Here’s Why You Should.
Digital booking programs are some of the hottest technology solutions for freight brokerages right now, and it’s no wonder. In today’s fast-paced, highly competitive market, brokerages need an edge. The capacity crunch is making it harder than ever to get loads covered without paying exorbitant spot market rates.
This type of technology is becoming more and more mainstream. Digital booking software can help brokerages thrive in several ways.
It Speeds Up Operations
Digital booking solutions should help automate some of the busy work that occurs in freight brokerages and help you get loads in front of carriers quickly. Carriers in turn are able to select and book loads based on their preferences at times convenient to them.
Once carriers are approved and onboarded, automated booking features allow them to lay claim to loads in mere minutes instead of hours or even days of emails or phone calls. Carriers can book loads when they are winding down their day or at their early start. Many Book Now loads get booked outside of brokers' business hours, with little to no broker engagement which helps reduce some cost of booking a load.
Another benefit of booking automation is the speed at which the loads are booked and the number of loads your team is able to place. This helps scale your business while re-using your carrier base. Many Parade customers find that their reps are able to book 15% more loads per month.
It Provides Simple Ways to Improve Carrier Relationships
By giving your carriers a quick and easy way to book loads, you build a lot of goodwill with them. You make their jobs easier, so you can bet that, when you are in need, they’ll go out of their way to help you out. As mentioned earlier, carriers now have a simple and quick way to see all available loads and book them based on their preferences right from their phone. This helps reduce calls and additional manual activities on both sides.
On top of allowing easy booking, Parade’s booking software allows you to reach your carriers wherever it is that they usually look for work. They don’t need to go out of their way or sign up with a new load board to find work with you. Instead, they can search specifically for your loads on the boards they’re already using.
Digital booking also gives you the opportunity to prioritize your top carriers. By giving more business to the carriers who tend to serve you the best, you help build a meaningful connection between your operations. Plus, providing carriers with several loads (and potentially a big chunk of their income) helps build loyalty between carrier and brokerage.
It Provides the Data You Need to Improve Strategy
Ideally, your booking system should provide you with the metrics you need to understand how well your processes (and their system) are working. It should also allow you to extract carrier and sales info so that you can use it for internal audits.
The information provided by top-notch digital booking software should not only help you track internal performance but provide more insight to help direct your strategy down the road.
For example, Parade customer FreightSaver uses their carrier’s available capacity in lanes they don’t currently cover to determine which markets would be ideal sales targets for growth.
You can learn more about that by watching this Freightwaves webinar, where FreightSaver CEO Ryan Renne sat down to chat with Parade’s Head of Product, Lindsay Watt, to chat about peak season challenges and how they’re overcoming them.
Interested in a digital booking solution for your brokerage? Fill out this form to request a Parade demo so you can learn more about how it works and what it can do for you.