Bunge launches app for truck drivers to schedule grain shipments

Bunge launches Vector, a technological solution that allows freight scheduling via a cell phone application. The tool gathers information about Bunge cargo available for movement: pickup and destination locations, time window for pickup and delivery, as well as the value per ton. Drivers registered on the app can select a freight and schedule loading in a few seconds, without the need to go in person to one of the company's branches to pick up the loading order, which is now digital and confirmed at the time of choice by the truck driver.

As it is integrated into Bunge's operating system, one of the tool's main differences is that it allows not only scheduling but also automatic confirmation, guaranteeing the load to the driver. As it eliminates an in-person stage of the process, the tool also reduces professionals' exposure to situations where physical contact is necessary – when negotiating freight and deadlines.

Vector's proposal is to optimize the time of Bunge's transport partners, allowing them to spend less time idle and more time loaded, on the road. The company's logistics operation has 320 partner truck drivers at its base and moves more than 25 million tons of grain per year. The freight volume for transporting commodities is around R$3,5 billion. “The size of Bunge’s operation means that Vector is already a giant,” says the company’s Logistics Director, Makoto Yokoo. The executive projects that around 50 drivers will be using the platform by the end of the application's first year of operation.

In gradual implementation since January 2020, Vector already has more than 23 thousand downloads and 18 thousand effective registrations. The application is already responsible for moving around 45% of the total load moved by Bunge via road. The tool is available for download throughout Brazil, with versions for Android and iOS operating systems.

Registering to use Vector is simple and completely digital, just take a photo of your driving license and a selfie and the system will complete the information automatically. From there, the professional can view freight, select and schedule loading, in addition to obtaining the Electronic Transport Bill (CTe), a document necessary for cargo movement.

“We see Vector as an innovation in the management of our business, as the technology optimizes Bunge's processes, giving us the opportunity to involve employees who are currently dedicated to operational tasks in more analytical roles. Vector allows both Bunge and truck drivers to make better use of their time. In this pandemic scenario, the tool is also a great ally for the driver by reducing professionals' exposure to face-to-face situations. We are already seeing an increase in the number of active users since the last two weeks of March. Today, around 35% of the total number of drivers who downloaded the app are active users of the tool, compared to 20% at the beginning of March”, adds Makoto.

Bunge's logistics application is yet another move by the company into technology-based initiatives that help improve the company's relationship with its business partners and generate value for the chain and the market in general. In 2017, Bunge launched, with The Nature Conservancy and other companies in the sector, Agroideal, a free and open online territorial intelligence platform that helps identify areas of greater economic opportunity and lower socio-environmental risk for agricultural expansion. In 2018, through Bunge Ventures, the company participated in a round of investment in the Argentine startup Agrofy, a marketplace for products aimed at agribusiness. Furthermore, together with other trading companies, the company is the founder of Convantis, an initiative dedicated to modernizing global commodity trade, whose blockchain platform could be launched later this year.