Should Your Brokerage Be Using Capacity Management?

Wondering if your business should be utilizing capacity management? Here are some questions you can ask to help you decide if this type of solution is right for your business model.

 

Does Your Brokerage Rely on Tribal Knowledge to Function?

It’s a common theme. Broker reps have much of the capacity knowledge they’ve gathered over the years stored right in their heads (or maybe in a notebook). They know everything there is to know about the carriers they work with, and it makes them very effective at their job.

 

What happens if another rep needs to use that carrier, or heaven forbid, the rep with tribal knowledge on that carrier must take a sick day (or week!)? That rep’s capacity knowledge doesn’t help the entire team, and if the other rep needs to ask about the carrier, it can take an undue amount of time out of both their days.

 

Plus, while the human mind has an almost infinite capacity to store information, recalling that information is another matter entirely. People forget things. They don’t remember things when they need the information the most.

 

A lot of brokerages run into this issue, and capacity management can provide a cure for the reliance on tribal knowledge for capacity data.

 

Does it Take You Too Long to Find Carriers and Get Loads Booked?

Some loads are smooth sailing. The rep has the perfect carrier in mind, the carrier can take the load, they’re already onboarded, and booking goes off without a hitch.

 

That’s not always the case, though. Maybe one of your preferred shippers needs to step outside of your normal lanes where reps no longer have a stable of capacity ready and willing to take the load. Maybe capacity is just especially tight that week due to a holiday or natural disaster.

 

Regardless of what the hang-up is on a specific load, sometimes it just takes too long to find a carrier to haul a load. That extra time spent on that singular load is then taken from other loads that could be getting covered, reducing overall productivity and therefore revenues. It also puts a lot of pressure on reps when they have to put so much effort into finding the right carrier.

 

Is Your Brokerage Paying More for Loads Than They Should Be?

Every broker is out to find the best gross margins to improve their overall profits while serving their shippers and making sure their carriers get a fair shake.

 

Time constraints, tight capacity, and imminent deadlines can all lead to brokers paying more for a load than they really need to. When a load needs to be covered and it needs to be covered now, the simple answer is to pay spot market rates and get on with your day. So, you hire the first carrier who can get it there without costing you too much out of pocket.

 

What if you could plan loads in advance more effectively? What if you could see every quote side by side so you could easily find the best (and most affordable) option? What if reps had more time to negotiate with carriers when the rate you were hoping for isn’t forthcoming? What if you had a broader, deeper capacity network to draw carriers from? Parade capacity management can do all that.