Load-matching technology provider Convoy said it has reached a major milestone: The company reports that its freight marketplace is automatically matching — without human intervention — 100% of loads to trucks in top markets.
According to Convoy, this includes routes from major West Coast markets such as Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles; Midwest routes from Chicago, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee; routes from Texas markets such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio; Northeast routes from New York and Philadelphia; and Southeast routes from Atlanta and others.
Nationwide, Convoy said it is now automatically matching 95% of loads to trucks, with that number climbing as new markets increasingly adopt its technology.
Convoy measures booking loads with carriers in two parts: First, by finding a truck that is available and can arrive on time (matching), and secondly by agreeing on the rate at which that work will happen (pricing). The company said it has been tracking its level of automation for both of these metrics as indicators of its progress since the company’s founding.
For matching, the company says it has largely eliminated the call-intensive model for finding the right truck across Convoy’s national network. For pricing, the majority of loads are now also being handled without any human interaction. By reducing waste in the matching process, Convoy says, it can pass along these savings by reducing costs for shippers, improving earnings for carriers, and investing in new innovations.
Convoy said according to studies, labor expenses account for about 65% of a typical broker’s expenses. In the traditional brokerage model, Convoy says, a brokerage representative makes roughly 100 calls in order to book 10 loads. Finding the right truck is one of the most time-consuming tasks for brokers.
Convoy said it has made this labor-intensive system obsolete thanks to increased app use and new features that empower carriers, such as No Hassle Detention, Flex Loads, and Instant Bidding.
At the same time, Convoy said it has been gathering better data on driver preference and behavior, which its system uses to “learn” from. As a result, the company said, with each load, the system gets better at recommending the next load. A new feature, called Request a Load, boosts this performance metric by allowing carriers to directly share preferences and get them the loads they want with less effort.
The result, Convoy said, is a system that is now working without the cost structure and operating model of a traditional brokerage. For shippers, Convoy said, this means its automated matching and pricing system covers loads faster than ever. As a result, the company said it is now consistently seeing freight being matched within minutes of being offered, which it said translates to higher service levels for both shippers and carriers.
