Trucker Tools Adds Ryder Freight Brokerage to its Digital Carrier Engagement Platform

RESTON, VA AND MIAMI, FL – JULY 21, 2020 – Trucker Tools LLC announced today that the freight brokerage division of Ryder System Inc. (NYSE: R) selected Trucker Tools as a key technology platform supporting carrier engagement and digital process automation for the company’s freight brokerage operations.

Miami, Fla.-based Ryder is a North American leader in supply chain, dedicated transportation, commercial fleet management and integrated transportation management services. Reston, Va.-based Trucker Tools provides cloud-based, real-time shipment visibility, capacity planning, freight-matching and automated booking software for freight brokers and small-fleet truckload carriers.

“This engagement fully aligns with our strategy of engaging innovative, forward-thinking technology partners that can further enhance our service offerings,” said Dave Belter, vice president and general manager of global transportation management solutions for Ryder. “Trucker Tools delivers improved freight transparency and visibility for our shippers and carrier partners, as well as drives efficiencies and reduces costs, all while enhancing service levels through automation.”

Ryder’s brokerage operation gives customers access to free, express quotes with competitive pricing and reliable services from thousands of qualified LTL, truckload and expedited for-hire carriers, as well as a nationwide network of quality Ryder fleets. Trucker Tools will enable Ryder’s brokerage operating platform with four primary functional applications:

- Predictive Freight Matching: Provides real-time capacity visibility and streamlined workflows to analyze, present and secure optimal load matches with available carriers, dramatically reducing the time it takes a broker to cover a load. The software considers a variety of real-time factors and historical data to drive decisions, including the carrier’s profile, current or soon-to-arrive location, proximity, lane and load preferences. The application also considers where the carrier is going next, using that intelligence combined with powerful algorithms to identify and rank future available reloads, a strategic benefit that lets Ryder’s brokers set up multiple leg moves for carriers.

- Book it Now®: Automates how carriers accept and confirm an offered load with Ryder’s brokers. Book it Now®, presents to the carrier, on their smartphone, real-time available loads with pricing and enables truckers to do one-click load acceptance and confirmation. This significantly reduces the time it takes a broker to confirm a load, improving productivity, and for the trucker, eliminates wasteful phone calls, emails, and texts, reducing non-productive downtime.

- Automated Shipment Tracking: Provides an automated, real-time feed of shipment tracking data to Ryder’s transportation management system (TMS) via the Trucker Tools mobile driver app. Residing on the driver’s smartphone, this function utilizes the phone’s embedded GPS capability to communicate updated location information every five minutes. The information is displayed on the Ryder broker’s TMS as a visual “bread crumb” display tracking the shipment in real time from pickup to delivery, providing a continually updated estimated time of arrival. Importantly, Ryder customers also can go into the Ryder portal and view this updated, real-time tracking information as well.

- Digital Document Scan and Send: Another tool contained in the Trucker Tools mobile driver app, this feature allows truckers, using their smartphone, to snap a picture and send digital images of key shipping documents, within a secure, protected network. Invoices and delivery receipts will digitally flow directly into Ryder’s back-office systems, accelerating payment to the driver.

The Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App, which fully supports all the digital carrier engagement platform’s functions, has emerged as the truckload industry’s most popular “lifestyle” mobile app among professional truck drivers. It’s been downloaded by some 950,000 truckers and is actively used by nearly 140,000 small-fleet operators, who typically manage 10 trucks or less. This segment represents some 90 percent of truckload carriers in the market.

While the integration will help reduce the cost of covering a load and improve carrier-tracking compliance, from a service perspective, Belter emphasized, “It will open the door to more capacity choices for our customers and at competitive pricing.”

“We are excited to welcome Ryder’s freight brokerage operation to our platform,” said Prasad Gollapalli, Trucker Tools’ founder and chief executive. “Especially in these times, brokers need to explore every avenue to reduce costs, every opportunity to streamline and optimize how they do business and help their carriers be more productive.”

“Without trucks, the freight sits,” he added.” Those brokers who do the best job of collaborating with and supporting their carriers will be the ones who are best prepared for success when the market turns. We look forward to helping Ryder successfully navigate this journey.”