The transportation and logistics industry is in the middle of a technological renaissance, and it seems like just about everything is going digital these days. Freight matching is no exception, with shippers and carriers alike starting to see the value of streamlined internet transactions.
Spot market transactions are notoriously inefficient and expensive. Digital freight matching (DFM) can make spot transactions more straightforward and transparent for shippers and carriers alike.
Without digital freight matching, shippers and carriers that work directly together to match their own supply and demand have limited success due to the fragmented nature of the market. Freight brokers — whether traditional or digital — attempt to solve this by acting as intermediaries who can aggregate supply and demand, but their often-opaque commissions can cultivate inefficiencies and limitations.
Digital freight matching is a relatively new way to match loads with trucks in the spot market by utilizing an online platform to help automate the transaction. Currently, most successful DFM solutions are controlled by freight brokers who populate the demand side of these platforms. Brokers generally utilize the same basic constructs of their existing business models, including opaque commissions.
A more open digital freight matching platform — like Loadshop — allows shippers and carriers to connect directly, eliminating the fees and commissions that accompany transactions facilitated by brokers.
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