McLeod Software launches carrier-matching tool for brokers

Birmingham, Alabama-based McLeod Software has launched its new TopMatch technology, aimed at digitally pairing brokers and logistics providers with the best carriers to haul their freight.

Customers who utilize McLeod’s TopMatch software will compete against freight-matching upstarts such as Uber Freight and Convoy, two companies that continue to grab market share from traditional load boards, according to a new report from UBS Group.

The TopMatch tool, which is part of McLeod’s PowerBroker freight-matching platform, combines multiple carrier search methods into one comprehensive search. It then develops a scoring system based on the search criteria, including which carriers have hauled the load in the past, those who have hauled in the freight lane previously and truck availability closest to the pickup location.

“TopMatch just helps brokers aggregate data that leads to faster capacity-matching based on a number of factors,” Robert Brothers, manager of product development at McLeod, told FreightWaves. “It gives our brokers the ability to sort of turn the dial on how their carrier selection process works.”

The use of mobile trucking apps is on the rise and has the potential to become a $35.4-billion market by 2025 in North America, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.

Based on the scorecard, brokers will receive a prioritized list of carriers to offer the load to first, Brothers said.

TopMatch then feeds the data into PowerBroker’s automated Waterfall Tendering software, which digitally offers the load to the top carrier. That carrier has a specified time to respond to the load before it is offered to the next carrier on the list.