Business idea, need feedback...

Guys,

I work in the technology industry and have been working with geospatial analysis (things like Google mapping, GIS, etc.) and have created a route correlation algorithm that can have some application in the shipping and transportation industry to match loads to carriers regardless if they have the same origination or destination locations along the route. However, I have a few questions to determine the feasibility of such an idea and need to get some feedback from industry experts such as yourselves...

1. How do you guys currently find loads?

2. Do you use load boards, which ones? Do you find them effective?

3. What problems do you have with load boards (if any) and what do you think they should do differently?

4. Do you know of any service or software where carrier routes are entered into a system (either one time as recurring routes or one time for a specific trip) and shippers enter their load information, and then an automated engine finds matches based on route correlation (not necessarily matching departure and/or destination locations!) and notifies each party (or broker) automatically without either party searching out the other proactively that there is a potential load? Is this or would this be a valuable asset and time saver since it is reactive in nature rather than requiring proactive measures from either party to search each other out?

5. Do you think their is value in a system such as that mentioned in question 4? how much do you think something like this would be worth to subscribe to? If it is not a good idea, can you explain why not?

If this is too many questions and you do not want to take the time to answer than please just answer #4 and #5!

Please provide any other feedback you think would be pertinent. I REALLY value your opinion as this is your area of expertise. I would rather kill the idea on the drawing board than proceed with it if there is a fundamental flaw in the idea. If you would like to discuss more than feel free to message me.

Thanks,

Matt Johnson

 

Thank Critters, it would not be for doing routing and mileage. It would be like a load board but with one major difference; the carrier would never need to go on it and seek out loads. The way it would work is the carrier puts in their route(s) and how often they occur (if they are recurring routes). The system would then push notifications to the carrier as new loads that correlate to the route are entered into the system by shippers or brokers. The carrier could then respond to the notifications accepting or rejecting the load. Currently, the most complex logic I can find that a load board does is notify you if your route has the same origination and destination of a posted load, which is much to simplistic and does not account for potential loads along the way. I also believe that carriers do not have the time to sit on load boards browsing for loads and would much rather have an "automated agent" that is doing the work for them... maybe I am wrong though...

- Matt

 

Let me ask a couple other follow up questions...

1. Is it more common for truckers to have a regular route and try to book loads for that route or for them to seek any load regardless of it's destination?

2. do most of you travel with multiple loads on your trailer or with only one customer's load at a time?

- Matt