Years in Logistics: Why It Matters to You

Freight brokers are a dime a dozen, right? At last count, there were about 18,000 freight brokers operating in an already fragmented and constantly changing logistics landscape. But if the capacity crunch of 2018 taught shippers anything, it should be that freight brokers are invaluable partners during difficult times, offering innovative technologies and resources from routing, load scheduling, and real-time tracking to a state-of-the-art TMS that makes data analysis a breeze.

Here’s the rub. When the market shifts and capacity loosens up, shippers forget. They start cruising for the bottom dollar and forget that a few months ago, being a shipper of choice was the name of the game.

It’s short-sighted. You see, partnerships are the best way for shippers and carriers to avoid being pitched around in a constantly shifting market. But how do you find the right one when there are 18,000 out there? You don’t have time for bad brokers, no one does!

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Take a look at longevity.

For starters, find out how long your potential broker partner has been in business. Sure, tech start-ups are all the rage. You’ll hear about them all day long. They’re new; they’ve got lots of technology; the media loves them. So with all these new guys in the logistics space, why do you care how long someone’s been in business?

Longevity means a solid customer and carrier base. You and your customers deserve the best carriers in the business, carriers with exceptional track records. Here at AM Transport Services, we’ve been in logistics for 30 years. We have a solid core carrier base built on best practices, reliability, and trust. We can secure capacity with small carriers you’ll never find on your own. And guess what–these carriers want to haul your freight in good times and bad.

Longevity indicates adaptability. Why does that matter? Technology is changing all the time. And you want a broker unafraid to adapt to and adopt new technologies. Let’s talk about Transportation Management Systems for a minute. The TMS is the control center of any logistics operation, but processes and systems are changing all the time. Here at AM Transport Services, we understand this, and we invest the necessary time and money into studying and implementing the best technology solutions. This means our TMS is customizable and “talks” to all the relevant systems in our operation.

Longevity vs. bells and whistles. You have to know what’s important to you. There’s a big difference between a start-up with 100 inexperienced employees whose focus is on disruption and a small operation with 20-30 experienced professionals committed to providing streamlined services to valued customers. The average tenure of a team member at AM Transport Services is 8 years. With 30 years experience in the freight industry, our logistics consultants understand efficient supply chain management and provide a streamlined shipping experience. Our team members have long-term relationships with logistics professionals all along the supply chain–not just shippers and carriers, but warehouse managers, consignees, and manufacturers. This translates into efficiency and cost savings you can count on–no matter where the market is.

Partnerships matter, but not all partnerships are created equally. If you’re interested in working with a freight broker committed to delivering your freight on-time day after day, year after year, give us a call today. We’ll show you first hand why longevity matters.