Rectangle

🌶️ Our (possibly controversial) take: Measuring productivity in operations is (basically) impossible. 💡 Here’s why: Productivity is often seen as output per unit of time—calls per day, shipments per hour, etc. But this view overlooks two key variables: quality of output and necessary input. Take a laser printer. It might produce 42 pages per minute, but that’s not the whole picture. What if I only need 50 pages printed a day? A 20,000-page capacity becomes overkill. And if there’s no paper? It stops altogether. Quality and complexity also matter. Printing a full-color page or a detailed B&W graphic takes longer than a simple page, adjusting the true “productivity” of the machine. So how does this play out in logistics? The costliest part of supply chains is labor. It’s essential to understand the labor needed to move shipments per unit time, but precise metrics can mislead. During peak season, your team might handle 100 shipments per day. In slower times, that could drop to 50. Has productivity really decreased? Likely not. Our takeaway: Meaningful productivity metrics must consider output quality, workload variation, and input needs. Otherwise, it’s just numbers. #technology #innovation #automation #logistics #trucking #supplychain

We recognize that the freight tech landscape is evolving into a network of subject matter experts. Instead of companies attempting to be “one stop shops” each technology company is staying focused on their niche offering, while ensuring they are open to integrations and connections however their partners and collaborators see best fit. We think this is pretty cool, and as a part of this ecosystem of tech companies, we also want to highlight the niches of others! Arvist caught our eye recently and we wanted to highlight their accomplishments while learning from their insights, so we asked Eitan Hefetz to share with us! ❔What is Arvist? “Arvist supercharges warehouse operations around quality control and compliance by utilizing current infrastructure such as security cameras, cell phone cameras, and WMS data. With the assistance of Arvist AI, warehouses can guarantee the accuracy of products during shipping and receiving, detect damages in real-time, minimize chargebacks, while improving safety, compliance and warehouse throughput with the aim of achieving a Perfect Order Index (POI) of over 99.99%.” ❔What trends are you noticing from your prospects and customers as far as what types of technology they are interested in or how they are viewing technology as a competitive advantage? “Warehousing and logistics customers are increasingly open to exploring new technologies due to labor shortages, rising competition, and shrinking margins. They’re looking beyond robotics and automation, which haven’t always delivered ROI across all operations. From drones to AI-powered systems like Arvist, and LLM-based AI for back-office tasks, companies are testing a variety of solutions. AI is no longer seen as a competitive advantage but as a standard tool for efficient operations. Those not adopting these technologies risk falling behind.” #logistics #technology #ai #automation #supplychain #warehousing #operations #efficiencies

Part 1 of our Rectangle Q&A Video Series! Get to know our CEO and Co-Founder - Matt Salefski #logistics #technology #ai #automation #supplychain #video #freight

🌶️Our controversial opinion:  We’re further from standardization than we were 30 years ago, despite the consistent call for it. 💯Our reasoning:  For decades, the industry has relied on EDI. However, while the X12 standard exists, the reality is that each shipper customizes the content and demarcation of their EDI spec. APIs have slowly become more popular as a more flexible and robust means of transferring information, but they require software engineers to build and maintain. And APIs have no standards, at all. Logistics is a global problem. As global trade continues to grow, the need for standardization across countries, languages, and cultures becomes nearly impossible. Each shipper also has unique business needs—even companies like Target and Walmart, which operate in similar industries, have distinct logistics requirements. Many companies also benefit from this lack of standardization, as personalization provides competitive advantages over a one-size-fits-all approach. So, what’s next? At Rectangle, we're developing solutions that go beyond standardization to meet the evolving needs of the supply chain. Curious to learn more? Feel free to connect with us. #technology #innovation #automation #logistics #trucking #supplychain

This week the JOC Inland Distribution Conference was right in our backyard! Which meant a lot of industry leaders would be coming to Chicago, and we could not pass on an opportunity to bring them together for an evening of laid back conversations, networking, and learning from each other. We want to thank our co-hosts Greenscreens.ai, BiggerPicture and Samantha Jones Consulting for making this night so collaborative and enjoyable. Thank you to everyone who attended, we hope to see you again next time your travels bring you to our city! #networking #events #logistics #supplychain #technology #auotmation #ai

Please join Rectangle and Rock Yard Ventures on October 7 for a casual get together. Let's talk supply chain, construction, manufacturing, startups, VC, technology. More info here: https://lu.ma/sgd6p0am There are some great food options and a bar, so stop by, have a drink, say hello, and meet some cool people. We're just grabbing some tables and hanging out — come and go as you please!

Our mission is to enable all supply chain data to be accessible across all supply chain systems. We will do this by building technology that connects historically unconnectable systems. In hours, not months. #mission #purpose #business #logistics #technology #automation #accessibility #processimprovement 

"As a carrier operating in a tough market, Rectangle has been a game-changer. We began with a small pilot, which quickly demonstrated Rectangle's capability to not only automate our existing processes but also seamlessly integrate new processes from new customers. With Rectangle, we've streamlined our operations while also improving our service delivery. We highly value our partnership with Rectangle and are excited about our continued success together." Customer experience is so important to us. We are building our business on the needs of our customers, and oftentimes addressing new challenges, and creating new solutions. If you’re a carrier, broker, or forwarder, we’d love to talk with you about your operational challenges that perhaps you think are impossible to automate. #automation #technology #logistics #transportation #supplychain #improvement #operations

Unpopular Opinion? 🤔 🌶️ Our unpopular opinion: Probably one of our more popular unpopular opinions (that’s a thing). It’s not about gross margins, it’s about net margins. This one might seem obvious, but winning spot freight at low or no gross margin is worse than not winning it. It won’t cover the operational cost of executing the freight (something some companies struggle to put a $ amount on) – resulting in negative net margin. This results in a carrier/broker paying a shipper to provide them services… 👎 💯 Our reasoning: If the market clearing rate is break-even for you, then, most likely your operational cost is higher than the market. It’s a sign that you can be operating more efficiently. You’re either not using automation or the automation that you’re using isn’t doing what you think it is if you ask your team. #technology #innovation #automation #logistics #trucking #supplychain

Rectangle hope you enjoy your Labor Day! Labor Day is a great opportunity to recognize the commitment and hard work that everyone brings to the table. Your contributions are essential to our success. Here’s to taking a break and recharging. Thanks for all that you do. #LaborDay #Gratitude #TeamAppreciation