In this webinar, we delved into the world of Request for Proposals (RFPs) in the trucking industry and explored how to leverage DrayMaster’s bid tool to respond quickly and effectively to RFPs. As we navigated through this process, we also explored various features of the DrayMaster Rate Management Platform that help trucking companies grow their business.

Read on for a recap of the webinar, and watch the full recording below.

ICYMI: RFP Season is Having a Late Peak in 2023

We’re predicting a wave of shipper RFPs. Why? Here’s our reasoning:

1. The labor situation on the West Coast in the US has seemingly settled down, but the absence of signed paperwork leaves room for potential disruptions, making shippers cautious.
2. The ongoing strikes in Canada add to the uncertainty, prompting shippers who had been moving goods from Asia to the East Coast to consider rerouting their shipments back west.
3. The drought in the Panama Canal is causing additional concerns, with increased fees and potential ship turnaways, further motivating shippers to explore alternative routes.
4. However, even if shippers are looking to move goods through the West Coast, they may face challenges due to the scarcity of warehousing and distribution space.
5. The overall uncertain environment is likely to drive shippers to issue RFPs as they seek viable and reliable transportation solutions to mitigate potential risks and maintain efficient supply chains.

With this prediction, we’ve been urging carriers to be prepared for responding with bid packages quickly and accurately, for a chance to secure new business that will reap benefits long-term. However, even the thought of responding to a 2000 lane RFP can make you want to call in sick — which none of us can afford. So we brought in our DrayMaster team to show us a better way. Herein lies the purpose of this webinar.

Understanding DrayMaster and Its Purpose

DrayMaster is a rate management platform designed specifically for the drayage space. It was conceived in 2012 by Tom Burke and Travis Barnier, who recognized the need for a more efficient way to handle quoting intermodal rates as a drayage carrier. DrayMaster aims to eliminate uncertainties associated with quoting rates, ensuring a smooth and reliable process for trucking companies.

The Power of the RFP Bid Tool

Responding to RFPs can be a time-consuming and complex process. However, with DrayMaster’s RFP bid tool, this arduous task becomes a breeze. Here’s how it works:

1. Creating a Bid: Start by creating a bid and naming it for easy tracking.
2. Rate Profile Selection: Select the appropriate rate profile for the customer you are bidding for. This ensures that the most accurate rates for that customer are provided.
3. Uploading RFP Data: You can either upload the RFP data provided by the customer by mapping column headings, or use DrayMaster’s template to enter the required information, such as city and state combinations, steamship lines, and hazard details.
4. Quick Rate Calculation: DrayMaster’s bid tool analyzes the RFP data against your rate tariff and quickly calculates line haul charges, fuel surcharges, chassis-related fees, tolls, and total amounts for each lane.
5. Customization and Finalization: You can fine-tune the rates based on customer preferences or your own, and complete the comprehensive bid package with all the pertinent information.

When we asked webinar attendees how long it would take one person on their team to respond to an RFP with 1500 lanes, the average answer was one week. With DrayMaster, this can be done in just a few hours (simply accounting for processing time, not manual entry).

By leveraging the RFP bid tool, trucking companies can drastically reduce the time spent on responding to RFPs, providing a competitive advantage in the market.

DrayMaster’s Tools for Rate Management and Growth

DrayMaster offers a comprehensive set of tools to assist trucking companies in managing rates and growing their business. Some of the features we explored during the live webinar were:

1. Rate Analyzer: The rate analyzer cleans up rate tariffs, identifies errors, and fills in missing information to create a fully digitized and accurate rate tariff for efficient operations.
2. Rate Profiles: Customizable rate profiles enable truckers to cater to specific customer requirements, ensuring accurate and relevant rates for various customers.
3. Community Rates: Trucking companies can post community rates to attract more business opportunities for specific lanes, enhancing their visibility and reach.
4. Unlimited Professional Quotes: Your team can generate unlimited customizable quotes from your tariff, to send to any customer, or even just for internal use.
5. Capacity Calendar: The capacity calendar feature allows truckers to display their available capacity on a weekly or monthly basis, simplifying communication with customers and enabling efficient scheduling.
6. My Directory Listing: A professional business profile that your prospective customers can find in the DrayMaster directory.
7. Web-Connect Customer Portal: The customer portal allows your customers to log in and generate a quote for any of your lanes, without making a single call. This personalized portal can live on your website, and you can link to it in your email signature, making the process more accessible and streamlined.

These are a few of the key features for growth within DrayMaster, and to learn more about each watch through the webinar, or schedule a personalized demo with Travis here

RFPs Shouldn’t be Really Freakin Painful

In our industry, responding swiftly to RFPs is crucial to securing rewarding future partnerships. DrayMaster’s RFP bid tool provides a powerful solution to expedite the bidding process and increase the likelihood of winning business. Furthermore, DrayMaster’s rate management platform offers a range of features that empower trucking companies to grow their business, attract new customers, and streamline their operations. By utilizing these tools, trucking companies can navigate the uncertainties of the drayage rates with confidence, optimizing their performance and profitability.

DrayMaster: Turn RFPs into Rewarding Future Partnerships | Full Webinar

Thank you to everyone who joined live, participated in our polls, and asked questions! It was wonderful to spend time with you, and we hope you had fun and learned a thing or two.

Please reach out to Travis Barnier at travis.barnier@wisetechglobal.com with any questions or comments. If you’d like to schedule a personalized demo, book a time with Travis here.

DrayMaster can help you provide accurate, competitive pricing with our Rate Analyzer. Here’s a little more detail on how DrayMaster accomplishes this.

Missing points

First things first. Do you have a complete tariff with pricing for all of the points you serve? The Rate Analyzer will look for missing points two ways:

Zip Match – Often certain zip codes are missing in a tariff. The Rate Analyzer looks at the existing city/states you have and suggest any zip codes you may be missing.

Mileage Match – The Rate Analyzer examines the distances you serve in your tariff and suggests any points that exist within what appears to be your service area.

You can then select any of these points and add them to your tariff.

Price accuracy

Two ways the Rate Analyzer can help validate your pricing:

• Suggested pricing for missing points – By analyzing rates around the same areas (zip code &/or mileage), the Rate Analyzer will suggest pricing for those missing points.

• Highlighting high & low rates – By comparing rates within your tariff, the Rate Analyzer will note any rates that look out of the ordinary for your standard pricing – AND suggest a rate based on similar points.

You can select the suggested pricing, keep your existing rate or adjust your rate as you see fit.

Beyond the Rate Analyzer

Beyond the Rate Analyzer, DrayMaster also provides more ways to ensure you have an accurate (and PROFITABLE) rate:

• Built-in tools – access to current tolls, mileage & fuel charges
• Standard quoting with known & unknown accessorials – highlight costs you may be forgetting

With DrayMaster, it’s one-and-done. Set up your rate, connect with automated tools & set up reminders to review your rates as the seasons change or as you see fit. It’s that easy.

Different email clients require different whitelisting steps – please find instructions for major email clients below. By following the steps outlined for your email client you will continue to receive important communications from DrayMaster.

WHITELISTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USERS

Below are instructions for common email clients.

Outlook

• Right-click a message in the preview pane (double-check the Junk and Clutter folders for messages too).
• Click the drop-down list and select Junk.
• Select Never Block Sender’s Domain.

NOTE: If the message was found in the Junk or Clutter folder, you can move it to the inbox.

Gmail

• Click the Gmail drop-down list (on the left side of the screen) and select Contacts.
• Add the “from” address to your contact list.

If the message was found in the spam folder, right click it and select Not Spam. Additionally, you can move messages to their proper classification folder, if needed.

AOL

Right click a message and select Add to Contacts. Alternatively, select Contacts on the left sidebar and add the sender’s “from” address. If the message was found in the spam folder, right-click it and select Not Spam.

Yahoo

• Click the Contacts icon (in the upper left corner) and select New Contact.
• Add the sender’s email address.

If the message was found in the spam folder, right click it and select Not Spam. if you see the address in the block list, select the address you wish to remove and click Remove.

Other Email Clients

Add the sender’s “from” address to your contact list/address book. If the message was found in the spam folder, move it to the inbox or right click it and select Not Spam.

WHITELISTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADMINS

DrayMaster uses three different external email platforms, in addition to our Outlook client, each of which has associated IP addresses. Please whitelist the following so that you can receive our messaging, including member benefits, periodic surveys and voting:

• 64.46.54.108
• 198.21.6.73
• 209.18.93.62
• 209.18.93.63

Below are links to instructions for common spam.

• Trend Micro – whitelisting information
• Microsoft Exchange – connection filter policy

In cases where deliverability issues persist or if you have questions, please contact Mike May at mmay@tcompanies.com for further assistance.

Could that change in the future? If so, how could and would this affect the intermodal industry as a whole, as well as the various modes that make up the industry?

Intermodal Insights reached out to several experts for their perspectives. Among them: Tom Burke, the CEO and founder of intermodal drayage rate management system, Draymaster. Burke said that the benefits of dynamic pricing in intermodal are several, including that it provides an opportunity to manage capacity peaks and valleys in a more efficient manner; that it takes the human emotion out of pricing decisions; and that drayage carriers can get a higher price when capacity is tight, and can lower their price to get business when capacity is plentiful.

“Most dynamic pricing models will show that the average price will increase over a period of time when using a well-designed model – if it didn’t, airlines and hotels would have scrapped this concept over a decade ago,” he said. “Money is being left on the table when not using dynamic pricing.”

“When capacity is plentiful, a drayage carrier would rather keep an owner-operator moving at a price closer to their cost than to not have business to keep that truck’s wheels turning,” he continued. “When this happens, owner-operators start jumping ship and moving to companies where they think they will get more moves. This ends up costing the trucking company and the owner-operator a significant amount of money and time.”

Another benefit, he said, is that it would eliminate phone calls and emails inquiring about capacity, since dynamic pricing would not show availability if the trucking company was booked.

Todd Tranausky, vice president of rail and intermodal for transportation intelligence company FTR, added that dynamic pricing benefits the market by allowing it to respond faster to changes in demand.

“Instead of waiting for month end or contract renewal season, in a dynamic pricing environment, rates could change quickly to match demand,” he explained. “It would allow every link in the intermodal chain to respond to the pressures they are seeing in the system. And it could allow them to achieve better capacity utilization as they could use rate to more quickly encourage volumes to fill available capacity.”

In a written response it provided to Intermodal Insights, Quick Transport Solutions Inc., a technology company serving the transportation and logistics industries, also detailed another reason why dynamic pricing benefits intermodal: because it’s poised to take advantage of a future of high-tech automation.

“Machine learning will likely be used to manage these models in the future,” the company, which provides information on trucking companies, said in its statement. “Additionally, for the customer, they can usually take advantage of cheaper rates provided it is not a rush shipment.”

Potential Drawbacks

Regarding if there are drawbacks to this type of pricing, Tranausky said there are, and that they can cut both ways depending on which way the market is moving at any given moment in time.

“In a rising market, shippers are going to feel the effects of price increases more quickly than they otherwise would,” he said. “Conversely, in a declining market, carriers are going to have to react more quickly, lowering rates to keep the business.”

Todd Davis, vice president of intermodal for KLLM Transport Services, said that one snag is having to compete with spot truckload rates.

“I think that perhaps we can look at average pricing for lanes, especially in high volume lanes, high capacity lanes, that would resolve losing intermodal freight to highway providers when certain seasonalities are occurring in different geographies. I do think that that type of change would be impactful for intermodal providers.”

Quick Transport Solutions stated that another possible drawback is that dynamic pricing provides a way for those who are not transparent to overcharge their customers.

“This is possible because dynamic pricing is complex by nature. Carriers need to go out of their way to make sure their customers aren’t caught off guard by pricing changes,” the tech company explained. “Also, carriers need to ensure they set up their dynamic pricing models to scale. These are complex models, so they must ensure as they grow, they aren’t overwhelmed.”

Domestic & International

Burke said that both domestic and international could benefit from dynamic pricing because the process would automatically adjust pricing based on multiple different factors providing all participants the opportunity to realize a fair price.

“Today, it is difficult to tell a customer that their load is going to cost $1,000 because you have limited capacity left when you normally charge $800; however, that same customer is very accustomed to paying a different rate on an airline or hotel based on capacity, lead time, and other factors,” he said. “Once dynamic pricing is introduced and it is understood and accepted, everyone will realize that you pay more when capacity is tight, and less when it is plentiful, but when it all washes out, the average price that you pay will typically be very close to the $800 you are used to paying all year long.”

“We see more spot market and dynamic pricing on intermodal than we’ve ever seen before. Ten years ago, there was very little dynamic pricing and the rail equipment providers very rarely made adjustments to their pricing. Now we see weekly changes with their market needs on the spot market, so it’s clearly a lever that the rail equipment providers are utilizing more and more.”

— Kristy Knichel, Knichel Logistics

Tranausky, however, said that domestic intermodal would be the side of the business to see the most immediate benefit from dynamic pricing, because it already competes directly with trucks.

“Over the road trucking already has a robust spot market and so the framework and the comfort level of market participants operating in that environment is already there. The ability to dynamically price would allow intermodal participants to more quickly react and adjust to what they are seeing in the competing truck space.”

Quick TSI also stated that domestic intermodal would be the best way to start.

Continued Growth

But whether in domestic intermodal, international or both, it seems that dynamic pricing is poised to continue its growth in the industry.

Ken Adamo, chief of analytics for truckload freight marketplace operator DAT Solutions, made the point that spot truckload rates are, in his words, the very definition of dynamic pricing, since: spot pricing is negotiated on a transaction basis; rates are highly flexible based on current demand for truckload services; and the price negotiated on one load could be different from the same load on the same lane with the same carrier one day later.

“High intermodal volumes, especially from port markets, have had a significant impact on spot truckload rates, especially during the latter half of 2020,” he said. “The spot market typically represents about 15% of total truckload freight movements, depending on the season. This year that figure has been closer to 20%.”

“Predictably, spot truckload rates have soared,” he continued. “In October, the national average spot van rate was almost $2.20 a mile, not including a fuel surcharge. That’s up 93 cents a mile since May 1 and the highest we’ve seen in the last five years.”

“We see more spot market and dynamic pricing on intermodal than we’ve ever seen before,” Knichel Logistics President Kristy Knichel said. “Ten years ago, there was very little dynamic pricing and the rail equipment providers very rarely made adjustments to their pricing. Now we see weekly changes with their market needs on the spot market, so it’s clearly a lever that the rail equipment providers are utilizing more and more.”

There’s a better way. Imagine if when customers query for pricing to/from specific ramps and ports, your company will show up. If they’re a current customer, your pre-defined rates for them show up too. If they aren’t a current customer, they can easily choose to connect with you. From there you decide whether you want to pursue working with them.  If you do, you may share your standard pricing or perhaps provide access to custom pricing.

With DrayMaster, this is exactly how it works. You control which 3PLs, freight forwarders and brokers see your tariff.  You can even have different rates or custom lanes and fees for different customers.  It doesn’t have to be one-size fits all and administration is simple.

You can have standard rates for new customers and even better rates for your preferred customers, if you like. If capacity gets tight or terminals you service become difficult, simply increase rates or apply terminal fees – you’re in total control.

Brokers, forwarders and intermediaries are often making decisions on partial quotes which means they are guessing at the accessorial charges, extra fees and tolls which makes their accruals, and even the basis for carrier selection inaccurate.

Carriers perform the service, and send invoices with all the additional chassis and port-related charges included, and wait to get paid. When the customer gets the invoice, the finance people push approval of the invoice back to operations because it’s higher than the accrual. Days are lost as communications go back and forth between the three of them. The invoice finally gets approved and then the payable clock starts ticking.  The carrier gets paid late, negatively impacting cash flow.

Is there an efficient way to get accurate, all-in quotes upfront without spending more time and effort emailing the world?

That’s where DrayMaster comes in.

DrayMaster is a user-friendly and intuitive online system that allows carriers to provide up-to-date rates in an instant and brokers to access those rates 24/7. Most importantly, DrayMaster provides complete, accurate drayage rate quotes based on all of the known facts of the movement like tolls, chassis charges, port fees, accessorial fees, etc.

Having all-in, accurate drayage rates upfront:

• lets customers understand full costs so they can make good decisions, accrue correctly, and maintain a profit margin
• speeds invoice approvals because they match the accruals
• helps carriers get paid faster
• builds trust and creates a simple and efficient ongoing business relationship between customers and carrier

Whether you’re quoting, booking, or auditing an invoice, you can pull a quote that’s complete and accurate from any computer, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.

Current toll charges

Accurate toll charges are a key component in routing, rating and reconciliation. DrayMaster allows truckers to leverage the industry standard for U.S. and Canadian lanes with toll charges provided by PCMiler(R) .

Accurate mileage calculations

Point-to-point mileage calculations can vary based on the source – google maps, map quest ect… For consistency DrayMaster utilizes the standard for the industry, PCMiler(R), used by the majority of top motor carriers and freight transportation firms in North America.

DOE fuel pricing for fuel surcharges

The price of fuel can change daily. Truckers can easily keep on top of fuel surcharges with built-in access to the Department of Energy’s widely accepted average retail pricing, published weekly.

These are just a few of the ways DrayMaster delivers less uncertainty and more transparency to the drayage industry.

Establish your brand

If you have a professional logo, use it to build your brand. If not, DrayMaster has high-quality images to ensure your profile looks professional. Ensure your name is prominent (and spelled correctly!).

Share your strengths

It’s been said, people buy from people. So, while price is important, ultimately everyone wants a good value and that value can come in many forms: Are you responsive? Do you have great customer service? Have years of experience? Offer a broad range of capabilities? Deliver on your promises? Have a great track record of service? Share it!

Cover the basics

Provide your basic carrier details like your MC Number, SCAC, US DOT number and Federal EIN can make it easier for brokers to start doing business with you.

Focus on your capabilities

Select the services you provide including things like domestic, international or residential delivery, overweight, reefer, hazardous, alcohol etc… so they display and are searchable when brokers are looking.

Highlight your service territories

Ensure you highlight all of the areas you service with an easy-to-view, interactive map. Leverage DrayMaster’s proprietary Rate Analyzer to ensure you’re not missing any points!

The old directory

• Text only format
• Listing of company info and specific company details
• Outdated information
• Contact via phone or email
• Search by company name or service area

The ultimate directory

• Prominent logo highlighting company brand and information
• Professional-looking profile highlighting company strengths
• Up-to-date contact, service and rate details
• Connect with the click of a mouse, or chat instantly!
• Search by:
  • Map
  • Location and capabilities
  • Company name
  • Coming soon – Search by capacity!
• PLUS:
  • Secure, 24/7 access to connections and rates
  • Simple rate management tools to easily customize tariffs
  • Standardized professional quote formats

Build your business the modern way, with our easy-to-connect platform and start quoting faster with DrayMaster.

The intro

A standard announcement from your organization announcing a new and improved opportunity to connect and do business leveraging DrayMaster.

Welcoming providers

We welcome your providers to the DrayMaster Family. We convey our goal of guiding them through getting set up quickly and easily, breaking down the process into 4 simple steps. We also manage expectations as far as time commitment and completion.

· Step 1 – Account Set Up (2 minutes)

· Step 2 – Define Service Territories (10-20 minutes, depending on the number of territories you service)

· Step 3 – Upload Documents & Logo (10 minutes to gather and upload)

· Step 4 – Provide your Rate Tariff (10 – 20 minutes to gather and upload)

Communication

We reach out to each provider to aid in the process, track progress and ensure completion. Our team is available via phone, email and chat to answer questions every step of the way.

In addition, we provide updates to your team to keep you apprised of their progress towards completion.

Validation

To ensure accurate data entry, we perform a thorough analysis of the provider\’s rates. We check for complete coverage, missing information, data anomalies as well as full rate and accessorial details.

Completion

Once a thorough analysis has been completed and all errors or missing points have been updated, we release the rate, providing access to your team.

Ongoing process improvement

We constantly strive for improvement. Our process is continuously evolving as we leverage new tools and improved processes to ensure a streamlined experience for both you and your providers.