The last several years — and particularly the last several weeks — have been rather volatile in the transportation industry. This roller-coaster ride of rates and capacity we’re on tends to move quickly from one extreme to the other. Savvy shippers and carriers need to be able to take advantage of new technology and information quickly and easily to ensure they are remaining competitive during these volatile times.
Loadshop™, a new digital freight marketplace backed by Koch Industries, has the unique ability to enable full transparency and control into one’s spot market transactions, all while being able to conveniently access existing partners and a broader network of pre-approved partners through a single solution.
In today’s spot market, shippers and carriers only have two options to procure or fill truckload capacity. They can try to work together directly themselves, but most shippers only have access to a limited pool of contracted carriers (roughly .01% of the marketplace). Or, they can work through an intermediary or freight brokers (digital or traditional) who will handle it on their behalf, in exchange for a hidden commission that is determined by the difference in what they can buy and sell that same load for.
Loadshop™ works a lot like a broker, aggregating and qualifying shippers and freight along with the carriers to haul it. Where Loadshop™ differs, however, is in the way it puts shippers in direct contact with carriers, allowing them to send an instantly bookable price to carriers across the marketplace rather than take a price from a broker to access these same carriers. This shipper-set pricing eliminates unnecessary cost and risk that can come from working through a broker for freight coverage.
“Loadshop™ offers shippers a suggested rate for moving a load, based on its specific requirements, through our marketplace via our proprietary algorithm called SmartSpot,” Loadshop™ Business Lead Hunter Burke said. “It’s backed by extensive real-time market data, platform activity and machine learning to provide a rate with a high level of booking confidence, allowing the shipper to price their freight fairly and competitively to the carrier. That’s ultimately the goal — to make the spot market more simple, transparent and cost-effective.”
Since Loadshop™ enables a direct connection between the shipper and carrier, both now have real-time market insights to pricing and capacity that haven’t been filtered or distorted through a broker. Brokers are often forced to make a bet that they’ll be able to cover the freight at a cost less than quoted to the shipper. It’s in their interest to overstate the actual situation in the marketplace as rates rise and fall to help cover that bet.
Loadshop™ shortens or even eliminates that tail in the curve of spot rates by providing shippers real-time feedback from carriers regarding rates and how they relate to their loads, while carriers know exactly where shippers are with rates. To facilitate that transparency, Loadshop simply charges a small fee to make that connection on behalf of both parties on a load-by-load basis.
“We only charge the shipper when actual value is created for them and a match is made,” Burke said. “Loadshop™ applies a small fee well below the broker average only when a carrier books the load off the marketplace. This eliminates the need to distort rates or make bets when connecting the shipper and the carrier. There is a big economic benefit that comes from this which is passed on to both shipper and carrier. Loadshop™ is truly a digital marketplace where both sides of the transportation equation can come together without the hassle of vetting and on-boarding every new participant, since Loadshop™ takes care of that for them.”
In these volatile times, and for an industry that keeps asking for transparency, Loadshop™ is well-positioned to help shippers and carriers work together to reduce unnecessary volatility and drive transparency across the market. This ability to digitally connect users within established networks, and beyond, in an efficient manner provides real value, and makes Loadshop™ a market changer.
To learn more about what Loadshop can offer your operation, visit Loadshop.com.
