


Bringing the 3 T’s Back Together: Transportation, Transparency & Trust
Seems there has always been a small undertone of mistrust within transportation and logistics. The year 2020, along with all of its challenges and uncertainty, has lifted trust to the foreground. For example, carriers have accused brokers-- whom they use to find and book loads-- of price gouging. Carriers are rejecting 1-4 loads nationally, disrupting contracted freight leaving many shippers wondering if long-term relationships are even worthwhile. Seems the days of accepting someone’s word is no longer enough. So what can be done to help close the gap, and build back trust? One important word comes to mind.... drum roll, please.... transparency! White Elephants Simply put, the white elephant between carriers and brokers is the hidden spread the broker makes per load, which is not shared with the carrier, nor the shipper. In tight markets, a broker can generate spreads as high as 30%. Carriers are often left wondering if brokers are shaving too much off the top. One of the white elephants between shippers and carriers is understanding the true market cost to move a load. Brokers do not share the rate breakdown because they do not want the shipper to know how much they make. Another white elephant between shippers and contacted carriers is when acceptance rates begin to slide. When acceptance declines, the carrier could be taking advantage of rate hikes and shifting capacity from lower-priced contracted lanes to higher-priced “spot” lanes to accelerate revenue. Building Trust with Software "Market research shows that trust is a major pain point amongst transportation professionals," said Jaimie Kowalski Sleek Technologies VP Marketing. "Our flagship software, Optimal Transportation Spend (OTS), closes these gaps...
Disruptions Force Shippers to Evaluate How They Secure TL Services
2020 has undoubtedly added disruption to the supply chain. Shippers across the US are scrambling to overcome the unexpected swing in truckload capacity and pricing. The traditional way of procuring freight transportation, through static annual contracts, is no longer best practice especially with market unknowns looming in the backdrop. “Shippers are struggling today. Contracted carriers are not meeting commitments because inked deals are no longer attractive,” said Mike Nervick, Sleek Technologies CEO. “The industry has seen an increase in carriers breaking contracts.” According to a recent joc.com article, titled Shippers Rethinking Annual Trucking Procurement Cycles, in order for shippers to avoid costly rate hikes in annual contracts, they must conduct multiple mini-bids throughout the year. The idea of updating freight pricing more frequently makes sense, but managing multiple bids, even little ones, is manual, tedious, and a ton of work. There has to be a better way. Well, guess what? There is. What if we told you there was a new software solution that feeds directly into a shipper’s TMS, where freight rates are dynamically set “on-the-fly” by the carrier? Rates are not locked into a static contract or devised by some margin-hungry middleman. Let’s say that again… rates are dynamically set “on-the-fly” by the carrier based on the availability of over a million owner operators, and current supply and demand! Total game-changer, right? Right. Here’s how the software, named OTS, works. When a shipper seeks capacity but wants to maintain cost control, they set the desired lane rate. The load is added into OTS where carriers have direct access to bid. If a bid strikes at, or below, the desired lane rate the...