Carriers: How to find and keep them
Digital logistic platforms such as Trans.eu make the search for payload capacity easier and faster. They also reduce the risks involved in contracting with new freight forwarders, an increasingly important consideration at a time of volatile markets. The “Simple Tenders” feature offers a solution for long-term cooperation with service providers from Eastern Europe.
Some market booms come as a surprise: Even experts were surprised by the current surge in demand for building supplies. The same applies to the paper industry and many other markets, which are becoming more and more volatile. Who would have expected the automotive industry to recover so quickly?
Efficient search as a success factor
The unpredictability and fluctuations mean that dispatchers at logistics companies, freight forwarders and shippers work under conditions of stress and time pressure. The available transport capacities must be permanently adapted to new volumes. However, the required flexibility cannot be achieved with an in-house fleet of vehicles. Therefore, being able to search efficiently for new and reliable carriers is increasingly becoming a decisive success factor. This is where the new digital tools step in to facilitate what is known as ‘capacity sourcing’.
Among the most serious challenges is to pinpoint trustworthy service providers that you can rely on to do a good job the first time round. Digital logistic platforms, such as Trans.eu, offer dispatchers quick access to a wide variety of verified transport partners who more and more often come from Eastern Europe.
Calls for tender made simple
This allows Trans.eu to support its customers with the “Simple Tenders” service. Simplified bidding procedures are used to provide a solution that enables companies within a very short time to start working with new and verified providers of carriage services, for example, if there is a shortage of carriers on certain routes. Most of these processes are handled by Trans.eu, so the workload for freight forwarders is very low. The entire process takes a maximum of 15 working days.
The resulting cooperation is something in between a permanent contract and a spot market order. This brings together the best of both modes of cooperation. This means a large amount of flexibility, making it an excellent solution for volatile market conditions.
Transparency minimises risks
Collaboration platforms such as Trans.eu also allow strategic carrier sourcing outside of “Simple Tenders”. The carriers present themselves as partners in a targeted search for suitable service suppliers. The transparency offered in terms of performance and reliability minimizes the risks at the beginning of a new business relationship. If you are a transport company that consistently receives good reviews on the platform and has a good rating, you will be recommended for a hassle-free test order.
This gives shippers a major advantage: They do not have to stay with their existing carriers for fear of quality losses, but can look around the freight market at regular intervals from a secure vantage point. Of course, this does not mean that loyalty to proven and long-standing partners has to be abandoned. However, online platforms can help to prevent the emergence of encrusted structures in which long-standing force of habit trumps optimality. It cannot hurt to check the market every now and then for competitive offers from other trusted carriers.
Valuable fund
This applies not only to the search for long-term partnerships, but also to the short-term search on the spot market. This is because platforms are still a great help in finding a carrier or freight forwarder if the regular subcontractors are ever unable to carry out the transport. The databases of carrier ratings on Trans.eu are a valuable resource and, for many users, the best source of information about carriers. There you will find all the data on reputation and credibility, but also on vehicles offered, insurance, EU licenses and certificates.
If you have decided on a carrier and placed an order, you can access ready-made templates for transport orders at Trans.eu. Sophisticated chat systems with integrated translation functions ensure problem-free communication, even in the case of international cooperation. Every verbal exchange is recorded and verifiably documented. The same applies to the sending of files and the submission and acceptance of offers. For more information about Messenger, click here.
Real-time tracking
Trans.eu also offers professional tools for ongoing transport control and even real-time tracking: The most common telematics systems can be connected to Trans.eu via existing interfaces in order to receive, interpret and display the order-related shipment status and position data from the carrier vehicles.
Trans.eu is a logistical platform for land transport. Freight forwarders who want to push their digitalization further will find extensive features for carrier management. The IT solution offers forwarders and service providers in logistics improved transparency and security for cross-border cooperation with carrier companies: one of the largest databases of carriers in Central and Eastern Europe, a system for carrier screening and verification with ratings from one of the largest transport platforms bringing together approximately 40,000 users. In addition, a live messenger means the entire transport process of freight allocation is available in different languages. Through a variety of options for integration with existing TMS systems, external partners can extend Logistics 4.0 capabilities for their systems and processes.