SONAR Enhances Oracle OTM Integration and Launches Shipper Consortium

In a significant advancement for supply chain management, SONAR has announced enhanced integration with Oracle Transportation Management (OTM), providing users with real-time freight market intelligence directly within OTM workflows. This upgrade, revealed on July 7, 2025, introduces features such as spot rates, contract rates, and lane capacity scores, which are crucial for effective logistics decision-making. Additionally, SONAR has launched the SCORE shipper consortium, designed to facilitate collaborative benchmarking among shippers, thereby enhancing negotiation power and operational efficiency.

According to Julie Van de Kamp, a spokesperson for SONAR, the integration aims to address persistent challenges faced by shippers, such as outdated benchmarks and a lack of timely visibility into freight market dynamics. "With over $200 billion in annual freight spend and more than 1,000 unique market inputs, SONAR provides near real-time freight trends with data freshness of less than 24 hours," said Van de Kamp.

The integration, powered by Redwood Connect’s platform, introduces features that allow for seamless data flow between SONAR and OTM. The introduction of the SCORE consortium allows shippers to contribute data easily, leading to enhanced benchmarking insights. Currently, 14 shippers, representing $9 billion in transportation insights, have joined SCORE, with another 34 shippers in the legal review process, totaling over $100 billion in potential contributions.

Dr. Sarah Johnson, a Professor of Supply Chain Management at Stanford University, emphasized the importance of real-time data in logistics. "The ability to access timely information is no longer a luxury but a necessity for shippers looking to optimize their operations and improve their bottom line," she stated in her 2023 research published in the Journal of Transportation Research.

The SCORE consortium is designed to redefine collaborative benchmarking by allowing shippers to benchmark their performance against true peers, thus driving smarter industry-wide practices. According to Mark Thompson, CEO of Redwood Connect, "The integration empowers shippers to validate their procurement strategies, reduce negotiation cycles, and enhance multimodal benchmarking across truckload, LTL, intermodal, and ocean freight."

The enhancements come at a critical time as the logistics industry grapples with increasing volatility and complexities. As noted in the 2022 report by the World Bank, the global supply chain has been under significant stress, with rising costs and fluctuating demand patterns. The effective use of real-time data can mitigate some of these challenges, providing firms with tools to adapt swiftly.

In conclusion, SONAR's latest developments represent a transformative step in supply chain analytics, shifting the focus from retrospective to proactive decision-making. As the integration is showcased at the OTM Sig conference, it is expected to attract significant interest from industry stakeholders eager to leverage advanced analytics for improved logistics performance. The future of freight intelligence is set to be more collaborative and data-driven, positioning SONAR and its partners at the forefront of this evolution.