Excellent Freight Broker and Freight Agent (Part 3 - Excellent Freight Brokers/Agents have Mastered the Basics)
This blog post continues our discussion concerning the fundamentals associated with "Excellent Freight Brokers". Excellent brokers/agents know how to deal with others. Effective communication assists in providing the best service possible. This blog post addresses how the best brokers/agents understand and excel at the basics.
Excellent freight brokers have mastered the basics. A key task is how to provide a fair rate to the shipper and the carrier. This requires an understanding of how a truck operates. Determining what a truck takes to operate is an important first step and includes such things as; fuel, maintenance, driver salary, etc. Providing fair rates comes down to what is the cost per mile required for the truck, plus what it costs the broker to sustain their business. This might sound pretty complicated to the average individual, but it really is one of the easiest of the fundamentals to master. An excellent broker understands the market rate per mile and why it might be higher for different shipments or lanes. This skill is developed over time by using trial and error, repetition (practice makes perfect), calling on trucks or using some type of research system or historical data. The major load posting boards all provide good tools to determine rates. Many times the shipper will determine the rates. The best brokers have a relationship with their shippers and influence those rates by educating their customers on what it takes to move their freight. Understanding the basics of rate determination is only one factor. The better brokers master the idiosyncrasies of determining a rate. They understand what it takes to move all types of freight to include; over dimensional freight, permit costs, movement into and out of undesirable locations, as well as rate determinations based on weight of loads and other specifics. They understand what profit margin is appropriate for each shipment. In the end, determining a fair rate can be one of the easiest of the basic transportation tasks to master.
If you have questions on how to become an excellent freight broker/agent please contact Somerset Logistics at www.somersetlogistics.com. We challenge you to come and be a part of our Team of "Excellent Freight Brokers and Independent Freight Agents."
Excellent freight brokers have mastered the basics. A key task is how to provide a fair rate to the shipper and the carrier. This requires an understanding of how a truck operates. Determining what a truck takes to operate is an important first step and includes such things as; fuel, maintenance, driver salary, etc. Providing fair rates comes down to what is the cost per mile required for the truck, plus what it costs the broker to sustain their business. This might sound pretty complicated to the average individual, but it really is one of the easiest of the fundamentals to master. An excellent broker understands the market rate per mile and why it might be higher for different shipments or lanes. This skill is developed over time by using trial and error, repetition (practice makes perfect), calling on trucks or using some type of research system or historical data. The major load posting boards all provide good tools to determine rates. Many times the shipper will determine the rates. The best brokers have a relationship with their shippers and influence those rates by educating their customers on what it takes to move their freight. Understanding the basics of rate determination is only one factor. The better brokers master the idiosyncrasies of determining a rate. They understand what it takes to move all types of freight to include; over dimensional freight, permit costs, movement into and out of undesirable locations, as well as rate determinations based on weight of loads and other specifics. They understand what profit margin is appropriate for each shipment. In the end, determining a fair rate can be one of the easiest of the basic transportation tasks to master.
If you have questions on how to become an excellent freight broker/agent please contact Somerset Logistics at www.somersetlogistics.com. We challenge you to come and be a part of our Team of "Excellent Freight Brokers and Independent Freight Agents."
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