Trucking Tech Today: Innovations from PCS Software, Fleetworthy, NMFTA

PCS Software unveils Cortex AI

PCS Software recently announced Cortex, an AI engine fully embedded in PCS TMS to help fleets operate faster, smarter, and with less manual effort. Cortex will debut at the Houston PCS Customer Summit on September 25.

“Our AI strategy is grounded in 25-plus years of operational expertise, deep customer insight, and an unmatched understanding of the workflows of carriers, brokers, and shippers—all built into the PCS TMS,” Mark Hill, CEO of PCS, said. “We’ve focused on AI that matters—tools that improve margins, automate busywork, and give fleets that rely on PCS a true competitive edge.”

Analysis and inference are at the core of Cortex, which applies AI across four key areas of the TMS:

• Optimization: There are many opportunities across the TMS where AI, and specifically ML, can help solve for a best-case scenario. Cortex AI brings this optimization to the most data-intensive and decision-laden areas of the TMS, such as dispatch, scheduling, opportunity management, and maintenance.
• Workflow: PCS TMS provides virtually every workflow needed to run and manage freight, operate a fleet, interact with drivers, and manage the financial aspects of the firm. Cortex AI is facilitating the shortening of workflows, allowing teams to operate more efficiently and handle more tasks in less time.
• Communication: Cortex AI will allow PCS customers to manage all communication—whether via email, text, voice, or electronic interfaces such as EDI or API—with the help of AI.
• Insights: With over 25 years of insights from our customers, PCS said Cortex AI is poised to surface the right insights at the right time, to the right people, in order to ensure that decisions are correct, profitable, and operationally sound.

“We leaned into AI early—not for hype, but for real results,” Danielle Villegas, CPO at PCS, said. “Cortex isn’t just an add-on or an experiment; it’s a competitive weapon that helps fleets do more with less.”

Cortex will be available to PCS customers beginning this fall, following its public release on September 25 at its Customer Summit.

See also: FMCSA revokes two ELDs

Fleetworthy expands Bestpass Toll Genius access through new Motive integration

Fleetworthy recently announced a new integration with Motive, expanding access to its Toll Genius solution for fleet customers using both Bestpass by Fleetworthy and Motive ELDs. 

Toll Genius is a toll analytics and reporting capability that integrates Bestpass toll data with GPS and vehicle telematics information. This latest integration with Motive now gives more fleets access to tools that leverage advanced machine learning models to detect toll anomalies, reduce violations, and optimize toll management.

The Bestpass Toll Genius integration with Motive provides the following:

• Toll match reports that align vehicle GPS locations with toll events to flag mismatches, anomalies, or unauthorized tolls.
• Toll discrepancy reports to diagnose causes for unmatched tolls, including stationary vehicles and device misassignments, using pattern-matching algorithms.
• Smart fleet match reports that automatically detect gaps in toll coverage or GPS data, using AI-driven cross-references between Bestpass and Motive records.
• Interactive map views to visually explore toll discrepancies and vehicle movements.
• Custom filters and date ranges to analyze toll activity by vehicle, cost center, or time frame, enabling smarter reporting and financial oversight.

“Our goal with Toll Genius is to bring unmatched accuracy, transparency, and insight to toll management,” said Shay Demmons, CPO of Fleetworthy. “Whether it’s for cost optimization, compliance, or dispute resolution, this new integration gives Motive users the tools they need to run smarter and more efficient operations.”

The NMFTA assumes management of the Scheduling Standards Consortium

The National Motor Freight Traffic Association recently assumed management of the Scheduling Standards Consortium. SSC will now be part of the NMFTA’s Digital Standards Development Council, an industry-led initiative that includes both the Digital Less-than-Truckload Council and the Digital Full Truckload Council.

This new development will support the NMFTA's efforts to create standards that improve communication between carriers, shippers, technology providers, and third-party logistics providers by creating and sharing application programming interfaces for a fully digital logistics process.

“NMFTA chose to move forward with this strategic and very intentional obtainment for a more streamlined and logistics-focused process that provides secure and dependable results,” Debbie Sparks, executive director of NMFTA, said. “The current SSC members are enthusiastic about this strategy and champion our effort to ensure digital standards are developed.”

The NMFTA’s digital efforts have mainly been recognized in the LTL space. In October 2022, the association launched a first-of-its-kind electronic bill of lading standard, adopted by many LTL shipping companies. Partnering with SSC is an opportunity to boost the association’s digitization efforts, engage industry leaders, and share knowledge that improves ease of use and visibility across the supply chain.

“The SSC was founded to create efficiency for everyone in the logistics industry,” said Stuart Scott, chairman of the Digital FTL Council and EVP and chief information officer for J.B. Hunt Transport Services. “Given NMFTA’s expertise and history in standards development, it was an easy choice to seamlessly transition. J.B. Hunt and several other SSC council members are joining the Digital FTL Council to further our partnership and bring more digital standards to the logistics industry.”