Why Transportation Teams Are Setup to Fail

Plans are just that… plans. They are never set in stone and oftentimes fall apart. The world’s best planners spend as much time- if not more- developing a strong contingency plan for when the original plan falls apart to avoid disruption. The same goes for logistics and transportation teams. The routing guide is a plan, and when executed flawlessly contracted carrier obligations are met and all loads are covered. Now imagine if flawless execution happened every time… we can dream, right? Unfortunately, we know the routing guide will fall apart. So what can shippers do today, to prepare for tomorrow? 

Traditional Way to Secure Spot Coverage

Transportation teams are on the hook to deliver goods on time so customers remain happy while paying a fair truckload cost so expenses can be managed. Unfortunately, traditional freight procurement processes to secure spot coverage force shippers to prioritize either cost or services- not both! “Loads need to move, that’s a fact. When transportation teams are forced to prioritize cost or service they can’t succeed,” said George Belle, Head of Sales Engineering at Sleek Technologies. “Both cost and service need to be taken into consideration.” 

In the traditional freight procurement process, after a load passes contractual obligations, shippers have 2 methods to secure spot coverage:

  • Waterfall: focused on cost, shippers connect with carriers sequentially one by one. If the carrier refuses the offer, they move on to the next in line. This process can take many hours.  
  • Broadcast: focused on time, shippers connect with all carriers at the same time. Whoever accepts the offer first, wins.  

The Spot Safety Net

AI-powered software has advanced how shippers are securing spot coverage after the routing guide fails, which is inevitable in the constantly changing freight market. Using pre-configured attributes, AI matches uncovered loads with compliant carriers in seconds- not hours. When shippers have instant access to a pool of compliant carriers, shippers can finally choose both cost and service when moving loads!