A new era for brokers: how technology is redrawing the blueprint for success

An unprecedented capacity crunch. Archaic processes badly in need of reinvention. New Uber-like technology entrants bent on cutting out the broker. The blurring of asset vs. non-asset providers. Seldom in the brokerage market’s history has there been a time of such massive upheaval—and opportunity.

How do brokers respond, transform and emerge on the other side as stronger competitive forces?

FreightWaves and Trucker Tools partnered for a webinar on Tuesday, September 25 to answer this question and provide brokers with the insights they need to move toward a successful future.

Prasad Gollapalli, Founder and CEO of Trucker Tools spoke with Zak Mattocks, Managing Director– Freight Solutions, FedEx Transportation Management and Michelle Potter, Sr. Director of Strategic Development, England Logistics, Inc to hear their perspectives on the state of the industry. Both FedEx and England Logistics are Smart Capacity users.

“When you look at the 12 months or so, we’ve seen incredibly tight capacity matched with an economy growing at an amazing pace, but we still struggle with inefficiency in the industry” said Gollapalli.

“It’s a fun time to be in the industry based on all of the demand, with a little bit of a reprieve on capacity constraints, and from a technology perspective, the pressure is unmatched. I’ve never experienced this kind of demand surrounding the adoption of technology,” Potter explained. “While we have all of these demands, we still have some things to overcome when it comes to tech adoption for smaller fleets,” said Potter. “It’s compounding the pace at which we all need to be moving,” Potter concluded.

Looking into the peak season ahead, Mattocks anticipates that “the outlook is good for brokerages and 3PLs, fueled by tight capacity. You just have to wonder if the economy will continue to sustain this particular growth.”

With the emergence of technology in the space, there’s a race to find the best digital experience for shippers and carriers and to become the platform of choice. Many of these technologies seek to solve the three biggest drivers of costs in the process of covering freight: stale data, an influx of calls from carriers, and one load wonders.

These inefficiencies can be addressed with technology that focuses on enabling brokers–not disintermediating them. By using constructive disruption to change outdated processes and employ new technologies, productivity and business can benefit, too.

New updates to Trucker Tools’ Smart Capacity technology gives users access to real-time availability based on historical data and using carrier preferences to make smarter matches. The Smart Capacity dashboard is also able to fully integrate with your existing TMS, putting accurate data at your fingertips.

For more information about Trucker Tools, click here.