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Uber for freight now!!
- Thread starter RobsanT
- Start date
This is turning into another Carrier vs. Broker string and that was not the intent. Bottom line is that if an Uber type Freight APP does come along, like anything else the market will decide if it is accepted or not. It will work for some and not for others. All we can do till then as carriers and brokers is service the ^%$ out of our customers, develop a personal connection and hope that if it does "catch on" it will create opportunities for all. I know a few travel agents that scoffed at the internet travel booking sites when they came out. Some didn't last long and some re-created their services to a select few who prefer that type of personal service. Those that did are doing just fine.
yeah back on topic, I think this app will go one of two ways, either great and useful or cause a major issue and a lawsuit somewhere will make it go away
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whatiship, of course any conversation of this nature will come down to Carrier vs Broker. These are the conversations that help pull ourselves out of our ego filled bubbles. Maybe give each other a little food for thought and a view from the other side. No harm in that is there ?
FreightBroker. It's just in the wording and the interpretation. Would be great if we had the advantage of voice intonations sometimes
FreightBroker. It's just in the wording and the interpretation. Would be great if we had the advantage of voice intonations sometimes
No harm at all, as long as we stay civil and refrain from nasty comments. I am not accusing you of these, you always make a good point. Sometimes it turns into a free for all and as entertaining as it can be it kinda takes away from the purpose of the site. Yes, voice intonations would be great to determine the real feelings of the post.
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I don't know how this became an Carrier verses broker thread. The jist of what I stated is that Uber may have some use to me and in my ability to keep my carrier base loaded and rolling.
We're on the same side a lot of the time...
We're on the same side a lot of the time...
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Exactly ... for the small shipper that doesn't focus on transportation procurement and setting up partnerships with carriers. It's arguable that this is a broker's job, but as a broker the biggest expense is getting customers ... this is a way to get the business from customers where direct selling costs too much for the reward (ie spending less than $100K per year in freight).
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I can see and appreciate the way the app works for uber taxi. I type in where I am and where I want to go. It responds, yes, there will be a car there in 2 minutes, the driver is Joe Schmo with a Toyota Camry, and the rate will be X. It doesn't matter if there is only myself taking the ride, or if I have a couple of friends joining me. Unlike a freight shipment, the app doesn't ask me how much I weigh, or how tall I am, or will my arse take up more than 1 seat position, or does the A/C have to set for 20 degrees, etc., etc., etc. Granted, I am sure the technology exists to have all of those parameters, and more, programmed into the app. In a perfect, simple world (like taking a taxi to the theatre) it works just fine. I would like to see what happens when the truck arrives to pick-up 4 skids, as the shipper entered, turns out to be 4 skids 55" wide, or any of the other wild and wonderful screw-ups that we all deal with every day. As a freight broker, or as a trucking company dispatcher will attest, a great deal of your day is spent fixing these types of problems and not being productive by booking freight. My point is, I believe there will always be a need for a "person" in our industry. Until freight starts to move like a finely tuned Swiss watch, the screw-ups will require a human to resolve them.
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We're on the cusp of massive change over the next decade... doesn't matter if you're a broker, a carrier, or anything else for that matter. The one constant is that we survive to the extent that we provide value to others.. again, doesn't matter what you call yourself. Personally I welcome new technology because my experience has been that new technology has allowed me to become much more productive over the years. When I started in this business fax machines were just coming in, and load boards were non existent. Couldn't imagine running my business without a computer now.
I have investigated most of these 'Uber Freight' apps that I have read in the magazines. Most are just freight brokers who have moved to a better technology to communicate. The have not really changed their models much, just the medium on how they communicate. An example is the failed 'Freightopolis' that was a subsidiary of a broker in Montreal. They do not get more customers or more carriers.
The problem for these apps will be to obtain critical mass for both freight and carrier. The clear winner will be the owner of the app who buys out all other apps as they pop up to obtain the critical mass. I do not think that it can be done by a traditional freight broker. It needs to be done by a business in the market whose main purpose is to take control of the market - exactly like Facebook did. The model might need to be exactly like Facebook. Free to use, free to connect with people but funded by advertising.
I, as a carrier, cannot take the time to log onto multiple apps to keep up my listing of available trucks but if there was only one site it will be possible. This is why LoadLink is still the leader in Canada. They have critical mass of both carrier and freight and you can post freight and trucks without the requirement to take any particular offer.
We'll see if someone takes off with one.
The problem for these apps will be to obtain critical mass for both freight and carrier. The clear winner will be the owner of the app who buys out all other apps as they pop up to obtain the critical mass. I do not think that it can be done by a traditional freight broker. It needs to be done by a business in the market whose main purpose is to take control of the market - exactly like Facebook did. The model might need to be exactly like Facebook. Free to use, free to connect with people but funded by advertising.
I, as a carrier, cannot take the time to log onto multiple apps to keep up my listing of available trucks but if there was only one site it will be possible. This is why LoadLink is still the leader in Canada. They have critical mass of both carrier and freight and you can post freight and trucks without the requirement to take any particular offer.
We'll see if someone takes off with one.
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In order for the system to work, shippers will need to be MUCH more responsible than they are today. The app can capture all it needs to know in a few key-strokes, but if the shippers are making up info, or accidentally enter dims as HxLxW, or guesstimating weights (as many of them do) it will be a nightmare for the first year or two.
There will need to be a significant cost-savings to the shipper in order for them to adapt to this method...
The other thing I see running wild is back-solicitation, at least on the TL side of things. The shippers & carriers won't have a relationship with the app, and will have NO PROBLEM cutting them out.
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So that 465, 252 lb coil I got offered this morning would probably really foul things up..$500.00 to go 320 miles too. A real winner of a load.. maybe some of these apps could squeeze that rate a little bit more.. Get the broker out of it and make it a whopping $519.00 to the truck.
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20 bucks is 20 bucks on the load you posted that is 2.5 cents a mile increase on a cheap assed coil LOL..
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Didn't post it Rob.. it was offered to me on a cattle call. It's still available though. I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning when it turns hot and offer $800.00 to move it (and pay the carrier $680.00 if they accept). No point in fooling with it now.. let it turn hot first. when someone really needs it they'll pay for it..
Hopefully it this APP ever gets off the ground it is designed and programmed by either a broker or a carrier, or ideally both. If it is just some Silicon Valley whiz kid you can be sure that there will be some real flaws in it. It's true, moving freight aint rocket science. It's harder some times.
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If you really think about it Link does the same thing except it is not a cool app, my guess is they have a room full of monkeys trying to figure out how to make it an app for one off's and small users that this would appeal to and if they don't they should.
again Link does NOT control money, and this app WILL control money, this makes it a completely different type of service. it's scary to think an app will control thousands of dollars for shippers/brokers/carriers...
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It is the money transaction part that scares me the most about this app. How many times has a carrier arrived to pick up a shipment only to find out the freight is larger, heavier, smaller, already shipped, etc, than originally posted? When would the transfer of funds take place? Upon booking, when loaded, when successfully delivered? As lowmiler88 said, Link Logistics probably has their tech guys/gals working away on this right now.
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According to a CBC feature last night the Uber cabbies in Seattle aren't all happy with their less than three bucks an hour they are getting. There's now a movement afoot to get them unionized. Should be interesting to watch. The technology is great, but will it be used to improve the industry, or will it simply enrich a few while the rest of us race to the bottom? Only time will tell. In the meantime, is anyone out there trying to find you good paying freight... the kind that doesn't require a calculator to determine if you will make a profit hauling it? I wouldn't count on Uber for that.