From Big Data to Big Impact: Anudeep’s work at Swift Transportation is named as a Finalist for Best Use of Data

Swift Transportation celebrate their work with Anudeep Katangoori and nomination for for Global Digital Awards.

Anudeep Katangoori and Swift Transportation’s nomination for “Best Use of Data” at the Global Digital Excellence Awards is a pure reflection of our pioneering Big Data, Cloud, and AI platform transformation efforts, which various teams have put into redefining data-driven logistics and platform optimization. We, as an organization, are delighted to have been shortlisted for this award.

At Swift Transportation, we are North America’s largest full-truckload carrier, moving freight that powers everyday life. With over 23,000 employees, thousands of trucks, and a nationwide footprint, our mission is to keep goods flowing safely, efficiently, and reliably. The freight industry has always relied heavily on data like vehicle telemetry, route optimization, maintenance cycles, fuel efficiency, and driver safety scores. However, legacy systems and siloed information made it challenging to transform raw data into actionable intelligence. That’s why we embarked on a bold transformation initiative, modernizing our data architecture to create a unified, Big data and AI-driven platform for logistics and transportation.

This program was led by Anudeep Katangoori (me), as a Data Platform Architect, together with the support of our dedicated ETL and DevOps teams, we reinvented how data could be harnessed to make the systems faster, safer, and more efficient across the organization. Over the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to lead some of the most transformative technology initiatives in the Retail, Trucking, and Logistics industries. When I joined Swift, I seized another opportunity that came my way to turn the siloed data byproduct into a strategic asset, one that was well-supported by executive leadership.

Our Award–Nominated Work

Our shortlisted entry, “Best Use of Big Data Analytics,” focused on the enterprise-wide modernization of Swift’s Data and AI ecosystem. We started by building data pipelines from legacy AS400 systems to our Big Data Datalake built on Cloudera Data Platform, along with a multi-cloud platform (Azure and GCP). Also, enabled real-time event streaming for driver behavior, shipment tracking, and vehicle telemetry using Kafka, Elastic, and HBase, and then deployed AI and ML models to predict maintenance needs, improve routing, and analyze driver safety. These were later tracked by self-service dashboards and APIs that empower business teams and reduce reliance on manual reporting. Additionally, we strengthened data governance and compliance across our distributed operations by utilizing authorization rules. Some of the key outcomes which we observed are: reduced unplanned maintenance incidents by 715 per quarter, saving a significant budgetper quarter, increased on-time deliveries by 5,800 loads/month, improved average fuel efficiency from 6.8 mpg to 7.5 mpg, migrated TB’s of data to Datalake without disruption, deployed optimized AI/ML models in Cloudera Machine Learning, reduced manual reporting hours through automation and rolled out several KPI dashboards used by both business users as well as leadership to make effective decisions.

For me, this project wasn’t just about technology. It was about reshaping our culture by getting every team at Swift to see data not as a burden, but as a resource that empowers them to work smarter.

What Being Shortlisted Means to Me, My Team and Organization

Being shortlisted for the Global Digital Excellence Awards is deeply meaningful as it represents:

• Recognition of Innovation: Proof that the work we’re doing at Swift Transportation isn’t just improving our business, but it’s setting benchmarks for the industry.
• Validation of Team Effort: Although I may have architected the Big Data program, it took several team contributors across engineering, fleet, safety, and operations to bring this vision to life.
• Customer Trust: Our clients expect reliability, safety, and transparency. This award shows that we are leveraging world-class technology to deliver on that promise.
• Industry Inspiration: For a company in the trucking industry, which is often viewed as a traditional sector, this recognition alongside digital-first industries is proof that data transformation has no boundaries.

As I always tell my team, my favorite testimonial is: “This recognition isn’t just about winning an award. It’s about proving to us and to the Trucking industry that data can redefine transportation. We’ve turned Big Data into big impact.”

From the Safety Team: “The AI-driven driver behavior scoring has made the fleet safer. We’ve seen measurable reductions in incidents because of Anudeep and his team’s work”.

The director of a well-known Retail giant has given a testimonial about my work: “Anudeep has brought the rare ability to bridge IT and business. His work isn’t just technical, but it delivers real business results, and this award shortlisting validates that”.

Experience with the Awards Process

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to The Global Digital Excellence Awards and the Don’t Panic Team, who have made the process smooth, well-structured, and inspiring. The clarity of the entry criteria helped us reflect on our achievements and present them in a way that captured both the technical innovation and the business value. For me personally, completing the entry was a moment of reflection. It forced me to step back and appreciate just how much progress we’ve made in modernizing Swift’s data ecosystem. The Don’t Panic team’s professionalism has made this an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Why This Matters to the Industry

Trucking and Logistics don’t always make the headlines in digital innovation, but they should. Every product, every delivery, every supply chain depends on efficient transport. By applying Big Data, Cloud, and AI, we’ve shown how even the most traditional industries can reinvent themselves.

Our project proves that:

• Real-time data streaming can enhance or completely replace slow, legacy systems.
• AI models can save millions in operational costs while improving safety.
• Big data/Cloud platforms can scale logistics operations globally, with compliance and governance built in.

Being shortlisted highlights not just Swift Transportation’s progress, but also the future of logistics as being data-driven, intelligent, and resilient. Finally, I would conclude by saying that being shortlisted is already a win, which shows that the effort of countless hours spent building data pipelines on top of legacy data, creating dashboards, and enforcing governance has made a measurable difference. This is just the beginning. Whether or not we win, the recognition from the Global Digital Excellence Awards 2025 will fuel our continued mission: to make Swift Transportation a data-first, AI-powered leader in logistics.

Please stay connected with me and Swift on Anudeep Katangoori on LinkedIn and Swift Transportation