When shippers trust brokers to find carriers for their loads, it can feel like they’re relinquishing control. To meet compliance needs, make informed decisions about orders and inventory, and stay updated, they require high shipper visibility.
Shipper visibility essentially allows shippers to see where their loads are and what SKUs are in those loads. And while there are no set shipper visibility requirements determined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA), complying with standards set by shippers is important as a freight brokerage. It helps to provide visibility and create trust to make your business competitive and attract new customers.
How do shipper visibility requirements work?
When outsourcing loads to brokers, shippers want to feel confident that their freight will reach its location quickly and safely. Since the shipper does not have direct contact with the carrier, they’ll rely on you, the broker, to maintain that visibility.
Many shippers now require a high percentage of visibility. This means they need to see where freight is, which items are in loads and when they’ll arrive at any time. If these visibility requirements aren’t met during freight shipping, they may switch to a different broker. By using visibility and tracking tools, brokers can satisfy shippers with a high visibility rate.
How does shipping visibility affect the supply chain?
Shipping visibility increases efficiency across the board. First, it enables informed decision-making about shipping and inventory based on how quickly loads are typically picked up and delivered.
And brokers can use tracking to efficiently schedule more loads. They can see when a truck is close to delivery and schedule a local pickup soon thereafter. It also helps brokers to quickly find drivers, ultimately enabling better optimized routes and a boost to carriers’ businesses.
8 common shipper visibility requirements
Shipper visibility helps brokers satisfy their shipping clients while also improving efficiency across the board. Being able to comply with these eight requirements will improve your shipper and carrier relationships.
Accurate date and time for pickup and delivery
When connecting shippers with carriers, accurate information is crucial. You need to provide near-exact load pickup dates and times to shippers. This information enables them to track their freight in transit.
You should also have accurate load tracking that offers consistently updated delivery dates. Estimating isn’t enough. Shippers expect information that’s updated in real time, whether shipments are running behind or ahead of schedule.
Allowable delivery size and weight
As a broker, you’ll need to know the size and weight of the freight you’re brokering. These details increase shipper visibility and help you find carriers that can accommodate each load’s size and weight. Some management tools may have predictive load matching to help with your scheduling.
Origin of content
The origin of content, or point of origin, is where the load starts in its transit journey and where it’s picked up by the carrier. The point of origin in relation to its destination is crucial information that needs to be communicated to the carrier and made clear to shippers. By seeing when and where the carrier picks up the load, shippers will be able to gather about how long it will take for the freight to reach its destination.
Load details
Many loads will be packed on pallets, with various boxes and products consolidated on a single one. Load details communicate which products are contained in each load by listing the SKUs within the package. This helps recipients ensure they always have enough inventory without overstocking products.
Carrier numbers
Each carrier is required to have a USDOT number. This number helps identify them and signals that they’re licensed by the government. Using this number, shippers can research carriers to ensure they’re reputable and trustworthy. It can ease any doubt in their mind so that they have full confidence in the carrier you assigned to their load.
Brokerage fees
Matching shippers with carriers and maintaining that communication is hard work, and you deserve to be compensated for it. However, you must be upfront about your freight brokerage fees. Brokerage fees should be outlined in the shipper-broker agreement, as well as the carrier-broker agreement. Ensure both parties are aware of and agreeable to the fees to avoid any confusion or trouble.
Agreed payment terms
Agreed payment terms ensure shippers know how much they’re paying and carriers know how much they’re getting paid. Shippers want to know how their money is spent, so it’s important to itemize how much goes to the carrier for transport versus fees. For full transparency, this breakdown needs to be made available to the shipper and agreed upon by all parties involved.
Additional fees
Carriers may charge additional fees such as detention, layovers and stop-off charges. For example, a layover fee is charged when a truck can’t be loaded or offloaded on the assigned day and time. Brokers need to communicate these potential charges to the shipper so they aren’t caught by surprise if they’re incurred.
Advantages of a brokerage company having high shipping visibility
Providing high shipping visibility to your shippers is the best way to attract and retain shipping customers, as well as improve efficiency within your business. Here are some advantages of offering high freight visibility.
- Attract new customers: Many shippers require a high visibility rate. Being able to meet that demand will make you competitive among brokers and ensure that your current customers are satisfied. Then, those customers may recommend you to other shippers in the industry.
- Streamline communication: As a broker, a big part of your job is liaising between shippers and carriers. Having high shipping visibility makes it easier to communicate with your shippers. More efficient communication will leave more time to spend on other work. It’ll also allow you to scale your business.
- Scale your business: By streamlining your communication and load tracking, you’ll have more time to take on more business. You can scale effortlessly simply by streamlining operations. By spending less time on each load, you’ll free up the time, energy and resources to take on more loads.
Improve your business by increasing efficiency
Many shippers require a high rate of visibility, and to keep their business you’re compelled to comply. But offering high visibility also benefits you and your broker business. It enables streamlined communication and documentation, so you spend less time managing connections between shippers and carriers, and tracking paperwork. For help increasing your visibility, find a broker management platform that makes it easy to track and match loads, and manage of all your documents.
FAQ
Shipping visibility refers to a shipper’s ability to see information about their freight’s location at any given time. Supply chain transparency refers to companies being open about their products at every stage, from production to sale.
A shipper is any person or business that needs to ship products through the supply chain. A broker is a person or business that connects shippers to the best carriers given the shippers’ specific needs.
Carriers look for legitimate, certified brokers with a wide network of shippers. They also want brokers who can offer high visibility to retain shipping customers.
