Contrast aims at small enterprises

   A new Canadian startup, Contrast Logistics Software, is diving into the market with transport pricing software aimed solely at small and midsized trucking companies.
   Contrast is targeting those companies it feels make prices and bids with their gut instead of market knowledge because of time constraints and knowledge bottlenecks. The company wants to help companies operating on small margins that currently figure out the cost of business once the work is done.
   Citing a recent study from the University of Tennessee, Contrast said it wants to tackle this blind-bidding pitfall through its Rate-N-Roll software, which allows owners to determine operational costs through easy-to-generate rate quotes and pricing. The company said its cost and price calculations are automated and will save companies a lot of time in the process.
   The company said successful use of its platform will also allow truck owners to make better decisions around which jobs to accept, how to bid, and to manage how loads are processed through a costing feature.
   Contrast said no special training or new hardware purchase is required.
   Since it’s initially targeting the Canadian market, the service also features a translation tool for French-speaking users and French-language bids and posts. Rate quotes can also be developed in bilingual English-French and English-Spanish formats.
   More information on the Rate-N-Roll service can be found on the company’s Website.