Digital freight brokerage apps have become abundant in the transportation industry, but analysts are quick to point to issues of scale as one of the major hurdles these companies face to shift toward profitability.
On Wednesday, Oct. 9, two companies with strong market positions and reputations in the industry, Truckstop.com and Schneider, announced they have completed a pilot program for digital brokerage that gives carriers the ability to book freight at the click of a button.
Schneider has invested in automating the load booking experience for carriers, and its collaboration with Truckstop.com now makes it possible for Schneider to post, assign and tender loads directly to approved carriers within the Truckstop.com mobile application.
“We are constantly innovating to improve the driver and carrier experience,” said Erin Van Zeeland, group senior vice president of Schneider Logistics Services. “Truckstop.com creates great visibility of freight options to carriers. We see it as a perfect fit to meet carriers where they are and provide our innovative data science and automated processes on Truckstop.com.
Loads with a “Book it Now” rate rank higher within Truckstop.com’s load board to enhance visibility and generate more impressions for each load.
“The ‘Book it Now’ feature worked great and is very simple to use,” said Miguel Velazquez, a driver for SMM Transport Inc. “I love how quickly I received a rate confirmation — it only took about 30 seconds.”
In a recent customer demographics survey of more than 3,500 carriers and brokers, Truckstop.com found that an overwhelming majority of respondents (75 percent) were interested in a “Book it Now” solution.
