Load Link

thebluffs1

Site Supporter
30
Loadlink should be a emergency use only tool- to "get the loads" you need good relationships with real customers, be they shippers or brokers. Just my 2c worth.
 

whatiship

Well-Known Member
20
Loadlink should be a emergency use only tool- to "get the loads" you need good relationships with real customers, be they shippers or brokers. Just my 2c worth.
Couldn't agree more. Loadlink, more than any other technology has changed the dynamic of the trucking industry since its inception. It's original intent was to supply information for both carriers and load brokers to view each others availability and traffic in particular geographical areas. Most carriers back then used it properly, which was to find some "filler" freight when they had capacity with LTL loads, or to find the occasional backhaul from a point that they did not provide regular service to.
Carriers mostly had regular lanes but more importantly regular direct customers who shipped to and from these lanes. Sometimes they needed to find a load in a hurry if they were out of balance or if something cancelled. Back then, probably 90% or more of a carriers business was from their own clients.
Many new carriers saw Loadlink as their sales department and off they went into the business. Today it is not uncommon for too many (mostly smaller) carriers to have 100% of their business secured from it. This is not a healthy diet of business for the carrier.
The most successful carriers rely on Loadlink for a small fraction of their business, or not at all.
Just because you have trucks and a dispatcher doesn't make you a trucking company. You have to have customers of your own or your business is entirely based on serving someone else's.
 

theman

Well-Known Member
30
I agree with whatiship for the most part. When I started in the industry (ok, not such a short time ago) it was all about relationships built either in person or on the phone. My first experience was with a carrier that had about 15 trucks when I got there, maybe 25 or so when I left. Our outbound hauls were 100% for customers and we brokered some out but pretty much with the same 3 partners over the span of a few years. Our inbound was anywhere from 60-85% for direct customers (we were a produce hauler, so in Jul/Aug/Sept we had nothing northbound from FL/GA). I relied on around 12 or so broker relationships to fill my trucks when I needed it and treated them like customers.

These days, I'd say that the majority of fleets out there have at least half if not more of their business (inbound and outbound) from brokers. It's because the buying patterns aren't solely relationship based any more. Relationship is important, but there has to be meat behind it ... so, for instance a trucking company with little IT and 20 trucks is not going anywhere marketing to companies with central purchasing and multi-national operations. This means that most trucking companies don't have much of a sales force, they rely on dispatchers that are in effect made to be inside sales reps working with brokers.

I think trucking companies need to increasingly forge relationships with the right 3PLs and brokers ... but it's just that, forge relationships. Using the link to move trucks all the time where there is no continuity in the relationship is poison.
 

whatiship

Well-Known Member
20
theman is correct. I should point out the in many cases a strong relationship with a 3PL on specific lanes or moves should be considered "almost" the same as a direct customer. Just like a direct customer there needs to be a commitment from both sides. The Link can be used like an introduction service that can put you in touch with potential long term partners.
My point was more for carriers who get their business solely from a number of 3pl's that they do not have any history with. This puts them in a very scary position form both an operational and collections position.
 

theman

Well-Known Member
30
Most of the problems that members here have with brokers not paying their bills is because they don't know who they are dealing with. I understand that the odd time one may have to take something on a leap of faith to fill a truck ... but if one is doing business with any substance, there needs to be some sort of relationship.
 

West Coast

New Member
1
I used the load link when it first started, I'm talking about before the internet. Back then I had a 286 computer with a 2800 baud modem and you would dial up via a long distance phone call and connect to their servers download the current information then sign off and review the loads as you were paying for a long distance call. Now here's a brief history of the link it was started in Toronto and originally was the number one service to have for Canadian carriers. In the US you are familiar with the DAT screens in the truck stops that used to have mainly US loads on them. The DAT system was started by Jubitz Truckstop in Portland, OR. Also quite a few years ago Getloaded started up. Guess what? Over time they have all been purchased by Roper Industries that trades publicly on the NYSE stock ticker ROP. What I have found with the link is they say they care, however in my opinion they don't seem to. I have had conversations with customer service regarding bad brokers and said to them you could make the link much more attractive if you weeded out the bad apples and took brokers down that were scum. They implemented a three complaints and we will investigate you and possibly take you off our system. However having said that when I've notified them of a bad broker I usually get no response to an email or a phone call. These are the modern times we live in where its becoming increasingly difficult for a small company to survive and these 3PL logistics providers have popped up all over the place and shippers prefer to use them over direct contact with a trucking company. I used to have a mix of approximately 65% in house and 35% brokered now its closer to 90% brokered. Even shippers I have direct contact with often won't answer their phone and you'll see loads that they have posted by brokers because the shipper has decided give it to the 3PL. Let them sort the trucks out as long as my product gets moved seems to be today's prevailing attitude. As for the credit scores they are only as good as YOU TRUCKING COMPANIES make them!!!! Why did I shout this out ? Because its up to You to take the time to report a slow payer or a no payer ! Often these brokers go down in flames with a great credit score as they have been screwing trucking companies for a year and nobody took the ten minutes it takes to fill in the credit report. The credit scores do not get bad unless you report! Would you haul for a broker if their score was red with 90 days + pay? I would say your answer would be NO, however you end up hauling for one that operates like this because nobody filled out a bad report, and you're dealing with a big corporation that is playing a numbers game they want as many users on their system as possible because its all about revenue.

Bottom line you need the link. Just use it with caution and if you're dealing with a broker based in Canada who is brokering a load between Canada and the USA. Check their credit score ask for references, and they should have an MC number with a bond. If they don't use extreme caution as that is a red flag in my opinion proceed with caution.
 

theman

Well-Known Member
30
The credit scores on the Link are generally not accurate because as I've said before, they rely on user info in their database. The utilities and banks and such are the ones who give them the most data, so a bad broker that pays hydro and cable on time, and doesn't default on their credit lines looks good. Doesn't mean they're paying the trades on time.

As for the comment about shippers preferring 3pls to carriers, it's true and not true at the same time. In these days, doing more with less is paramount, especially if the customers are not that large and the actual person handling the freight does so as only part of his/her job versus dedicated to transportation. Even though the transaction may cost a little more, if they can do their business with say 2-3 vendors instead of 20 or 30, time is money and it makes sense.

The trick to this business is to offer something that the client sees as value over and above the norm. When it's not there, it's just a rate game and you end up doing very transactional business. Good brokers actually build their business by creating models that are not so much transactional, and execute it transactionally with the carriers when it makes sense (the good regular business is more collaborative, not going through the Link).
 

martinetav

Well-Known Member
20
Dose the link breakdowns many times?
Frankd, It has happened but not very often. The biggest I've seen is when they upgraded recently. If you are in Ontario it is definitely an advantage. The farther away you are the longer it takes to get the leads. Also, you need your internet to be rapid and you must have Windows 10 in order to use it.
 

frankd

New Member
2
Frankd, It has happened but not very often. The biggest I've seen is when they upgraded recently. If you are in Ontario it is definitely an advantage. The farther away you are the longer it takes to get the leads. Also, you need your internet to be rapid and you must have Windows 10 in order to use it.
Good. Yes I am in Vaughan.
 

martinetav

Well-Known Member
20
Mine seems to work perfectly well with Windows 7 (Pro, 64).

Keep well,
Mike
All I know is that we were informed by Link Logistics that we needed to upgrade to windows 10 before Oct 1st last year or we wouldn't be able to use the new link which is a a little bit of a different location, if we did not do so. On October 1st our regular link up did not work and we followed the new link and it worked just fine after. the system did go down totally a few days later but they got that going again.
Frankd, if you do only spot market loads to operate, it is essential to have load link (in my personal opinion). Don't let them get you caught up in the 'TOTAL FULL PACKAGE' though.
 

MikeJr

Moderator
Staff member
30
Anyone else having issues right now with comments not saving in postings? :(
Ah, technology...

Keep well,
Mike
 

Dukas

New Member
1
All I know is that we were informed by Link Logistics that we needed to upgrade to windows 10 before Oct 1st last year or we wouldn't be able to use the new link which is a a little bit of a different location, if we did not do so. On October 1st our regular link up did not work and we followed the new link and it worked just fine after. the system did go down totally a few days later but they got that going again.
Frankd, if you do only spot market loads to operate, it is essential to have load link (in my personal opinion). Don't let them get you caught up in the 'TOTAL FULL PACKAGE' though.

Hi,
Which Load Link package do you suggest for a small family operated carrier ?
Thanks
 
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