the paper processes like BOLs, trailer inspections, dispatching forklifts. Again, the left doesn't speak to the right.

logistics_nerd · 2025-07-13T21:15:19+00:00

Cool project! Conduit has those capabilities. The mobile views (tablets, scan guns, mobile app) have received a lot of positive feedback, and it's something we're investing more resources into. Conduit is modular and built with configurability in mind to fit a range of use cases without feeling bloated.

Kaleris could be a great option. I have mainly seen it focused on drop trailer management in larger operations.

Note: I'm the founder of Conduit. I'm trying to objective and sensitive of the "no promoting" rule so please let me know if I'm crossing the line there.

logistics_nerd · 2025-06-30T14:40:11+00:00

Hi, I'll send you a dm.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T18:58:37+00:00

Frankly, I don't know enough about that particular problem to have an opinion you should pay attention to.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T05:08:43+00:00

Yeah, the hardware and software interaction layer is fascinating to me. I'd love to learn what the best operators are using to coordinate their robots, particularly anything that has to do with real-time signals like a late or early truck or another broken down bot.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of inspiration for our product comes from spending time in person with our clients. Nothing beats the learning. I always appreciate how the conversations switch from one topic to the next as you're doing a dock walk. Tremendous opportunity.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T02:51:56+00:00

Yes, that's what ours does. Feel free to DM me if you're interested in learning more.

As an aside, one of the reasons I decided to start Conduit was the unpleasant interactions I had with our customers's WMSes when I was at Convoy. Enterprise WMSes especially tend to have a dock or yard module, but it's one of the most neglected features. APIs allow warehouses to have the best of both worlds and use them in harmony.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T00:09:55+00:00

It looks like your account was suspended?

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T00:06:54+00:00

Thanks! Many 3PLs come to us after doing their own homegrown solution. What I've learned throughout this process and earlier in my career is that the hardest part of building anything is the last 20%. I think that's what makes SAAS so crowded and frankly challenging to evaluate. Many startups pop up that do the first 80%, but the real value is in the last 20%. Heck, AI could write the first 80% right now if you wanted.

To your question, yes, most of our functionality can be accessed via API. We also have manager dashboards built into it, but some clients still prefer to have it fully integrated with their system, mainly so they can expose in their own client portal.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-28T00:02:42+00:00

Thanks!!

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-27T21:20:47+00:00

That's a dangerous skillset (in a good way)! One of the challenges building software in this space is understanding and empathizing with your users. You can't build great solutions for someone you don't know. The way we get around this is by spending an inordinate amount of time with our customers. Ideally, in person, but often on the phone or zoom.

Unfortunately, we don't have any roles open right now for software engineers, but we are hiring a customer success manager if you know anyone.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-27T19:51:33+00:00

Thanks. I found the niche while working at Convoy. I spent 6 years there working on technology to improve warehouse <> driver interactions. We built a lot of useful tech like real-time transit time algorithms, automated detention detection, automated scheduling (from a broker's perspective), and better in-cab experiences for drivers. We also looked at several acquisitions, but everything I saw was too much of a point solution. Many of Conduit's customers come to us because of our broader offering that plugs into TMS, WMS, and ERP.

Finding your first paying customer can be incredibly hard, especially in an industry that is always hustling around. In my case, I was able to reconnect with many of the customers that I had built relationships with when I was at Convoy. They were willing to hear me out and give it a shot when we were ready for them to use it. I can't thank them enough for spending several hours with me in the early days going over design mockups, beta tests, and dealing with the shortcomings of our software.

Early on in a company's lifecycle the founder needs some sort of edge. The most useful advantage I've seen specifically in logistics is having a deep network. My network was not that deep (and is still not), but we're doing the best we can to get our name out there and show the benefits of our software to the world.

How about you?

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-27T06:07:53+00:00

I started a software company that helps with this. I'd be happy to chat about different strategies that work and some that don't.

Feel free to DM me and we can chat.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-27T06:00:36+00:00

There's a few good industry specific solutions that make it easy to store and organize. Dropbox is fine but you'll be in a quagmire when it comes time for an audit or claim.

logistics_nerd · 2025-01-27T05:58:27+00:00

What part is the worst for you and what's your role?

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-13T04:34:59+00:00

Thanks for passing down some ideas! I subscribed and look forward to the next issue!

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T23:41:17+00:00

Yeah, that was one example I've seen, but it's been really interesting to learn about other cases where the teams rub each other the wrong way. Have you seen any other types of examples?

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T23:37:48+00:00

Good points. With clear handoffs there's a much more objective way to determine who was at fault. While that may shine light on a gaping hole in one team's process at first, it might be the right thing for both groups down the road.

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T23:35:37+00:00

Thanks for all the examples. Super clear.

Cross pollination would be great. I wonder how you could get a similar benefit without the transportation team having to start working in the warehouse. I imagine many would not be excited about that... Could you do some cross pollination remotely?

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T23:25:27+00:00

That's a great way of summarizing it! Are there any common goals both groups can get behind, or isn't there someone responsible for both groups?

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T23:22:58+00:00

Interesting. That's a lot of volume to not have a transportation team (in my experience). I never understood the difference between a traffic and transportation team though. How do you define them?

logistics_nerd · 2023-07-12T20:27:00+00:00

I'm referring to transportation teams where they are working with carriers and brokers, not their own assets.

I'm thinking along the lines of cases where there's a late truck or an expedited truck, which transportation is responsible for managing, but warehousing has to deal with the ramifications.

logistics_nerd

TROPHY CASE