All that is required for a small/mid-size carrier to become EDI compliant is a web browser and internet access.
The high demand for carrier services in the past two years continues to drive innovation in order to sidestep a continuing capacity crunch. From the first desperate needs to mobilize medical supplies and hand sanitizer to extended supply chain disruptions, we’ve seen shippers pivot to utilizing the spot market more, adopting shorter-term contracts, and really just doing whatever it takes to get their goods from point A to B to C.
While things are still a bit crazy, most industry indicators seem to predict that things are somewhat normalizing and will continue to trend back towards pre-pandemic standards. As this happens, it’s a good time to evaluate your business to see what good lessons and relationships have come from this trial by fire. You can now make some decisions as to how you will cut a new (and maybe different) path moving forward.
Shippers and brokers may be facing the situation of having made some new carrier relationships, but also becoming a bit weary of the staff time commitment required to text, email, and call some of those carriers outside of their management system’s EDI messaging standards. Admittedly, these small business owners with a small fleet provided excellent service in a time of need, and are hoping that the service they provided in crunch time will earn them a permanent roster spot.
The desire to stop pushing paper — even the virtual kind, with emails, texts, and PDF invoices — doesn’t mean saying goodbye to these small carriers. Kleinschmidt, a leader in solving EDI and API integration challenges for some of the largest companies in the motor carrier industry, built a simple-to-use EDI solution. It helps small carriers comply with EDI requirements, and still maintain their focus on moving goods and keeping their fleet running profitably at capacity — without a full time IT or integration expert on their staff. FreightLaunch™ allows a carrier to receive and respond to a load tender, send shipment status updates, and even invoice shipments via EDI — to their trading partner’s specification — in a secure web-based solution. All that is required to become EDI compliant is a web browser and internet access, or the optional mobile app for owner-operators who are truly always on the move.
Reach Out to Learn More
For more info about FreightLaunch, email Solutions@www.kleinschmidtinc.com or call 847-945-1000 and ask about how FreightLaunch can help smaller carriers conform with EDI requirements and say “yes”
