What does being an Independent Freight Agent with Trinity Logistics mean? We are so glad that you asked! Trinity Logistics is a leading name in the freight broker community, and a big part of our growth is due to successful partnerships with Independent Freight Agents.

what is an independent freight agent?

An Independent Freight Agent is someone who partners with a third-party logistics company (3PL) and uses their brokerage license so they can arrange transportation of freight and utilize the support services of that company. The Independent Freight Agent owns their own business and gets to focus on the part of the business that they do well (moving freight) while Trinity Logistics, in our case, supports them through back-office applications such as billing customers, paying carriers, and more.

Being an Independent Freight Agent is the best of both worlds for an entrepreneur! If you’re a freight broker, you’re certainly aware of the expenses that are associated with the business, not to mention one of your most valuable assets, your time, which oftentimes gets overwhelmed with handling non-revenue generating activities. This is a primary reason freight brokers look to partner with a 3PL like Trinity Logistics.

why work with trinity logistics?

There are a number of companies that an Independent Freight Agent could partner with, but what sets us apart from many others are all of the “extras” that come with being an Authorized Agent for Trinity. We take those “extras” very seriously!

Relationships

The first one has to be the relationship! The culture of Trinity is second to none and treats team members like family and that relationship extends to the Independent Freight Agent. There is a division in our corporate office that is set up for the sole support of the Independent Agent and becomes a liaison between the Agent and Corporate Services. Because of the close relationship with that group, our company is consistently celebrating the individual successes of the Agent office, celebrating new babies and milestones in the lives of the Agents, and serving as a sounding board when an Agent just needs to talk with someone.

Continuing Education

In addition to interactive training to get you comfortable with moving shipments as a Freight Agent with Trinity, our team continually offers training and education designed to assist you with your business. And we realize education can not be a one size fits all approach. For that reason, we not only offer training that is geared towards common mode, sales, or operations opportunities, but as needed, the team at Trinity will work alongside you to assist, educate and train for specific needs. One of Trinity’s Guiding Values is centered on continuous improvement. We don’t just put those words on a website, we offer the support to truly allow you to advance your skill set and knowledge to grow your business.

Operational Support

Part of the support that Trinity Logistics offers Independent Agents is not only administrative but operational as well. With corporate teams specializing in Less-than-Truckload, Intermodal, Warehousing, Drayage, International, and Managed Services, the Independent Agent can get the support of experts in these modes while maintaining full service to their customer. Additionally, as a company that has been an integral part of the transportation industry for more than 40 years, Trinity has a well-established relationship with the shipper and carrier community. ‘

Having the Trinity name behind you as a freight broker can be the difference when a shipper has a choice of where to tender their freight, not to mention the impact it has on carriers when they see multiple logistics companies with shipments that match their available equipment. Having that nationwide brand recognition and reputation gives a single-person office the power of a major player in the industry.

Reputation

Partnering with Trinity Logistics partners an Independent Freight Agent with one of the Top 3PLs, as named by Transport Topics and Inbound Logistics. We’re also under the Burris Logistics umbrella, further expanding our brand reach and the solutions we can offer shippers.

Additionally, Trinity has a great culture that’s been recognized for several years and you can feel that company pride any time you talk with someone at the corporate office. The biggest impact that Trinity’s reputation has for an Independent Freight Agent is the creditworthiness of the company. Trinity maintains a Five Diamond Broker rating on Internet Truckstop. Part of our entire strategic plan is to develop relationships with carriers and paying them on time is a huge part of that!

This Agent testimonial says it all:

“Whether training on new Trinity technology, answering a billing or claims question, or offering advice on a customer – they help handle it directly.  Each team member is a pleasure to work with and their positive outlook always leaves me smiling.” –  Lyn, Maryland

join our independent freight agent network

Independent Freight Agents are an integral part of Trinity’s business and we are consistently working to expand our program.

We realize you have a choice in who you’d like to partner with in your business. However, if what you’re looking for is a long-term partnership that is supportive of your growth, offers you continued education to remain competitive, and most of all, is made up of a Team of people who are passionate, dedicated, and striving for excellence, then Trinity Logistics may be the Independent Freight Agent program for you. 

If you want to learn more about our Independent Freight Agent Program, click the button below! 

The following is an opinion article on AI in supply chains, written by Russ Felker, Chief of Technology (CTO) of Trinity Logistics.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow its presence in our everyday lives, businesses, and now, supply chains. In a recent MHI Annual Industry Report, 17 percent of respondents said they use AI, with another 45 percent stating they will begin using it in the next five years. And of more than 1,000 supply chain professionals surveyed, 25 percent stated they plan to invest in AI within the next three years. While AI in supply chains has its benefits, it continues to be overhyped as a replacement for human cognitive abilities.

AI in Supply Chains: We Need to Change Our Focus

The technologies leveraged by today’s AI offerings fall flat when applied to the complex day-to-day of supply chain interactions. We need to stop chasing the inflated promises of artificial intelligence and start focusing on the very powerful pattern recognition and pattern-application technologies marketed today as AI to support our teams more effectively. Instead of focusing on AI, we need to reorient on CAI (computer-aided intelligence).

Now, this might seem like a semantic argument, and to a certain extent it is, but the difference between artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-aided intelligence (CAI) is distinct. You might ask, “What does it matter if the technologies are being put in place and create efficiencies?”  “So what if it’s called AI?”  I would say it makes all the difference in the world.

What AI in Supply Chains Currently Does Well

First off, let’s talk about the technologies backing the products that include AI.  As with many technology implementations, they are, by and large, applying rulesets to data. Being able to quickly process a defined pattern against a large data set is both no mean feat and hugely beneficial in a supply-chain setting. In the end, however, these implementations are no different than a rules engine – albeit one with a high degree of complication. For example, take an area of the supply chain that has had this form of technology applied to it, quite successfully, for many years – route optimization.  

Optimizing a single route is relatively simple but optimizing the routes of multiple vehicles in conjunction with related schedules of item delivery commitments and layering in things like round-trip requirements and least amount of non-productive miles (miles driven without a load) and the level of complexity moves well beyond what an individual could do in a reasonable period of time.  What can take on this type of task is a processing engine designed to apply complex patterns within a given boundary set – and that’s what current implementations of AI can do. And they do it well.

Why AI Can’t Replace Humans

The first problem comes in when we examine the stated goal of AI – the ability for a machine to work intelligently. The difference between hype and reality is in how we interpret a keyword – intelligence. Even the most recent and hyped AI systems continue to fail at the same core intelligence functions such as understanding nuanced context and broader application of existing patterns.  

Take Gato from DeepMind, a division of Alphabet, as an example. While it can examine an image and draw basic conclusions, the context and understanding are both entirely missing from its analysis. Tesla provides another example where a driver had to intervene as autopilot couldn’t recognize a worker holding a stop sign as something it should avoid. These limitations minimize the tasks for which AI technologies can, and should, be leveraged.  

The second problem is related to the first. The acceptance of “AI” from teams has been wrought with, at a minimum, intense change management and, in the worst case, rebellion. If you are bringing in AI to a team, why wouldn’t they draw the conclusion that your goal is to replace them? To start down the path of both realistic expectations from senior management and more widespread adoption of technology, we must change the approach we take with stakeholders impacted by implementations of AI. We need to talk about CAI.

It’s Time to Set the Stage for CAI

Just the acronym alone talks to a much more practical and achievable marriage between a person and a computer. It’s not the computer that’s intelligent; it’s the person using the computer. What a computer can be taught to do, is to effectively deliver relevant information to a person at the time they need it based on their job function and recognized point in the process. So instead of using a technology such as a recommendation engine to pick a product you might like or a movie you’re likely to want to watch, let’s turn our focus to delivering salient business information to our people. We can effectively use analytics and machine learning to create data recommendations and deliver those recommendations directly to users in their primary applications at the right time in their process, so they don’t have to go find data in multiple reports or sites. Once a pattern is recognized, by people, and the data is organized correctly, again, by people, we can use things like machine learning and analytics to deliver that result set effectively and consistently.  

What this approach achieves is reduced interaction by a person and the machine reclaiming time for people to connect with customers outside of transactional conversations. By providing relevant data in-process, you make your team more efficient in their use of the system and create more opportunities for person-to-person interactions and relationships. The goal of any system implementation should be to reduce the time needed for a person to interact with it to achieve the desired result. This is different from having the perspective of the machine doing what a person does – which can be a misguided goal of AI. Instead, the system needs to be built to strategically leverage AI in areas that support the reduction of repetitive, rote work, enabling teams to focus on higher-value work.

A 3PL Focused on People

As a 3PL, a large part of our work tends to gravitate toward the identification and management of exceptions, but many times that is reactionary. We can leverage the technologies present today to enhance exception identification and management. Via AI-enabled supply-chain systems, information can be more present for teams to apply their intelligence, experience, and skill to solving issues optimally. The ability to recognize early in the life of a load the potential of a delayed delivery enables teams to make proactive adjustments with the receiving facility and the recipient. We can gather documents automatically and provide the information in a consumable fashion reducing the amount of manual effort to extract relevance from the documents.

As a 3PL we rely on two primary skills – intelligent use of data and building and maintaining relationships. Neither a computer nor an algorithm can do either of those alone, but a person backed by a Computer-Aided Intelligence system can. Creating systems that focus on CAI is what allows Trinity’s true source of intelligence, our team, to shine and deliver consistently phenomenal results for our customer partners. Now, you might be the exception and prefer to converse with a chatbot, but I’m guessing if you read this far, you’d rather talk to a person – which is what you get when you call Trinity – a person, backed by computer-aided intelligence systems, who is ready to do the work to create a relationship with you and deliver phenomenal results.

If you’re a company that ships products, you need to learn about all shipping options available to you. This allows you to manage your costs better while keeping your product moving. When applicable, freight consolidation is an option that can save on your shipping. There are also many other benefits to consolidation. We’re here to help you better understand what freight consolidation is and what it can offer your logistics.

WHAT IS FREIGHT CONSOLIDATION?

Freight consolidation is when a shipper combines multiple shipments within a region into a single load hauled by a carrier to a destination region. The load gets broken down into smaller parts and delivered by a regional carrier to their many destinations. Or vice versa, they get picked up by a regional carrier to merge into a single shipment and delivered to their destination. Freight consolidation is ideal for shippers who frequently move a few pallets or smaller amounts of product. 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Savings

Often, shippers will only use half or two-thirds of a trailer but still pay for the entire space. Whereas, with freight consolidation, you can earn preferred rates and optimize your logistics. Most importantly, you save time and money. 

By consolidating your smaller, regional freight, you can avoid paying a higher rate. By shipping your freight all at once instead of sending loads individually, you’re able to pay bulk rates. 

You can also avoid the costs that come along with using storage sites, inventory management facilities, and your own fleet of vehicles. Freight consolidation providers can provide these for you to better manage your shipment until its delivered. You won’t have to store your shipment on your own. Instead, you’ll be able to send it to the facility where it will ship to your retailers. This will help streamline the process should you need more inventory. 

Taking it a step further, you’ll also have fewer trucks on the road. As a result, you’ll be spending less on fuel and spending less per mile since it will be on one truck instead of many. The savings can be significant enough to make a big difference in your company’s bottom line. This can be a real difference for mid-sized and smaller businesses that see their profits cut by their shipping costs. 

Reduce Risk

You’ll also see increased security. Damaged freight continues to remain a lingering issue for shippers. Things happen in shipping and can be the reality of doing business. Consolidated shipping is not only more cost-efficient, but it reduces the on-again, off-again handling of your freight. Ultimately, when using an experienced shipper and consolidating your freight, your products will be in safer hands. 

And not only that — it will be in those hands less often. Having your freight consolidated also means that it will be on fewer trucks, making the odds smaller of it being in an accident. 

It goes beyond safety too. Freight consolidation also benefits through added reliability. Because your product is handled less, there is a lower risk of something going missing or delivering to the wrong place. There’s also less of a chance that something will interrupt your delivery, causing it to be late. This all adds up to you gaining peace of mind and having happy customers on the other end of your shipment. 

Improved Flexibility and Time Management

Freight consolidation will improve the flexibility of your shipping needs and make your orders more timely. Freight consolidation often offers faster transit times and reduces wait times for transporting small loads. By storing your freight at a consolidation facility, your products will be ready to go when needed. This improves your timeline and inventory flexibility, which your customers will appreciate. 

Changes happen in orders and can throw things into a real mess sometimes. Yet, freight consolidation will not hinder your ability to get your products to your customers on a short turnaround. Through a consolidation strategy, you can get your freight delivered on your schedule. Expert providers will help you put a plan into place so your freight gets on a truck and the road while better utilizing truck space and time.

Better Visibility and Control

With consolidated shipping, your visibility improves, as does your control. Let’s say for some reason, quality control alerts you that there’s a problem with your shipment and it’s already been shipped. Normally, you would have to wait for the supplier to send a replacement, meaning your delivery timeline is now out of your hands. In contrast, consolidation allows you to perform quality control measures as soon as the product reaches the warehouse. This reduces the chances of losing time and control due to unforeseen problems.

Using freight consolidation also gives you more control over your due dates and production schedules. You’ll be able to manage the entire distribution chain on your own or with a logistics partner. 

Improved Relationships

This process not only benefits you but your customer or retailer too. By shipping smarter, you’ll be able to build better relationships with other companies, customers, and your carriers.

First, you can establish relationships with other businesses that use LTL shipping. If you find another company that ships a similar product or sized load on the same schedule to a shared retailer, you can establish a shipping partnership. This partnership can help reduce costs for both of you and build smarter loads through shared freight consolidation shipments.

As for your customers, they’ll appreciate that you’ve gotten together for more efficient shipping since they work with both companies. They’ll also appreciate the savings that freight consolidation provides. 

Having the right carrier relationships will make it all happen for you. You’ll need a carrier relationship you can rely on to manage your orders and make sure products deliver on time. Perhaps your products have special needs that your carrier will have to accommodate. Not having a good relationship established won’t reassure you that your shipment will turn out fine. Having consistent relationships with carriers can also lead to you receiving better pricing. 

CHALLENGES WITH CONSOLIDATION

Finding Carriers

Because freight consolidation can seem complicated, not all carriers are willing to haul them. Even when you can find a carrier willing to transport your consolidated shipments, be sure that you are well-informed and charged appropriately. Partnering with a third-party logistics company (3PL) can help assure you find a carrier to haul your shipment and get a fair rate for it.

More Time Planning

Although it can save you time transporting, consolidated shipping does need some extra time spent organizing and planning. You’ll need to be aware of factors such as pricing, dimensions, timing, and other specifics to guarantee that your shipments arrive both safely and on time. 

WHAT’S HOLDING YOU BACK?

Freight consolidation can save you headaches. There are many businesses using freight consolidation to help streamline their shipping process, get products to their customers faster, and help to build and maintain relationships. However, it’s crucial you have a complete understanding of how consolidation works to ensure proper delivery. 

One of the best practices of consolidated shipping is to use an experienced provider. By working with an experienced provider, you’ll be able to overcome the challenges that come with freight consolidation and solely reap the benefits. 

Luckily, here at Trinity, we’re experts in freight consolidation. By working with Trinity, you’ll gain peace of mind knowing your shipments are taken care of. Our Team of experts can help you plan and organize your shipments, recommend freight consolidation when it’s suitable, and you’ll gain access to our vast network of carrier relationships.

If freight consolidation is a shipping method you’re interested in but need guidance on, we’re here to help.

AUTHOR: Christine Morris