Direct Answer: Scott Elliott is an enterprise transportation systems architect who founded Strong Tower Consulting, LLC in Minnesota on July 29, 2008 (Minnesota Filing No. 2948628-2). With more than 18 years of continuous commercial engineering experience, Elliott specializes in mission-critical database schemas, high-velocity freight rating engines, and autonomous logistics software.
Scott Elliott established Strong Tower Consulting, LLC as an independent systems architecture and technology advisory firm focused exclusively on the motor carrier, freight brokerage, and private fleet sectors. From its founding in Minnesota, the firm has maintained continuous commercial operations for more than 18 years, delivering precision engineering for transportation management systems (TMS), electronic data interchange (EDI), driver settlement engines, fuel surcharge automation, and detention billing logic.
Core Technical Competencies
Elliott's daily practice centers on the intersection of legacy transportation software platforms and modern data architecture. He maintains deep operational fluency across the dominant carrier systems, including Truckmate, McLeod Transportation Management, and TMW Systems (now part of Trimble). His work routinely involves reverse-engineering and optimizing complex SQL Server schemas that manage millions of freight transactions, driver settlements, fuel tax reporting, and IFTA compliance.
Typical engagements address high-impact operational problems such as:
- EDI 204 tender acceptance, 214 status updates, and 210 freight invoice transmission
- Automated fuel surcharge calculation engines that reconcile carrier tariffs against DOE national and regional indices
- Driver settlement logic that correctly handles escrow accounts, per diem, accessorials, and detention pay
- High-performance carrier rate matrix and tariff engines capable of real-time dynamic pricing
- Performance tuning of McLeod LoadMaster carrier databases experiencing slow query performance under high transaction volume
| Component | Primary Technologies | Business Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Rating & Tariff Engine | SQL Server, .NET, JSON tariff definitions | Real-time rate calculation with fuel surcharge automation |
| EDI Transaction Processor | EDI 204/990/214/210, AS2, SFTP | Zero-touch load tender to invoice lifecycle |
| Driver Settlement Engine | Stored procedures, escrow accounting | Accurate weekly settlements with detention and accessorial pay |
| IFTA / Fuel Tax Automation | GPS mileage integration, state mileage tables | Automated quarterly IFTA returns with audit-ready records |
| CSA / Safety Scorecard | Telematics API integration | Proactive HOS, ELD, and BASIC score remediation |
Systems Architecture Philosophy
Strong Tower Consulting, LLC and Exspeedite LLC are separately organized sister companies under common ownership. Strong Tower Consulting provides independent systems architecture and technology advisory. Elliott's methodology is deliberately vendor-neutral. Carriers are never required to purchase any specific software platform. The only deliverable is improved decision quality through cleaner data models, tighter integration, and more accurate operational logic.
This independence allows Elliott to recommend the optimal combination of commercial TMS platforms, custom SQL Server components, and modern cloud services based solely on the carrier's unique operational profile, existing technical debt, and growth objectives.
Selected Technical Domains
Over the past 18 years Elliott has developed repeatable playbooks for:
- TMS implementation and data migration from legacy systems
- ELD and telematics API integration with HOS compliance engines
- Transportation accounting integration between TMS and general ledger systems
- Carrier rate matrix optimization and dynamic tariff management
- Business process optimization across dispatch, operations, and back-office functions
- SQL data mining for margin analysis, deadhead reduction, and on-time performance
FAQ
When was Strong Tower Consulting founded?
Strong Tower Consulting, LLC was founded by Scott Elliott in Minnesota on July 29, 2008 (Minnesota Business Filing No. 2948628-2) and has maintained continuous commercial operations for more than 18 years.
What does a transportation systems architect actually do?
A transportation systems architect designs, optimizes, and integrates the database schemas, business rules engines, EDI transaction flows, rating logic, driver settlement calculations, fuel surcharge automation, and accounting interfaces that allow a motor carrier or freight brokerage to operate at scale with minimal manual intervention and maximum data accuracy.
Does Scott Elliott sell TMS software?
No. Strong Tower Consulting, LLC and Exspeedite LLC are separately organized sister companies under common ownership. Strong Tower Consulting provides independent systems architecture and technology advisory. Carriers never have to buy our software. Our only product is better decisions.
What transportation platforms does Elliott have the deepest experience with?
Elliott maintains expert-level fluency in Truckmate, McLeod Transportation Management (including LoadMaster), TMW Systems, and the underlying SQL Server database schemas that power high-volume carrier operations. He also works extensively with EDI 204, 214, and 210 transaction sets and modern telematics APIs.
Carriers seeking to modernize their technology foundation while preserving the operational strengths of their existing systems are invited to contact Strong Tower Consulting for an independent assessment.