In 2019, the American trucking industry hauled 11.84 billion tons of freight — an amount that generated approximately $792 billion that year, according to the American Trucking Associations.
While many factors can be attributed to these massive numbers, the evolution of freight-focused technology plays a critical role.
Enter load boards
Load boards, specifically, have made it possible for brokers and shippers to find nearby trucks to load their excess freight on more quickly. At first glance, this form of technology may seem to provide benefits for primarily brokers and shippers, but it goes beyond that.
Load boards make it possible for many stakeholders to expedite the transportation of goods — especially given today’s full breadth of available partners — which conveniently gets the right items to customers at the right time. In the case of load boards, the benefits extend not only to brokers and shippers, but to fleet managers, drivers, and customers.
Producing promising partnerships
When companies work together to transport freight, they often naturally form partnerships that can benefit them in various ways. While not always the case, load boards can help prospective competing businesses gain partnership traction. Utilizing this technology, in essence, is a form of business-to-business partnership.
It stands to mention that no business can do it all. Why not leverage your strengths and merge them with the capabilities of another company for mutual benefit? These partnerships can prove long-lasting and extend further than solely a load-board, transport-sharing focus, although load boards often open the door to this possibility.
While this concept may seem revolutionary, exceedingly modern, and unique to our industry, it isn’t. In 1989, Harvard Business Review published an extensive article emphasizing the strong case for collaboration, as brought to the limelight by pioneering partnerships. From General Motors and Toyota to Canon and Kodak, these collaborative partnerships offered a way for many businesses to save money that would have been spent developing new, expensive products.
And, nearly 30 years later, this way of thinking holds up. A study by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute found the benefits to these partnerships outweigh disadvantages, with companies having more than a 50% chance of reducing costs when collaborating for three to five years.
Hit the jackpot with your solution selection
To gain the benefits mentioned above, company leaders must select a solution that is not only reliable and efficient but has a vast, extensive network of fleet professionals. Anything less would be unparalleled to the evolved expectations and capabilities of today’s solutions. What truly sets a robust load board apart from the competition is not only having that massive network of fleet professionals but ensuring these professionals are appropriately vetted. With this approach, you can trust that you are surrounded by quality, accomplished peers who can potentially serve as partners in the future.
A modern load board solution populated with vetted members can help you orchestrate your trucking operations so that your back-office and field teams are as in sync as possible. With the right solution, you can achieve many benefits for your business, including:
- Increased truckload capacities
- Reduced deadhead miles
- Access to expedited services
- Saved time previously spent searching for loads
Learn more about how you can utilize a trusted and reliable freight-matching network that is advantageous for your loads and customers. Happy transporting!