Denim co-founder and CEO Bharath Krishnamoorthy wrote a great article for Supply & Demand Chain Executive about the importance of using technology to build trust with carriers. He shares that establishing trust is key to long-term success, especially in the economic market that freight brokers are operating in today.
How Freight Brokers Can Build Trust With Carriers
In the article, B explains that the best ways for brokers to build trust with their carriers are by offering on-time payments and being transparent about additional terms and fees. Unfortunately, “bad players” in the broker game sometimes hide these fees in their contracts, which can sacrifice the relationships they are building with carriers.
We all need tasks done on time and reliably, whether you’re a shipper, a freight broker, or a carrier. Luckily, technology makes it easier to automate back-office operations and payments so freight brokers can pay faster and more efficiently.
Freight Broker Technology in Building Trust
In addition to providing tips on how to build trust with carriers, B also includes statistics to show how technology can help freight brokers build relationships based on trust.
Currently, the total US trucking industry is valued at $732.3 billion, and freight intermediaries share a significant piece with a $145 billion market size. Because the industry is growing so rapidly, freight brokers “must turn to technology to enable more strategic freight management.”
The freight brokerage industry has largely been left untouched by advances in technology and B and the team and Denim believe that brokers deserve more. Today, freight brokers can be tech-savvy and embrace digital transformation initiatives — like automation, AI, and personalization — to build trust among customers and partners alike.
These insights also align with what we discovered in our Freight Broker Pulse Report, including the fact that the majority of brokers still pay carriers and shippers with paper checks, even though 68% of brokers say that eliminating paper checks would improve their business operations.
B concludes the article by reemphasizing the fact that operating the right way (and the fastest way) will create more trust between freight brokers and their customers and technology is here to help along the way.