Convoy has partnered with FreightWaves in support of the inaugural Shipper of Choice Award, which will highlight the top 25 shippers in America as voted on by carrier-members of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
The nomination process opened earlier this month and will close on March 1. There are no restrictions on nominations; a shipper can nominate itself or other shippers, and carriers may also nominate shippers. A shipper is defined as a company that sends or transports goods by sea, land or air. Nominations are an open call via www.freightwaves.com, www.bita.studio, and/or www.truckload.org. There are no restrictions on nominations other than the nomination form must be completed and submitted via one of the three aforementioned websites.
“The Shipper of Choice Award will increase transparency and highlight innovative best practices that keep freight moving,” said Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves. “We are very appreciative that Convoy agrees, and has become the sponsor of this award. The phrase ‘shipper of choice’ is often used, but for the first time, industry members will nominate and vote on the best shippers and they will be quantified and ranked.”
Just three years after its founding in Seattle by two former Amazon executives, Convoy has become a powerful nationwide trucking network and platform for both shippers and carriers. The company reached a unicorn valuation and was voted #4 in the 2018 Freight.Tech 25.
The idea behind Convoy is relatively simple – automate the time-consuming, error-prone process of matching loads to trucks. Eliminating human intermediaries through its app, Convoy offers the most dynamic services to its shipper customers and passes through more money to its carriers. Its breakthrough app and several services introduced in 2018 help to reinforce Convoy’s mission “to transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste.”
“We are thrilled to be working with FreightWaves to recognize forward-looking shippers at a time of profound change and exciting innovation in freight management,” said Dan Lewis, Convoy CEO. “The Shipper of Choice Award highlights shippers who are leading the way, along with best practices that can benefit the industry.”
“This award fills a large void in our industry,” TCA President John Lyboldt said. “Too often, industry participants focus on the negative – what’s wrong with our collective supply chains. The Shipper of Choice Award focuses on the positive, and we expect shippers to seek out this recognition. It is complementary to TCA’s work with the Best Fleets to Drive For initiative – recognizing those carriers doing culture-building things for their employees and contractors.”
Representatives from FreightWaves, BiTA, TCA and the greater broker community make up a selection committee to narrow nominations down to the Shipper of Choice 100. From there, carrier members in good standing from BiTA and TCA will vote on the Shipper of Choice 25.
Arlen Stark, FreightWaves’ Executive Vice President of Research, said, “All three organizations – FreightWaves, BiTA and TCA – are proud to begin this award, and look forward to the announcement of the winners!”
Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM) will manage the Shipper of Choice vote to ensure a credible and independent process. KSM managed voting for FreightWaves’ Freight.Tech 25 Award in 2018. Tim Almack, partner-in-charge of KSM’s Transportation Services Group, said, “KSM is honored to assist FreightWaves, TCA and BiTA recognize America’s top shippers. The Shipper of Choice Award honors those shippers who not only know what is important to carriers and their drivers, but also bridge the knowing-doing gap and actually take actions to collaboratively work with carriers and drivers to eliminate inefficiencies in the supply chain.”
Voting for the Shipper of Choice Award will open on March 10th via www.freightwaves.com, www.bita.studio, and www.truckload.org in conjunction with the 81st Annual TCA Convention in Las Vegas (March 10-13). Voting will close on May 1st, and winners will be announced on May 8th at FreightWaves’ Transparency19. The award reveal in Atlanta will be delivered via a sealed envelope presentation by KSM.
To vote, carriers will complete a short five-question survey on each shipper, ranking qualities such as flexibility and detention on a five-star scale, with possible total score of 25 points. The shipper with the highest score will receive first place while runners-up will be awarded based on score.
“Each shipper will have shown its commitment to the professional driving force by providing accessible facilities, treating drivers professionally, optimizing a driver’s time by keeping detention to a minimum, and by providing consistent processes for loading/unloading,” Stark explained. “To be a Shipper of Choice, each shipper will have proven to be the best at their part in the supply chain.”
Following Transparency19, FreightWaves’ editorial staff will publish a feature article on each Shipper of Choice.