Day 3 of Technovations Did Not Disappoint!
Congratulations to Drumkit.ai, based in Boston, for not only winning the coveted title of TIA 2024 Technovations Shark Tank winner, but is the only company to ever also win the People’s Choice Award.
Dumkit.ai’s CEO Dhruv Gupta wowed the Shark Tank judges and crowd with his “set it and forget it” back office system. Drumkit is a virtual employee that takes over the mundane actions so your team can spend its time focusing on relationships with your partners. Drumkit helps with every step of the load cycle by handling all the load information right in your inbox and helps you respond with carrier rates in seconds; auto-drafts smart replies and updates; builds loads into your TMS; books appointments with one click and runs track and trace on each load in the background. It is an integration tool to enhance your TMS; quoting and carrier verification; scheduling and track and trace programs. The beauty about Drumkit is that the user chooses which tasks to automate versus a complete take over your systems.
TIA’s Shark Tank is based on the popular TV show. It offers four start-up companies the opportunity to present their product to a panel of judges from the 3PL industry. Each is offered 5 minutes to demo their product. Judges then question the company representative(s). At the conclusion of the final company’s Q&A, each contestant presented a 30-second commercial while the judges made their decision.
As the 2024 Shark Tank winner, Drumkit.ai receives a slot in the TIA 2024 Lunch & Learn Webinar schedule, as well as an Innovation Lab session at the TIA 2025 Capital Ideas Conference in San Antonio.
At the close of Technovations, the Technovator of the Year Award was presented. This year’s winner is Andrew Smith, senior vice president of Circle Logistics in Chicago.
In today’s fast-evolving logistics landscape, harnessing technology to drive meaningful change is essential. Over the past year, Smith has led multiple AI and RPA initiatives that have not only optimized Circle’s operations but also redefined how they approach logistics, achieving significant milestones along the way.
One of Circle’s standout accomplishments has been surpassing 100,000 AI-driven calls, with plans to do 500,000-1 million calls next year. After four months of testing and many late nights reviewing calls and training AI models, Circle was the first broker to deploy voice AI that resulted in reducing the need for manual calls by 80-100% across various scenarios. This reduction allows the Circle teams to focus on strengthening carrier relationships, reduce operational risks, and prevent fraud.
Circle’s AI-driven approach ensures 100% of calls are answered 24/7, with zero hold times, even during peak periods. This not only enhances stakeholder satisfaction but also enables consistent negotiation patterns, leading to a 10% increase in margins.
Additionally, utilizing this ground-breaking technology has enabled Circle to tap into new revenue streams with ‘can-get- loads’ that were previously a ‘lost art’ in logistics because of manpower constraints. Circle is now able to gather unique data from each call to help build better lane profiles on carriers and market capacity data that previously were unable to capture.
Beyond AI-driven calls, Circle has also implemented an internal AI system that processes email spot quote requests, extracts load details and connects them via API to a custom-built spot quote tool. This system allows the company to secure trucks within minutes, entirely without human intervention.
Circle has also deployed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) across four departments, saving hundreds of man-hours weekly. These automations cover tasks like Spot Quote bidding, customer portal load status updates, and track-and-trace processes. This has significantly improved exception management and reduced the need for manual checks when tracking shipments.
These innovations collectively represent a shift towards more efficient, reliable and data-driven logistics operations that has led Circle to our best unit economics in every department in its 15-year history. And the best part? All of this automation was accomplished with very little financial investment. By pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve, Circle is not only transforming its own processes but also setting new standards for the industry.
“This commitment to continuous improvement and innovation is something I hope to contribute to the broader logistics community, inspiring others to embrace change and lead with technology,” said Smith.
Congratulations to all of our winners today! And a big thank you to all of our Technovators and sponsors and all of our attendees who made this year’s Technovations our best yet. Mark your calendar for the 2025 Technovations, Nov. 5-7 in Phoenix!
