Enjoying the Mutual Benefits of a Freight Exchange

An online freight exchange not only helps individual businesses, owner drivers and haulage companies, but it also contributes to the community’s positive economic growth. Here’s how it happens.

As a Catalyst of Business

A freight exchange drastically improves the rate at which business transactions in the haulage industry are done. Before such online exchanges existed, transactions could be tedious at best and time-wasting at worst. Hauliers looking for cargo either had to wait for clients to approach them, implement expensive advertising campaigns, or make time-consuming phone calls that, with paltry results. Crucial information about the client was also hard to come by, leading to poor service, payment issues etc.

For the customers, it was a similarly tricky situation; if a driver or company offered a service with a price, without immediate comparisons available there was no way of knowing if they were getting the best possible deal. All these uncertainties are eliminated by an online exchange platform. Complete transparency and information at your fingertips means business can be done fast and efficiently, helping improve the overall economy in the process.

Speeds Up the Movement of Goods

Back in the 'old days' before freight exchanges came to exist, the process of delivering goods was a lot slower. There was the waiting around to find the customers, the waiting around to make the deal, and then the waiting around until contracts were exchanged and financials sorted. These days, online exchange platforms allow clients and hauliers to communicate quickly, conveniently and securely – there's no more waiting around, as everything you need to know can be accessed on the website’s interface. Uncertainty has also been reduced, as if there is any doubt about the reliability of a prospective client, their past job/employment activity on the site can be reviewed.

Encourages Healthy, Mutually Beneficial Competition

In the day and age of the freight exchange platform, as a member of the community you may get to interact with a lot of people you previously regarded as rivals. Of course, they are essentially still your competitors (they're operating in the same industry as you and possibly bidding for the same jobs), but the nature of the exchange is such that it opens up certain opportunities to strike up partnerships or outsource work. For instance, when you have so much work on your plate that you simply can’t keep up, you can pass on jobs to another member – and in return, expect the same favours when the roles are reversed.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for haulage work in the express freight exchange industry. Over 4,000 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.