As Brian Work of SupplyChainBrain writes, “In today’s tight transportation market, finding carriers to cover loads has become increasingly difficult. Capacity constraints, labor shortages, rising shipping costs and growing shipping volumes are all expected to continue throughout 2022 (and possibly beyond), making traditional approaches to procurement insufficient. Addressing both short-term and long-term capacity needs requires a more modern and strategic approach. Digital freight matching can help overcome these challenges by accessing untapped capacity and connecting carriers with freight.”
What differentiates digital freight matching technology from load boards is that it matches that untapped carrier capacity with your loads in real-time. That means your team members won’t be inquiring about capacity that has already been taken by another freight broker as they may with load boards. Instead, they’ll only see trucks that are truly available. The result is fewer cold calls to carriers, the ability to cover loads faster and a wider capacity network at your fingertips.
Identify Carriers with Capacity Quickly
With the digital freight matching technology included with Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity broker platform, you can search for capacity by lane(s), weight, equipment type, date and other factors. Your search results will only include those owner operators and carriers that are likely to have truck(s) available. Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching technology uses data from our free carrier software platform and GPS-generated data from the Trucker Tools driver app to tell you where and when specific types of capacity are and will be available.
Instead of having a member of your team work the phones for two hours or chase capacity on load boards, your team member can do a quick search in Smart Capacity. Once they find the right truck for the load in Smart Capacity, they can call the carrier to talk rates. This makes for a much more efficient process for finding and securing capacity. Locating and then calling a carrier that is likely to have a truck when and where you need it takes minutes with Smart Capacity, as opposed to spending an hour or more cold calling carriers to see if they have a truck in the lane you need. Your team members also can easily identify reload opportunities with Smart Capacity and offer them to the carrier dispatcher in the same phone conversation.
Reduce Operating Costs, Tap into Out-of-Network Capacity With Ease
Any time that you can cover a load faster, you reduce the costs (time, human resources) associated with that load. When you use digital freight matching in your operations, you not only cover loads faster, but you also gain opportunities to move more freight volume thanks to the time you’ve saved through greater efficiency. With digital freight matching, you can easily search for capacity within your customized list of carriers that have already been onboarded, as well. Doing so reduces the number of times your team has to onboard new carriers and helps you build relationships with top performers with repeat loads.
With Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching technology, it’s also easy to access out of network capacity. Trucker Tools’ driver and carrier technology has been downloaded by more than 1.6 million owner operators and small to mid-sized fleets. When you need to expand your capacity network, you can tap into Trucker Tools’ sizable driver/carrier network with ease thanks to Smart Capacity. To do so, simply expand your Smart Capacity search beyond your list of already-onboarded or in-network carriers and you can locate and secure capacity outside your network.
Encourage Carrier Loyalty with the Convenience of Book-It-Now®
One of the greatest advantages of digital freight matching is the option to offer owner operators in-app load booking and carrier dispatchers online load booking. When you post a load to Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity platform as a Book-It-Now® load, you give owner operators the ability to book the load through the Trucker Tools driver app. Carrier dispatchers also can book the load through Trucker Tools’ free carrier platform. Book-It-Now® integrates with your TMS so that when the load is booked digitally in Trucker Tools’ app/carrier platform, the appointment automatically is scheduled in your TMS. If a driver/carrier doesn’t want to book the load at the rate listed, they have the option to send you an alternate rate quote through the app/carrier platform.
Book-It-Now® saves your team and the carriers that haul your loads time — and in this business, time saved can translate into higher revenue and lower operating costs. You also can use Book-It-Now® to entice new carriers to work with you and to keep current carriers in your network. When you post loads as Book-It-Now® loads, owner operators and carriers can search for your loads and book them on their schedule, not just when your office is open and staffed. Book-It-Now® is often preferred by carriers because it can translate into fewer phone calls, less time on load boards and more time for moving more freight. For more on how digital freight matching can increase your revenue and streamline workflows for your team, be sure to check out Top Five Questions About Digital Freight Matching Answered.
Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity, including real-time visibility, digital freight matching and Book-It-Now®.
