What is a load board these days? It seems like everyone and their kitchen sink wants to build some version of a load board either as a weekend project or as a way out of their current job. Hoping that looking back in time at something that is as old as the virtual yellow pages will actually add more value to the trucking companies online experience.
When internet use became more wide-spread the dispatcher of a trucking company probably had no idea what a load board was. But once online use started to climb they quickly realized it was a great way to find shipments from shippers and brokers to keep their trucks full and moving. Now you see a trucking company using multiple different traditional load boards to find freight for their trucks all at the same time.
So what keeps them around? Quantity of loads? Quality? In many cases it’s just a mind game. Trucking companies think “well there are a lot of loads on this site” which equates to it being a real solution to their business. Even if they never call or even try to dig deeper into the systems they are using. What they are actually using is a lot of fluff.
At the end of the day the cost of the load board is a business expense for most trucking companies. They need to have a few around even if they are hauling on regular lanes in the off chance they need a back-haul and some trucking companies live off of the boards and can build an entire small business of their own with the right board that helps them build the right relationships at the right time.
What if a platform did this for you. All the time. Without you needing to be logged in. Without having to take a deep cut into your margin on a factoring company hosted board or a ‘free load board’ like ush….that in reality is sucking money out of your pockets. It’s killing your business. And what about shippers? Do carriers want to interact with direct shippers and how much are they willing to do to build an carry those relationships.
So we suppose there will always be a role for the freight broker to? Well more and more brokers are trying to find ways to keep their carriers happy even if that means quick paying them or making sure they have a back-haul and acting like a dispatch service by finding them loads from a competing business. Oh the joys of being a freight broker.
There might be a solution to all of this madness. Something that gives you everything you need….without biting into your revenue or margins…without costing more than your cable bill and cell phone bill combined in monthly subscription costs that connects direct shippers to carriers and brokers and helps pre-screen only quality brokers to connect with carriers so carriers stay happy and paid.
More to come on this topic…
In the meantime enjoy paying your monthly car payments oh and your load board subscriptions. And if you’re not doing that make sure to check that last load you found on ush**t because you might want some blood pressure medication after you discover how much money these transactional sites are stealing from your bottom line…
The Load Board Guru