How Does a Freight Aggregator Work & What Is the Value

Freight aggregators are rapidly becoming among the leading solutions for carriers looking to put their capacity in front of shippers and brokers, and shippers and brokers to identify new, meaningful, capacity for their network. It’s all in the goal of connecting more capacity with more loads, depending on the user. While often compared to a broker or digital load board, an aggregator is a software or service that works to bring disparate supply chain entities together to add value and avoid disruption. Unfortunately, the internet is relatively barren in explaining the benefits and value of working with an aggregator. Let’s take a closer look at precisely a digital aggregator and how it promotes increased supply chain freight execution.

What’s a Digital Freight Aggregator

A digital freight aggregator operates with the primary goal of providing the most cost-effective and efficient options for shippers and providing an easily accessible portal for carriers so that they may offer optimal services to their clients. Carriers and shippers can seamlessly conduct business without the need to go through a traditional load board. An aggregator enables carriers to match with shippers to meet demand’ all through a user-friendly interface that saves time, money and eliminates the troublesome process of a traditional carrier load board. The utilization of conventional carrier load boards often results in mountains of digital paperwork and tertiary companies that confuse and delay a speedy and consistent process.  Aggregators are ideal for improving the shipping process from end to end. 

How Do Transportation Service Providers Use an Aggregator’s Services

Transportation service providers use freight aggregators to connect with shippers and bid on loads. The process is instantaneous, with scheduling and booking all conducted at the click of a button. Once the aggregator pairs a carrier with an ideal load, they simply reserve or bid upon it. Once the transaction is accepted, the carrier can use the portal to locate any freight from their customer. The process is that easy. And with the rising demands of e-commerce, aggregators will become key to thriving through 2021. 

Those still not convinced should look no further than Supply Chain Quarterly’s explanation, “At a depth of the short pandemic recession, retail sales, shipments, and inventories all fell, as businesses closed and consumers did not shop for goods except for staples and groceries. Carriers that did not transport essential goods saw sharp declines in demand, leading to idled equipment and layoffs. 

However, the vast U.S. federal fiscal stimulus checks consumers’ pockets while supplementing unemployment insurance payments. As a result, goods purchasing behavior, primarily via e-commerce, reversed sharply in the third quarter with a record rapid quarter-to-quarter pace.” And even more, the likelihood of a forthcoming subsequent stimulus bill may stimulate added demand for e-commerce purchases. 

But even with that in mind, it’s essential to know how shippers can leverage aggregator benefits, including: 

• Lower rates for available capacity
• Streamlined transactions
• Procurement of business
• Faster tender acceptance
• Reduced hassle
• Less competition between shippers
• Ideal carrier matching

These benefits highlight the shortcomings of traditional load boards that are stressed with the unnecessary processes that inhibit businesses from saving more time and money. In a modern world where the industry is becoming faster and more competitive, there is no need for any delays. Partnering with the right freight aggregator ensures that these issues are no longer present.

Why the Value of an Aggregator Lies in Platform Integration

While it is apparent that freight aggregators present themselves as the ideal method of conducting business for both carriers and shippers, the real value of an aggregator is found within appropriate platform integration. Integrated aggregator solutions within a TMS has proven to increase carriers’ workflow and availability by providing a network of over 100,000 different carriers. This partnership allows brokers to maintain dominion over which carrier relationships while providing them with a dense selection of carriers. And since an aggregator like newtrul partners with major TMS platforms, including the MercuryGate platform, that combination effectively maximizes the value proposition. In other words, the connection points and integration effectively promotes a more vigorous and faster use of the system to eventually connect shippers, brokers and carriers to loads or vice versa. Carriers realize added benefits of booking more, higher-paying loads too.

Reap the Rewards of a Digital Freight Aggregator With the Right Partnership

The days of utilizing traditional load boards are a thing of the past. The benefits and rewards of using a digital freight aggregator, referred to sometimes as a digital freight marketplace, are apparent, and this service is a necessity for carriers and brokers alike. All these enticing and beneficial rewards are easily accessible through the right partnership with Newtrul.  Request a free newtrul demo to learn more today!