The ‘3-way-win’ approach to onboarding carriers onto transportation visibility platforms

Carriers are critical for RTTV platforms

Carriers are core partners for road transportation in logistics and, given this mode of transport is used for 70% of worldwide freight movements, a carrier’s willingness to integrate with and adhere to using a real-time transportation visibility (RTTV) platform is paramount to the project’s overall success.

Integrating with carrier truck telematics and transport management systems (TMS) creates the foundations for the multimodal network that enables the flow of real-time data to feed a visibility platform and produce valuable actionable insights. Ongoing and consistent use of the tool ensures an accurate and holistic view of operations is provided, which enables optimal levels of efficiency to be obtained and gives supply chain leaders the confidence to make decisions. Executing carrier systems integrations quickly and seamlessly and facilitating high levels of ongoing adherence is therefore fundamental to maximizing the return on any visibility project investment.

However, there are many challenges when it comes to connecting carriers with a visibility platform. Improved awareness and understanding of these can help your teams anticipate and avoid potential pitfalls.

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Carrier integration and onboarding challenges for RTTV platforms

Many people assume that the process of onboarding carriers to a visibility platform simply involves creating and activating technical connections that allow the exchange of data between telematics systems, TMS and the platform itself. However, this is really only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more work required to ensure carriers are onboarded successfully, use the platform consistently and take full advantage of its capabilities.

There are seven common challenges to overcome when onboarding carriers:

1. Managing technical integrations between systems
2. Right-sizing a solution (one size does not fit all)
3. Adapting to the unique and diverse needs of carriers
4. Ensuring tracking data quality
5. Data privacy concerns and the fear of ‘Big Brother’
6. A perception that RTTV platforms take too much time or effort to onboard to and use
7. Varying levels of technical competence and understanding when it comes to supply chain digitization

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How well these challenges can be overcome directly influences how successful a visibility project will be for a shipper and the corresponding ROI. An obvious first step to overcoming some of the resistance to onboarding is to outline the benefits for the carrier, and there are six main ways carriers can benefit:

1. Gain new business
2. Win repeat business
3. Reduce administration
4. Improve last-mile capabilities
5. Benefit from eCMRs
6. Gain the benefits of joining a network without having to deploy new tech or IT infrastructure

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There is a lot of value for carriers integrating with RTTV platforms, especially given there is no cost for them to use it. However ensuring a really seamless, supportive and robust onboarding experience is what alleviates the biggest carrier concerns. The road transport industry has notoriously low margins, and although carriers want to appease their customers, they also want to avoid distractions and significant investment of time and resources.

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Shippeo’s latest Visibility Guide “The ‘3-way-win’ approach to onboarding carriers onto transportation visibility platforms” outlines each of the seven challenges in detail and explains each of the six carrier benefits. But more importantly, it covers Shippeo’s unique and thorough approach to carrier onboarding quality including the seven best practices to be aware of to ensure your visibility project is nothing short of a standout success.

Download the guide today.