Convoy says its latest technology can help keep truckers from having to scramble to book the next load, allowing customers to book multiple loads at a time with its new Automated Reloads feature.

The digital freight-matching brokerage has developed algorithms that can arrange multiple jobs at the same time, customized for each carrier’s preferences and operations. This helps minimize empty miles/deadheading, cutting down on the time waiting between loads, and allowing drivers and carriers alike to log more billable miles.

With Automated Reloads, Convoy algorithmically evaluates and continuously optimizes how loads (both drop-and-hook as well as live load/unload) can be grouped in real-time, all without human intervention.  In Convoy’s app, carriers can bid their rates or instantly accept these pre-planned combinations of loads as a single job, ensuring they stay on the road.

Earlier this year, Convoy announced that its digital freight marketplace had reached a milestone of automatically matching — without human intervention — 100% of loads to trucks in top markets.

With Automated Reloads, Convoy’s algorithms customize loads in real time for each carrier, based on their preferences, hours-of-service and driver locations, wait times at facilities, and other considerations.

The American Transportation Research Institute estimates that more than 20% of driven miles are “non-revenue,” Convoy notes. This means reaching out to multiple brokers, but that also means trucks are not guaranteed to be full until bids on each load are individually confirmed.

“I like bidding on these offers with Convoy. They keep me on lanes I prefer to run, and get me home when I want,” said Jorge Ramos of El Poderoso Trucking. Jorge and his brother Nelson have worked with Convoy for two years, and now Automated Reloads make up a majority of their work. “By combining loads from different shippers, Convoy keeps us from driving empty trailers between jobs and we waste less time on load boards keeping our trucks busy.”

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a one-time or recurring request for preferred lanes, or search for specific cities

2. Look for offers with reloads packaged together

3. Optionally, add more reloads to the suggested route

4. Tap to bid or accept

“Traditionally, brokers or dispatchers pair shipments that are obvious to spot, but they missed out on a large part of the opportunity,'' explained Ziad Ismail, Convoy chief product officer. “Given the complexity and speed of the freight market, a real-time algorithmic optimization is ideally set up to minimize empty miles and help carriers.”

With Convoy, carriers get access to a free mobile app that allows them to find loads they want, save time, drive fewer miles empty, and get paid quickly. Shippers use Convoy’s data-driven insights and industry-leading service levels to book loads, improve their supply chain operations, lower costs, and reduce waste, according to the company.