Brokers
August 18, 2021 | TruckerTools

Peak Shipping Season Preview: The Importance of Digital Freight Matching in Volatile Markets

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Peak shipping season (August through Thanksgiving) is when consumer demand for back to school and holiday-related goods usually is at its highest. As a result, it’s also when demand for capacity usually is high, supply is often low and freight rates typically are on the rise. The 2020 peak shipping season was anything but normal. A record 3 billion parcels were delivered during last year’s peak holiday shipping season and demand for capacity remained high through last December and into the early months of 2021. This has made some experts claim that we’ve been in a permanent peak shipping season since last autumn.

In 2021, port congestion, COVID-19 outbreaks at factories in China, container shortages, truck shortages, a recent surge in COVID-19 across the United States and global worker shortages are adding new wrinkles to supply chains. It should be no surprise then that a survey conducted by Logistics Management recently found that 79 percent of stakeholders in logistics expect the 2021 peak shipping season to be even more active than 2020. In the same survey, 51 percent say peak season will have a very significant impact on their day-to-day operations. 

When capacity is tight and demand is soaring, one of the smartest things you can do as a freight broker is to tap into the power of digital freight matching technology. Digital freight matching technology offers you several advantages, particularly when supply and demand are unpredictable. Read on to find out exactly why digital freight matching is important when markets are volatile — and how digital freight matching can help you during this peak shipping season.

Find Capacity Faster with Digital Freight Matching

When demand for capacity is high, digital freight matching lets you cover loads faster and with greater efficiency. Digital freight matching platforms let you view all of your capacity options in one place. Comprehensive platforms like Trucker Tools’ include email parsing technology that digitizes the manual capacity information that you receive from carriers via email. At the same time, you also can view the capacity offered by the 1.4 million drivers and 165,000+ carriers who use Trucker Tools’ technology within our digital freight matching platform. The result is that you locate available capacity much faster than with manual capacity sourcing, i.e. load boards, emails and phone calls to carriers. 

Digital Freight Matching, Book It Now Make You More Efficient 

Using load boards, emails and phone calls to find out what capacity is available is terribly inefficient. Doing so requires a significant amount of time and staffing. Digital freight matching is a much more efficient way for your team members to locate capacity. With Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform, you can quickly identify available capacity within the platform and then immediately contact the carrier to negotiate rates. In that single conversation with the carrier, you also can easily search for and book backhauls and future loads with the carrier, a capability that is extremely important during peak shipping season. You can boost efficiency even more by posting your loads to Trucker Tools’ platform as Book It Now® loads. Owner operators and carriers can book Book It Now® loads through the Trucker Tools’ mobile app and through Trucker Tools’ carrier software platform.

Digital Freight Matching, Book It Now Provide Carriers With a Better Experience

Carriers don’t want to answer dozens of phone calls every day from brokers asking, “Do you have a truck for this load?” That’s especially true when carriers are at their busiest during peak shipping season. When you digitize and automate communications regarding capacity with carriers, you deliver value to carriers. With Book It Now®, carriers don’t even have to pick up the phone to finalize a load booking with you. They can complete a load booking in a matter of a few seconds at times that are most convenient for them. Offering a streamlined technology experience to carriers makes them more likely to want to work with you again, which ultimately helps you build a strong, reliable carrier network that is vital during peak shipping season.

Develop New Lanes, Expand Your Customer Base with Ease with Digital Freight Matching

You can use Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform to research available capacity in specific lanes, as well, which is helpful in developing new lanes with existing customers. Simply enter the new information on the lane in the platform’s search and you can easily view what in-network and out-of-network capacity currently is available. You also can see what capacity will be available in the future thanks to Trucker Tools’ predictive freight matching. All of the above can be extremely beneficial when you’re cultivating business with new shippers, as well.

Digital Freight Matching’s Efficiency Provides Opportunities To Increase Volume Without Increasing Overhead 

Digital freight matching ultimately lets you do more with less. When you can cover loads faster and more efficiently, you have more time and resources available to move more freight. It also means that if you want to increase the volume of freight you move either by adding new lanes with current shippers or adding new shippers to your book of business, you can do both without hiring on additional employees. Simply post these loads as Book It Now® loads to Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform. Book It Now® integrates with your TMS and when a carrier books a Book It Now® load, the appointment is automatically scheduled in your TMS — no phone calls or manual communications needed. 

To learn more about just how powerful digital freight matching can be, read Unlock Potential Profit, Increase Carrier Utilization with Trucker Tools’ Digital Freight Matching.

Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching, real-time visibility platform and Book It Now®. 

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