Some days, you feel like you should be an octopus to handle all the tasks you need to do. (Read “The Mountain in the Sea” if you think the notion of an octopus doing the work of humans is ludicrous. The octopuses in that novel set in a not-too-distant future are killer smart.) And like an octopus, you’re underwater — over your head with phone calls and emails to return, rates to quote, loads to build, and LTL shipments to track. It’s enough to make you want to throw your arms in the air.
But it is possible for human LTL freight brokers to scale their businesses intelligently — with automation, which eliminates the need for additional arms.
Let’s dive into how to scale smarter with automation as the growth multiplier.
The Scaling Challenge in LTL Freight Brokerage
Less-than-truckload shipping has grown with the rise in e-commerce, supply chain diversification, and regional distribution. While freight movement via LTL shipping has grown, the mode’s complexities have not abated.
LTL freight brokers must juggle multiple rate quotes, multiple carriers, multiple pickup locations, and multiple delivery sites — sometimes there can be as many legs as an octopus has arms!
The more your tasks multiply, the more chances you’ll get bogged down in the operational muckety-muck. For humans, multitasking manual workflows usually results in slower response times, higher error rates, and fast burnout.
Why Automation Is the Growth Multiplier
AI-powered software automates tedious, manual processes and dramatically reduces the need for human intervention, freeing up real, live freight brokers for more strategic work, such as building relationships and scaling the business.
Right off the bat, implementing automation results in:
- Faster response times.
- Improved accuracy.
- Better customer experiences.
- Lower operational costs.
Meet Drumkit: Purpose-Built for High-Volume Brokerages
Drumkit’s intuitive AI-powered freight broker software was built specifically to help high-volume brokerages further scale. We do that through our automation tools, which include:
Quick Quotes
- Automates carrier rate retrieval and quote generation.
- Reduces quoting time from minutes to seconds.
- Enables brokers to respond to more opportunities without manual lookup.
Track and Trace
- Automatically pulls shipment status updates from carriers.
- Eliminates the need for manual tracking or customer check-ins.
- Keeps customers informed in real time, improving service and reducing inbound inquiries.
Smart Autoreplies
- Uses AI to respond to common customer emails (e.g., “Where’s my shipment?”).
- Frees up broker inboxes and reduces response lag.
- Scale customer service without hiring more reps.
Let’s dive deeper into rate requests. They’re usually urgent, with few details, and buried in a long email thread. The old way of responding would be to copy all the details into your TMS, hunt down the correct rate, send a reply, and circle back later to log it all again. Now you don’t even have to leave your email.
On the right side of your screen, Drumkit opens in your sidebar, reads the shipment details, prefills everything you need, and gives you options to quote instantly. One click, and it’s done — the quote is sent, tracked, and automatically saved to your TMS.
That’s the magic of Drumkit. It doesn’t live in another tab or a new system. It lives where you already work — your inbox, your browser, your TMS. Drumkit helps freight brokers move faster by cutting out clicks, automating tasks, and keeping every load on track.
You don’t have to go looking for Drumkit. It’s right there, waiting to free up your two hands for other tasks.
Leave the Octopuses Under the Sea
“An octopus has a central brain, but it also has a brain in each of its eight arms. Yes, eight arms, each equipped with its own mini-brain capable of acting autonomously,” Science News Today said. “This unique structure allows the octopus to process complex tasks and movements in ways that humans — who rely on a single centralized brain — cannot comprehend.”
At least for now, human workers aren’t going to be replaced by octopuses. But we can behave as if we have eight arms and eight brains with the aid of AI-powered automation tools. Drumkit has done the legwork, continually refining our automation tools to best suit freight brokers’ needs.
Drumkit’s freight broker software can be the growth multiplier your high-volume LTL brokerage needs to scale. Book an introductory call to learn the efficiencies we can surface for you.
