As an operations or carrier manager in a freight brokerage/3PL company, you might be sticking with what you know when it comes to finding and securing truck capacity in the midst of this capacity crunch. Your team may be using load boards or calling/emailing carriers to find out what they have available for capacity. We’re here to tell you there’s a smarter, more efficient way to locate and book capacity. With Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity platform, you can tap into Trucker Tools’ massive owner operator/carrier network to access many different types of trucks. Smart Capacity’s digital freight matching technology helps you cover loads faster, reduces cold calls to carriers, provides access to future truck capacity, and helps you build and strengthen relationships with top-performing carriers.
Check out these five reasons why Trucker Tools should be your #1 source for truck capacity.
1. Trucker Tools’ Enormous Network Offers Flatbed, Reefer, Dry Van, and Specialized Capacity
To date, 1.6 million drivers have downloaded the Trucker Tools driver app and 220,000 carriers are using our free carrier platform. When you use Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity platform for brokers and 3PLs, you can tap into that massive network of mostly owner operators and small to mid-sized carriers, expanding and contracting your own carrier network as needed. The owner operators and carriers in the Trucker Tools network can offer you flatbed, reefer, dry van and specialized capacity (auto carrier, power only, etc.). It’s also worth noting that many of the carriers with whom you work may, in fact, already be using Trucker Tools.
2. Real-Time Capacity Information
One of the major drawbacks of load board technology is that it isn’t always real-time, meaning capacity and load information isn’t necessarily updated automatically. If a truck gets taken by another broker, it’s often not automatically removed from the load board, which means you may be inquiring about capacity that is no longer available. The capacity that you see in Smart Capacity is truly available because it’s based on the real world movement of trucks as captured by the Trucker Tools app and real-time transactions between brokers and carriers. When a load or truck is booked and is no longer available, it’s automatically removed from Smart Capacity.
3. Helps You Cultivate Relationships with Specific Carriers, Increase Carrier Utilization
When you search for trucks using Smart Capacity, you have the option to search from a customized list of carriers instead of performing a general search. This is a beneficial feature because it allows you to target capacity with specific carriers, which ultimately can help you build longer-term relationships with them. You also can use this customizable search feature when you have a load that requires special attention or for a particularly challenging customer. Many of the brokers and 3PLs that are on the Smart Capacity platform use this customizable search feature to look for capacity from owner operators and carriers that have already been onboarded. Searching from a list of already-onboarded carriers can help you build relationships with carriers, while reducing the time and resources devoted to new carrier onboarding.
4. Can Reduce Operating Costs, Provide Opportunities To Move More Loads
Once you find a truck for your load in Smart Capacity, you then can call the carrier knowing that they’re likely to have the truck available when and where you need it. Smart Capacity allows you to target only those owner operations and carriers who likely have or will have the right type of capacity in the lane you need it. This is a much more efficient process than working through a list of all your carriers, calling each to see if they have a truck. Smart Capacity streamlines your process for procuring capacity and ultimately can reduce the time and human resources required to cover a single load. With the time saved from a more efficient process, your team likely will have time to move more loads, which is great news for your company and its customers.
5. Access to Future Capacity Keeps You Ahead of Competitors
Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity also includes predictive load matching technology. This technology provides insights into where truck capacity will be available in the future. This feature can help your team members book future capacity with relative ease and empowers them to plan ahead. It’s important to note that the future capacity you see in Smart Capacity often isn’t published or available elsewhere, as it likely hasn’t yet been posted to a load board. Predictive load matching gives you a leg up on your competitors who rely solely on load boards and other manual capacity procurement methods.
In the market for a new TMS? Be sure to read Five Things To Look for in a TMS.
Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity.
