Cooperative Ventures, St. Paul, Minn., has invested in marine logistics technology company OpenTug, Seattle, while CHS Inc. moves to implement the company’s BargeOS barge management platform across its supply chain.
Cooperative Ventures is a joint venture between agricultural cooperatives CHS and GROWMARK. The venture invests in agricultural technology companies and develops commercial relationships between startups and cooperative partners.
OpenTug developed BargeOS to combine commercial planning, voyage management, invoice reconciliation and operational reporting in a single platform. The system incorporates barge GPS data and automatically processes traffic reports and operational emails to provide real-time information on barge movements and voyage activity.
OpenTug said the platform is designed to reduce idle barge days, improve estimated arrival times and limit demurrage charges. CHS plans to use the system to improve efficiency and visibility across its marine transportation network.
“Cooperatives rely on resilient, cost-effective transportation to move grain, fertilizer and other key products efficiently through the supply chain,” said David Black, executive vice president and chief information officer of CHS. “OpenTug’s platform offers a digital bridge to improve visibility and coordination across marine freight networks, and this investment will ultimately help our supply chain and the cooperative system become more efficient so we can deliver more value to our farmer-owners.”
OpenTug said greater visibility could allow shippers to move more cargo with fewer barges and respond more quickly to supply-chain disruptions.
“Partnering with CHS and GROWMARK allows us to accelerate digital transformation across one of America’s most critical supply chains,” said Jason Aristides, CEO of OpenTug. “With BargeOS, we’re turning data into actionable insights that help cooperatives and farmers move product more efficiently, reduce waste, and strengthen return on investment.”
Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
