Introducing Automated Reloads: Enabling Carriers to Spend More Time Hauling, Less Time Empty

Today, Convoy is announcing the nationwide rollout of Automated Reloads, a new program to book multiple loads at a time – helping carriers earn more, minimize empty miles, and eliminate time waiting between work.  With Automated Reloads, Convoy algorithmically evaluates and optimizes how loads can be grouped in real-time, all without human intervention. In our app, carriers can bid their rates or instantly accept these pre-planned combinations of loads as a single job, ensuring they stay on the road doing what they do best – pulling loads and delivering a high quality of service.

ADDRESSING EMPTY MILES AND WASTED TIME

Convoy research has shown that trucks run empty up to 35% of their total miles.   The cost of fuel and other expenses make such deadheading a losing proposition.  As a result, reaching out to multiple brokers becomes a necessity for most carriers. However, working across multiple brokers means trucks are not guaranteed to be full until bids on each load are individually confirmed.

“Before working with Convoy, I spent a significant amount of my time hunting for loads with many different load boards and brokers, trying to fix a schedule that minimizes deadhead and maximizes pay.  Often, I drove empty far more often than I wanted to,” said Cesar from Chinchilla Express Line.

ANNOUNCING AUTOMATED RELOADS 

At Convoy, we are passionate about addressing inefficiencies hindering carriers’ lives. With Automated Reloads, our algorithms customize live as well as drop-and-hook packages in real time for each carrier by understanding their unique preferences, hours-of-service and driver locations, wait times at facilities, etc. Traditionally, brokers or dispatchers pair shipments that are obvious to spot. But they missed out on a large part of the opportunity. Given the complexity and speed of the freight market, a real-time algorithmic optimization is ideally set up to minimize empty miles and help carriers.

By enabling bidding on Automated Reloads, carriers are empowered to be home on their schedule and work at preferred rates, guaranteeing that they spend less time looking for work or driving empty.

“I like bidding on these offers with Convoy. They keep me on lanes I prefer to run, and get me home when I want,” said Jorge Ramos of El Poderoso Trucking. Jorge and his brother Nelson have worked with Convoy for 2 years, and now automated reloads make up a majority of their work. “By combining loads from different shippers, Convoy keeps us from driving empty trailers between jobs and we waste less time on load boards keeping our trucks busy.”

Convoy makes it easy for any carrier to increase their take-home earnings through Automated Reloads:

1. Create a one-time or recurring request for preferred lanes, or search for specific cities.
2. Look for offers with reloads packaged together.
3. Optional: add more reloads to the suggested route.
4. Tap to bid or accept.

“Automated Reloads brings us closer to the dream of offering “perpetual loads” – where owner operators combine the freedom and flexibility of setting their own schedule, with the predictability of a dedicated contract,” said Ziad Ismail, Chief Product Officer at Convoy.

Convoy is creating technology and tools to simplify how carriers can find work, reduce empty miles, and put money in their pockets quicker. Less time wasted in haggling, waiting, and paperwork means more time earning. For carriers new to Convoy, sign up here. Already hauling with Convoy? Open the Convoy app, and add a request for your favorite lane.