ELEVATE: Cargo42 wins second straight DEMOvation Challenge

MIAMI – For the second consecutive year, startup Cargo42 took home the top prize yesterday for the DEMOvation Challenge at the ELEVATE 2017 Conference. The online platform, based here in Miami, is designed for trucking companies to reduce idle time and capacity, and to provide greater transparency for shippers through real-time tracking.

The runner-up to the prize was DEMOvation finalist Hangar A, another startup e-logistics platform that offers dynamic pricing, electronic scheduling, IATA compliant e-AWB integration and analytics to the airfreight industry (see photo at left).

In the winning presentation, Alfredo Keri, co-founder of Cargo42 (photo, above), walked the audience through the shipment process, which enables customers to enter information online and receive instant quotes from Cargo42’s network of carriers. The platform can also track shipments and provide status updates, as well as the bill of lading and proof of delivery via email and text message.

Keri said Cargo42 provides rates that are 30 percent below the average rates of more traditional carriers. “We can save shippers money and time, and allow carriers to use idle capacity,” he told the ELEVATE audience.

The DEMOvation Challenge, held exclusively by Air Cargo World, was split into two sessions during the ELEVATE Conference. The event offered a unique presentation experience, in which innovative companies had the opportunity to demo in front of an engaged and enthusiastic audience of logistics and aviation professionals. In the end, the prize – a bottle of wine and an Amazon gift card – was awarded based on live voting from the audience and a panel of judges from the logistics industry.

The other companies that competed in the DEMOvation Challenge included:

Freightos – A Hong-Kong-based software-as-a-service-based international marketplace for shippers to get instant quotes online from a network logistics companies via air, ocean or truck, using

Globatom  — A Seattle-based logistics software company that allows B2B shippers to track shipments in a matter of minutes and in a secure, cloud-based environment.

Medical Connect – An Australian startup to design of medical space on freighter aircraft using the power of express logistics networks to transport medical patients around the world in comfort and with dignity.

ShipBob – An online fulfillment service, launched in Chicago in September 2014, enabling businesses to sell their products on their own websites, where they can maintain full control over the customer experience.

Supply Chain Finance – Provider of courier management software to help shippers track and manage same-day deliveries.