Historically, shippers struggled to align their freight needs with rigid mode options like LTL and truckload. Less-than-truckload (LTL) services often come with hefty fees and increased damages, while shipping a partially empty truckload is essentially paying to ship air. Shared Truckload (STL) has emerged as a convenient and increasingly popular option for these shippers.
Shared Truckload services, like those provided by Flock Freight, combine multiple shippers’ freight into a single trailer, delivering truckload-level service at a fraction of the cost. Unlike less-than-truckload, which moves freight through multiple terminals and touch points, Shared Truckload operates more like traditional truckload service with direct routing and hubless transit. Flock Freight pioneered this model with its patented technology that pools compatible shipments heading in the same direction, maximizing trailer utilization while maintaining the speed and reliability shippers expect from dedicated truckload service.
This guide shows you how to incorporate STL into your RFPs and evaluate it with confidence.
The opportunity gap
Shared Truckload addresses a persistent problem: 58% of truckloads moved over half empty last year. Traditional truckload and LTL playbooks often miss cost-saving opportunities for shipments in the 10 to 40 linear feet range, forcing shippers into an uncomfortable choice between paying for unused trailer space or holding freight until enough volume accumulates to justify a full truck. Additionally, shippers moving multi-stop truckloads are confined to their own shipment networks, which can lead to inefficient routes and increased costs.
Neither option makes financial sense. The first wastes money on shipping air. The second creates inventory holding costs and delays customer deliveries. With the proper RFP structure, STL slots into routing guides to solve this issue without requiring entire process overhauls or major operational changes.
Tip 1: Define STL’s place in your routing guide
Consider the pallet and dimension ranges that trigger the traditional LTL to truckload mode break and identify which commodity types work best for co-mingling with other freight. Determine appointment precision requirements and any special handling needs.
Clarity matters most in your routing guide when establishing STL’s priority relative to full truckload, multi-stop truckload, and LTL options. This hierarchy resolves tie-breaks and exceptions when multiple shipping modes could apply to a particular shipment. Without clear triggers, freight teams often default to familiar options even when STL offers better economics.
Tip 2: Provide clean historical data
Shared Truckload providers need quality data to evaluate opportunities and price accurately. Share six to 12 months of detailed shipment-level history, including origin and destination information, dimensions and weight data, pallet counts, and stackability details. Include specific appointment requirements that affect routing flexibility. Take time to flag seasonality patterns and recurring weekly volumes.
If you are running your own multi-stop truckloads, include these in your shipment data so that you can look for new ways to pair shipments more efficiently across a larger network via Shared Truckload.
This context helps providers improve pricing predictability and capacity planning. Better data produces more accurate bids and fewer surprises during implementation.
STL providers will take this data and put it into a pricing matrix segmented by lane and shipment size so you can compare against other modes more accurately.
Tip 3: Compare pricing holistically
A common pitfall in mode evaluation is focusing solely on the base rate without considering costs that appear after delivery. For an accurate comparison, quantify existing fees across your current mode mix. Pay special attention to on-time in full penalties, damage claims, and accessorial charges that inflate final invoices.
Calculate potential savings with STL, where accessorial fees and damage claims run minimal. The cheapest line-haul rate doesn’t matter much if accessorials and claims eat the difference. Shippers using Shared Truckload save an average of 20% compared to traditional truckload options while maintaining a 99.8% damage-free rate, according to Flock Freight.
Hidden costs add up quickly, especially with LTL. A shipment with a great base rate becomes expensive when you factor in reweigh fees, detention charges, liftgate fees, and damage claims. Since STL moves in a truckload environment, shippers don’t have to worry about hidden LTL fees or freight class.
Tip 4: Establish clear service and visibility expectations
Set comprehensive expectations for handling requirements upfront, including location-specific workflows or special service needs. Define transit expectations with lane-level time bands and appointment adherence goals. These parameters help providers understand operational complexity and price accordingly.
Clarify visibility requirements early. Specify EDI or API integration capabilities, portal event tracking needs, exception notification preferences, and proof of delivery timeliness standards.
Technology integration capabilities matter as much as physical execution. Ensure potential providers can plug into your existing systems without creating visibility gaps or requiring manual workarounds. Seamless data flow prevents the operational friction that derails new mode adoption.
Flock Freight has established partnerships with many well known TMS’s to make for a seamless plug and play integration experience for Shared Truckload.
Tip 5: Develop a comprehensive scorecard
Build a balanced scorecard that weighs total landed cost, on-time performance, damage rates, capacity reliability, and integration maturity. If sustainability goals factor into your logistics strategy, include emissions savings data in evaluation metrics. Flock’s Shared Truckload helps shippers lower carbon emissions by up to 40% compared to traditional modes. The right scoring system helps objectively identify when STL outperforms alternative modes.
Avoid the trap of overweighting any single metric. The lowest cost provider with terrible on-time performance creates more problems than it solves. Similarly, perfect service at premium pricing defeats the purpose. Balance matters.
Tip 6: Pilot, measure, and scale
Launch a four to eight-week pilot program focused on three to five lanes with clear key performance indicators for on-time pickup and delivery, damage rates, and cost comparisons against your status quo. This contained approach limits risk while generating real performance data.
Schedule weekly business reviews during the pilot period and establish clear escalation paths for any issues. Regular touch points catch problems early and build working relationships with provider teams. Develop a volume ramp plan outlining how you’ll transition from pilot to steady-state implementation once defined KPIs are consistently met.
A successful small pilot beats a chaotic large rollout every time. Prove the concept, work out operational kinks, and then scale with confidence.
RFP Checklist
When preparing your RFP process to include STL, ensure you include:
Mode definition: Clear explanation of STL’s position in your routing guide, including specific triggers and exceptions
Data package: Six to 12 months of origin and destination data, dimensions and weight information, pallet counts, stackability details, appointment requirements, and seasonality patterns
Pricing request: Linear feet or pallet-based pricing options per lane
Service and visibility: Handling expectations, transit time bands, event-level tracking capabilities, exception management, and proof of delivery timing
Scorecard: Evaluation criteria covering cost, on-time performance, damage prevention, capacity reliability, and integration capabilities, plus sustainability metrics if relevant
Pilot plan: Selected lanes, defined KPIs, review schedule, escalation procedures, and steps for scaling after successful pilot completion
The Path Forward
The key to successful STL integration lies in treating it as a defined mode with clear parameters rather than a fallback option. With precise triggers, clean historical data, standardized pricing structures, explicit service expectations, and a measured pilot approach, you’ll quickly identify when STL outperforms current shipping methods.
Done right, Shared Truckload becomes another reliable tool in the logistics toolkit rather than an experimental program requiring constant attention. Click here to learn more about Flock Freight.
