Trucking Tech Today: New updates from Steam Logistics, Relay Payments, Aurora, Zonar

Steam Logistics partners with Relay Payments to launch RelayDirect

Steam Logistics, a freight broker, has partnered with Relay Payments to implement RelayDirect, a digital payment solution that simplifies carrier payments and boosts efficiency. This transition equips Steam with technology to better support its growing network of carriers and factors.

Relay Payments collaborated with Steam’s internal technology, operations, and accounting teams to integrate RelayDirect across all its systems. By automating payments and streamlining back-office workflows, RelayDirect creates operational efficiencies and fosters stronger relationships with carriers.

“RelayDirect gives Steam clear visibility into carrier payment status and timing, enabling us to efficiently manage a high volume of payments with minimal operational overhead,” Adam Shearer, CFO at Steam Logistics, said. “The intuitive reporting and platform interface provide actionable insights, helping us proactively resolve issues before they arise. Our carrier partners have also praised Relay’s portal and customer service for making it easy to manage receivables and for consistently responsive customer support.”

RelayDirect is designed for brokers seeking to modernize their payables process and simplify their operations. RelayDirect's platform tackles common challenges, including payment delays, manual inefficiencies, and limited customization options. By automating carrier payments, it enhances cash flow management and strengthens carrier relationships by providing faster payments and greater transparency.

“RelayDirect is more than just a payment tool; it’s a comprehensive solution designed to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen relationships across the supply chain,”  Spencer Barkoff, president and co-founder at Relay Payments, said. “Our close partnership with Steam Logistics ensures that their team has the tools and support needed to deliver unparalleled service to their carriers.”

See also: Synop.ai: Bringing a sharing economy to EVs

Aurora begins driverless operations at night and opens Phoenix terminal

Aurora Innovation recently announced an expansion of its commercial operations, including surpassing 20,000 driverless miles at the end of June, recently growing its driverless fleet to three trucks, beginning driverless commercial operations at night, and opening its Phoenix terminal.

“Efficiency, uptime, and reliability are important for our customers, and Aurora is showing we can deliver,” Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, said. “Just three months after launch, we’re running driverless operations day and night, and we’ve expanded our terminal network to Phoenix. Our rapid progress is beginning to unlock the full value of self-driving trucks for our customers, which has the potential to transform the trillion-dollar trucking industry.”

Aurora has expanded driverless operations on the Dallas-to-Houston lane to include nighttime driving. This capability more than doubles truck utilization potential, shortening delivery times on long-haul routes and creating a path to profitability for autonomous trucking.

Aurora’s new terminal in Phoenix opened in June and exemplifies an infrastructure-light approach that resembles how Aurora plans to integrate with future customer endpoints. Fort Worth to Phoenix is nearly half the distance of the busy Atlanta to Los Angeles freight corridor, taking more than 15 hours to complete. Self-driving trucks can halve transit times, especially on long routes that exceed the 11-hour driving limit for human drivers. Aurora is currently making autonomous hauls on this lane for Hirschbach and Werner.

Aurora launched Aurora Driver Live, a livestream of its self-driving truck operations that is available to the public in an effort to enhance transparency.  

Zonar launches integration-ready platform with real-time analytics

Zonar recently launched Zonar Ignition, a next-generation cloud-based fleet management platform designed to replace the industry’s fragmented legacy systems with real-time insights. Coming nine months after Zonar’s merger with GPS Trackit, Ignition reflects the company’s accelerated pace of innovation and focus on delivering joint value to customers.

Zonar Ignition helps fleets maximize uptime, reduce costs, and respond to challenges faster through three core features that define a modern fleet management platform:

• Integration-ready: Built on a flexible framework, the cloud-based Ignition platform integrates Zonar data with third-party data sources. An open API combined with the ability to build sophisticated artificial intelligence modules, Zonar provides its customers with a more customizable and efficient experience.
• One screen, total control: Ignition consolidates and displays all fleet and third-party data on one screen. A single-pane-of-glass view allows operators to assess the status of vehicles, drivers, and assets in real time on a single high-resolution map, rather than navigating through tabs to collect insights to make data-driven decisions.
• Actionable insights, real-time results: Through Zonar’s hardware, Ignition aggregates data from its TCU hardware, compliance solutions, driver behavior monitoring systems, and third-party systems into personalized reports. Interactive dashboards surface key performance indicators, including fuel usage, route efficiency, and safety events, and enable drill-downs that drive continuous operational improvements. More than 30 detailed reports and personalized dashboards are available. 

"Whether it’s a school bus, sanitation truck, or specialized utility vehicle, for too long, fleet managers have had to choose between clunky workflows or unreliable data when managing drivers, vehicles, and other critical business assets," Zonar CEO Charles Kriete said. "We saw a clear need for something faster, smarter, and more efficient. With Ignition, we’ve brought together the best of Zonar and GPS Trackit to give fleets a single window into unified workflows and manage all aspects of vehicles, drivers, and assets. This approach helps de-risk operations and delivers actionable analytics through actionable intelligence. This platform is not just for our current customers but for any fleet looking for a better, more connected way to run their operations.”