As the market continues to challenge carriers with low spot rates and rising operational costs, fleets are currently at a disadvantage when it comes to booking loads that grow margins.
Strong relationships between brokers and carriers are always integral to the trucking industry, but during times of hardship such as this, they are even more critical.
It’s clear, then, why new Trucker Tools COO Rohit Bezewada is seeing margin optimization as a top priority for both carriers and brokers right now. Trucker Tools will help them achieve just that next quarter.
“We’re very excited about the operational road map for this upcoming quarter,” Bezewada said. “A major focus of ours at Trucker Tools is on building strong and enduring relationships between brokers and carriers.”
Trucker Tools is a two-sided marketplace that connects brokers and carriers. Brokers post available loads and carriers can search for nearby loads in their preferred lanes and for their specific equipment types.
In the upcoming quarter, Trucker Tools will home in on the broker and carrier relationship through the launch of a couple of mutually beneficial tools.
“With capacity loosening up, carriers are getting more engaged with the digital tools they have utilized over the last few years to find and book loads,” Bezewada said. “Furthermore, requirements like load tracking are critical during a carrier-favored market but are table stakes and must-dos during a loose market to make sure carriers remain partners of choice for brokers.”
One of the tools that will launch in the third quarter is the smart negotiation feature, which leverages machine learning and AI to standardize negotiations and grow additional bookings faster. This tool will help automate the process, reducing back-and-forth negotiation and smoothing the path to an optimal price for both brokers and carriers based on current market data.
Another way the company is focusing on the relationship between brokers and carriers is through its driver loyalty program.
The program rewards drivers for actions performed in the Trucker Tools app. Brokers can set reward levels for various actions. As drivers utilize these features, they earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards at over 200 retail locations.
The reward program will boost the bond between owner-operators and brokers, increasing driver satisfaction and helping to retain drivers.
The relationships Trucker Tools is building with other companies are also indispensable in providing the most transparent data and solutions for its user base.
“Freight matching is an industry built on relationships. Trucker Tools’ success as a freight matching platform is not just from the technology that we have but the partnerships it has built to unlock value for our brokers and carriers,” Bezewada said.
One of Trucker Tools’ new partnerships is with FreightWaves. Trucker Tools will make SONAR’s TRAC data freely available to carriers to provide the latest spot rates throughout the majority of U.S. lanes. In a weak market with low spot rates, having knowledge about the trajectory and best possible lanes will help carriers make more informed decisions to maximize earnings.
Bezewada was appointed as the COO at Trucker Tools in May. He brings with him a background rich in business development experience from his time at Uber and financial leadership experience at J.P. Morgan.
“I hope to lean into my marketplace analytics experience that I had at Uber and help our operations teams leverage the data that we have and build out processes that help scale the user base at Trucker Tools,” Bezewada said.
Visit the Trucker Tools website to learn more about its digital tools.