Letting someone else haul your freight is simple, right? Only in theory. Brokering loads to carriers is never easy since it often creates more to do’s, especially when one carrier brokers to another.

Managing multiple quotes. Manually tracking freight. Chasing after paperwork. The entire process takes time, creates headaches, and may cause customer service issues.

Brokering delivers big benefits while also adding major pain points in trucking. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right technology, carriers with brokerage authority can manage more freight without the extra effort or risks. 

Pain Point #1: Brokering the Right Loads

Carriers often assign loads as they come in and broker what’s left. The practice is good for helping drivers plan and keeping dispatcher boards clean. But the process often leaves money on the table for everyone involved. Manually reoptimizing the network for every new order that comes in is inefficient and impractical. 

A modern TMS makes this process simple.

The technology processes hundreds of cargo, driver, and equipment variables in a matter of seconds that would take even the best dispatcher or load planner hours. Brokering a load transitions from “what’s left” to “what’s best” for the network. Factors like freight rates, driver hours of service, and deadhead miles impact what stays on company assets and what goes out for bid—with the system doing all the work.  

Pain Point #2: Gathering Quotes and Tendering Orders

Finding an affordable fleet for every brokered load takes time. For carriers lacking technology, this means placing multiple calls, sending individual emails, and waiting for responses. 

Margin matters, but so does staff efficiency.

The right TMS automates the process. Using templated emails, dispatchers can send multiple quote requests with a single click. Fleets receive key information about the load pulled directly from the TMS. A streamlined response process collects bids allowing dispatchers to see all submissions within a single screen to select the best carrier for the load.

Sending the load tender with the agreed-upon price is just as easy. The TMS stores the rate and associated carrier information for quick access. Now just a few minutes of work gets a brokered load from quote to confirmation and on to completion. 

Pain Point #3: Communication and Freight Visibility

One of the biggest barriers to brokerage is blind spots. Once another fleet has the cargo, the brokering carrier loses visibility—but not customer responsibility—for the load. As a result, back-and-forth calls and emails occur throughout the run about location, pick-up/delivery status, and hours of service updates. Communication lags consistently create outdated and unreliable information.

A driver app is the best solution to this all-too-common pain point. Allowing drivers of any fleet to access load details through a centralized app streamlines sending and receiving information. Rather than playing a game of “Telephone” from the brokering carrier to the hauling fleet to the driver (and back again), the information is accessible from any smart mobile device. 

Drivers also benefit from workflows that help them meet load requirements such as gate codes, inspection checklists, or paperwork needs. A good driver app also makes sending locations and service updates simple, so the brokering carrier maintains visibility of their load without constantly asking for updates. Customer portals can receive the same information keeping shippers in the loop as well. 

Goodbye dialing for details. Hello easy app access. 

Pain Point #4: Paperwork and Payments

On a brokered load, once paperwork goes missing, good luck getting it back. Rates get misplaced. BOLs vanish. PODs disappear. Now carriers cannot bill for the load. Managing brokerage activities through a TMS with an integrated driver app helps eliminate these issues. 

First, the system should store rate confirmations. No searching through emails or desktop sticky notes. Accounting knows the exact rate agreed to for payment. 

Next, the app can make documentation part of the driver workflow. Road professionals can easily scan paperwork straight from their phones to complete the load and be eligible for payment. Back-office teams can verify documents straight from the TMS before billing the shipper or paying the invoice. No chasing paperwork. 

The system offers a set of checks and balances so money does not exchange hands unless load requirements are met. 

Pain Point #5: Staying “In Network” 

Brokering a load is always a bit of a gamble. Was it the right load? Will you have enough freight to keep your assets moving? Did you pick the right carrier? 

Magnus Carrier Advantage adds some safeguards. The platform enables Magnus TMS users to broker loads directly with other Magnus members. A centralized board allows network carriers to see offered loads or post available equipment. Fleets exchange freight and asset information directly through the technology with no added work. The system helps carriers take advantage of more freight while keeping their assets moving. Plus, they avoid the “rate squeeze” created by third-party brokers looking for their own piece of the pie.

Get More from Magnus

Are you looking for more strategies to improve the efficiency of your freight transactions? Download our latest guide, “Frictionless Freight: 5 Ways to Simplify the Back Office with a Modern TMS.”

If you’d like to see how a TMS makes brokerage easy, look right here. 

Magnus Technologies Group is a scalable enterprise-grade TMS solution, offering unlimited integration and expansion possibilities and a solid foundation of best-in-class cloud computing technologies and services. The system’s unique design makes managing more freight with less work possible—on your own assets or someone else’s.

Whether you dispatch 50 or 5,000 trucks, the Magnus SaaS-based TMS has a full suite of features and connectivity to streamline your order-to-cash cycle to boost business performance, brokerage operations, and overall growth.