Fleets are currently at a disadvantage when it comes to booking loads that grow margins as the market continues to confront carriers with low spot rates and rising operational costs.
Strong connections between brokers and carriers are always important in the trucking industry, but they are especially important during times of adversity.
It’s easy to see why, according to new Trucker Tools COO Rohit Bezewada, margin improvement is a primary focus for both carriers and brokers right now. Trucker Tools will assist them in meeting that goal in the coming quarter.
“We’re quite excited about the operational road map for the coming quarter,” added Bezewada. “At Trucker Tools, we place a high priority on developing solid and long-lasting connections between brokers and carriers.”
Trucker Tools is a bi-directional marketplace that links brokers and carriers. Brokers advertise available loads, and carriers can look for local cargoes in their preferred lanes and for specific equipment types.
Trucker Tools will focus on the broker and carrier connection in the coming quarter with the release of a couple of mutually useful tools.
“As capacity becomes more available, carriers are becoming more involved with the digital technologies they have used in recent years to discover and book loads,” Bezewada added. “Additionally, measures such as load tracking are crucial during a carrier-favored market but are table stakes and must-dos during a flexible market to ensure carriers remain brokers’ preferred partners.”
One of the tools that will be available in the third quarter is the smart negotiation function, which will use machine learning and AI to standardize discussions and accelerate the growth of extra bookings. This technology will assist in automating the process, reducing back-and-forth negotiating and smoothing the route to an appropriate price based on current market data for both brokers and carriers.
Another way the company is focused on the broker-carrier relationship is through its driver loyalty program.
The service compensates drivers for actions taken in the Trucker Tools app. Brokers can specify different reward levels for different actions. As they use these services, drivers accumulate points that can be redeemed for gift cards at over 200 retail locations.
The incentive scheme will strengthen the link between owner-operators and brokers, enhancing driver satisfaction and assisting in driver retention.
Trucker Tools’ ties with other companies are also critical in offering the most transparent data and solutions to its user base.
“Freight matching is a relationship-driven industry.” Trucker Tools’ success as a freight matching platform stems not only from the technology it possesses but also from the partnerships it has formed in order to generate value for our brokers and carriers,” Bezewada explained.
FreightWaves is one of Trucker Tools’ new partnerships. Trucker Tools will make SONAR’s TRAC data freely available to carriers in order to give the most up-to-date spot rates throughout the majority of US highways. Knowing the trend and best feasible lanes will help carriers make more educated decisions to maximize earnings in a bad market with low spot rates.
In May, Bezewada was named COO of Trucker Tools. He brings with him a wealth of business growth knowledge from his time at Uber as well as financial leadership skills from his time at J.P. Morgan.
“I intend to combine my marketplace analytics experience from Uber to help our operations teams leverage the data that we have and build out procedures that help Trucker Tools increase the user base,” Bezewada said.
