Carriers no longer have to sacrifice profitability to achieve sustainability

Over the past two decades, for many carriers, incorporating practices around environmental sustainability felt, for starters, mostly prescriptive — emissions deadlines and hurdles handed down by either federal or state governments that, while well intentioned in terms of cleaning up transportation emissions, seemed burdensome and punitive.

Secondly and maybe more importantly, carriers felt like they bore the brunt of the costs for shoring up concerns around sustainability and environmental impact. Even though they weren’t directly responsible for the research and development efforts of finding and marketing the new technologies to curb tailpipe emissions, carriers most assuredly were paying in the form of fast-climbing equipment costs and added expenses like DEF. 

That dynamic, however, has rapidly evolved over the past half-decade. The industry has reached an intersection where operating profitably and sustainably have merged — so much so that sustainability in fact has become a byproduct of running more profitably. 

No longer are sustainability metrics simply tied to limiting tailpipe emissions. Platforms like Loadsmart have reinvented what it means to work toward a more environmentally focused freight industry and supply chain.

“Sustainability is just another way to look at efficiency,” said Chad Taylor, Loadsmart’s manager of capacity development. “Technology has always been a driver of greater efficiency. Loadsmart’s platform helps carriers utilize their equipment more efficiently and more profitably, which at the same time reduces deadhead and empty miles and produces less waste in the transportation network and helps move freight in a more sustainable way.”

Here are three key ways Loadsmart’s platform helps carriers operate more efficiently, create more value, and build a more sustainable freight network:

Filling in backhauls for dedicated lanes

Loadsmart has partnered with some of the largest carriers in the U.S. to help fill empty backhauls on lanes those carriers have dedicated to their customers. These fleets have frequent loads and ample freight heading one way, but often return empty — an inefficient and often costly trip. Loadsmart has helped make those return trips more profitable by offering dedicated loads on the backhaul segment — while also cutting the wasteful and environmentally unsound empty miles. 

Likewise, Loadsmart’s partnerships with large private fleets have worked to accomplish the same goals: Utilizing Loadsmart’s network to fill backhauls and reduce empty miles on return trips, thus helping those private fleets mitigate costs and make more efficient use of their capacity.

Load consolidation and multimode

Greater visibility into carriers’ capacity and route planning, along with an industry-wide shift toward integrations via APIs channeled into fleets’ management platforms, allows all parties within the freight ecosystem to work more in sync with one another. For freight platforms like Loadsmart, that means knowing where the right capacity is at the right time — and in the right mode. Consolidating loads and optimizing modes makes the global freight transportation network more efficient, in turn driving greater sustainability and building new opportunities for carriers.

Integrations with fleet management systems

Visibility and connectivity are two-way streets, offering carriers the ability to scan freight options from multiple providers at the same time through their fleet management platform. That includes stalwart telematics providers like Trimble and Omnitracs. Using these platforms and loadboard aggregations integrated into their fleet management portal, carriers can quickly find the freight that’s right for them, on the right lane and at the right price, and book it instantly. This limits deadheads, empowers carriers to make the best decision for their operations, and allows their capacity to be used more efficiently. 

If you’ve enjoyed these insights and have questions or comments, start a conversation with us on your loadboard, resource center, or send an email to capacitydevelopment@loadsmart.com 

About Loadsmart

We are industry veterans and data-scientists using innovative technology to fearlessly reinvent the future of freight. As the ‘nerds of logistics’, we seek intelligence in data to solve deep-rooted inefficiencies in the industry. We give shippers, brokers and carriers access to our data connections (linking supply and demand) and suite of award-winning solutions to strike the perfect balance of cost and service. We’re creating a more efficient and environmentally responsible way to move more with less. For more information, please visit: https://loadsmart.com