It’s RFP season, that time of year when shippers are looking to partner with freight brokerages and logistics providers for the coming year. Most shippers are looking for partners who are easy to work with, can help them run their own businesses with greater efficiency and can reduce their costs. One of the best ways for you to stand out to shippers and differentiate yourself from your competitors is to embrace using real-time technology in your operations. Real-time load tracking, freight matching, lane pricing and digital booking technology give you the ability to react quickly to market volatility and better equip you to meet the needs of today’s shippers.
Read on to find out how you can gain a competitive edge this RFP season with real-time technology.
Meet or Exceed Shipper Visibility KPIs
Brokerages and third-party logistics companies that use Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform typically are able to increase digital freight visibility significantly. In fact, brokers and 3PLs that use a combination of ELD and app-based tracking with Trucker Tools achieve an average tracking compliance rate of 93 percent. Reliable and accurate real-time load tracking data empowers you to provide shippers with accurate ETAs and deal with service delays as they occur. Some shippers also may require that you meet specific visibility KPIs in order to broker their shipments. Using a real-time load tracking solution like Trucker Tools’ will help you meet and possibly exceed those shipper visibility KPIs.
Cover Loads Faster With Digital Freight Matching
Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform provides you with access to a massive owner operator and carrier network that makes it easier and faster to cover your shippers’ freight. Nearly 2.5 million drivers and 315,000 carriers currently are in Trucker Tools’ network. With Smart Capacity, you can search for and secure both in network and out of network truckload capacity quickly and then move onto the next shipment. Carrier Matches, Historical Availabilities, Smart Search, Carrier Search and Smart Routes tools within Smart Capacity help you source capacity for hard to cover lanes and loads while digitizing and automating your communications with carriers.
Leverage Real-Time Pricing Tools
Thanks to a new partnership with FreightWaves SONAR, you now also can access real-time rate data within our Smart Capacity digital freight matching platform. Access to real-time rate information within Smart Capacity helps you accurately price lanes and loads. It also ensures that your shippers aren’t overpaying for truck capacity and that you’re not undercutting carriers when it comes to freight rates. Once you connect your SONAR account to Smart Capacity, real-time average, high and low rates will be displayed on each dry van and reefer load in Smart Capacity. Keep in mind that SONAR rate data won’t be displayed on multi-stop loads or Book It Now® loads. If you’re not a current SONAR subscriber, you can sign up for a free 14-day trial from within Smart Capacity.
Automate Bookings With Book It Now®
Finalizing rates with carriers can be a time-consuming process when you’re negotiating by phone or email. Instead, consider using Trucker Tools’ automated load booking tool Book It Now® in your operations to speed up and automate bookings with specific carriers. Drivers and carriers can instantly book Book It Now® loads at your preferred rate or send you alternate rate quotes in a matter seconds via Trucker Tools free driver app or free carrier platform. When a carrier or driver books one of your Book It Now® loads, it’s automatically recorded in your TMS. Book It Now® ultimately streamlines your process for covering freight and reduces operating costs, savings that you can pass along to your customers.
Don’t miss our “2023 Freight Tech Preview: Five Trends To Watch in Logistics.”
