How automation can transform the logistics of shipping perishable goods (with video)

Global Trade Tech summit: Transship CEO makes case for embracing automated freight for perishables

Amit Hasak, Transship founder and CEO (right), talks with Brian Laung Aoaeh, co-founder of REFASHIOND Ventures during American Shipper’s Global Trade Tech summit. (Photo: American Shipper/FreightWaves)

Transship founder and CEO Amit Hasak’s vision for the future of transporting perishable goods across the world involves fewer phone calls and emails and a lot more automation. The result: potentially knowing that a malfunctioning reefer unit spoiled that shipment of frozen pork long before someone opens that container at a Chinese port. 

“We provide that information in real time,” Hasak said during a virtual fireside chat at American Shipper’s Global Trade Tech summit on Thursday. He spoke with Brian Laung Aoaeh, a co-founder of REFASHIOND Ventures, a New York-based venture capital fund. 

https://vimeo.com/457808263/99283f8cdd

Hasak founded Chicago-based Transship in 2017 after spending years owning and operating a cold-storage warehouse. The startup provides automated freight-forwarding services with an emphasis on perishable goods.

“We want to be the first smart cold supply chain company in the world,” he said.

Transship aims to solve a problem that Hasak said holds back traditional freight forwarders — the reliance on phone calls, emails and faxes over the life cycle of a shipment.  

Instead, the startup offers a platform that automates many of those processes utilizing application programming interface (API) and blockchain technology. Additionally, the platform provides real-time tracking of temperature, humidity and location. 

“What’s missing today with traditional freight forwarders is information,” he said. 

Through automation, Hasak said Transship is providing more real-time transparency about shipments. It opens the door for companies to boost their revenue to redeploy logistics personnel to sales and market. 

“It’s not meant to replace people,” Hasak said. “The service we’re providing is not so companies will fire their logistics staff.”

Hasak acknowledged that logistics automation “can be a hard sell” to skeptics, but “it’s meant to improve the whole industry and give people better experience.”  

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Nate Tabak

Amid supply chain disruptions, open networks foster agility, collaboration

How Walmart solved carrier payment woes in Canada with blockchain

Ransomware attack hits Canadian trucking company Manitoulin

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
Compliance

Brokerage Compliance Symposium

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Awards

F3 Awards Dinner

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Awards F3 Awards Dinner Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now