Tariffs have brought even more volatility to the freight market this year, and brokers “are betting on tech, automation, and efficiency to stay ahead in 2025,” according to Freight Caviar.
Freight Caviar backed up that assertion with survey results that showed 76% of freight brokers polled are either “doubling down on automation” or adopting new technologies.
“If it’s repetitive, brokers want it automated. Load matching, invoicing, and tracking are prime areas where automation is slashing overhead and speeding up cash flow,” Freight Caviar said.
A real-life example comes from the leaders of West Michigan Transport, who said in a LinkedIn post that they had been “laser-focused on finding tech that gives our team and our customers time back — and we’re excited to say: we’ve found it.”
“Enter Drumkit. Their platform lets us plug directly into shippers’ appointment portals via API so we can book — or rebook — appointments in seconds. No emails. No calls. No delays. Need to reschedule a time-sensitive load? Done. It’s instant.”
Begin with the DRUMS Framework
Drumkit CEO Drhuv Gupta helps customers determine what to automate with his DRUMS framework:
- Define Automation Priorities. Identify repetitive, time-consuming tasks that drain productivity, including document processing, email management, and data entry.
- Rethink Workflows and Data. Identify where information gets stuck or requires manual intervention.
- Understand Team Concerns. Provide proper training that focuses on how artificial intelligence can augment freight brokers’ skills rather than replace them.
- Monitor Performance Metrics. Track time savings, error reduction rates, and user satisfaction.
- Scale What Works. The magic of automation is, if done right, it will naturally expand across the enterprise.
What to Automate Now
After determining how to get the biggest bang for your automation buck, get some quick back-office wins by automating quoting, scheduling, and tracking.
Quick Quotes
Speed is everything in the freight brokerage industry. The faster you provide a rate quote, the more likely you are to secure the load. Drumkit empowers freight brokers to provide instant and accurate quotes for any load.
With Drumkit, users click on “Get a Quick Quote.” Lane and shipment information loads in just a few seconds. Those details can be sent to a TMS with just another click. It takes longer to type an explanation of Drumkit’s Quick Quotes function than it takes to get an actual rate for a load.
Load Scheduling
Gupta explained how Drumkit’s freight broker software helped NFI automate load scheduling during a TIA presentation.
“We were able to help them cut down the headcount effort by about a quarter. And the way we did that was first, we identified … the load that’s coming in that needs to be scheduled and … the action that we need to take in order to do that. Then we’ll search the TMS for all that information. We’ll handle all of that for you, and then finally, we’ll bring the human in the loop, here’s a suggested time, here’s all the relevant information already filled out, here are the slots that are available. Confirm is this what you want? Select it from the right-hand side, you’re ready to go,” Gupta said.
In addition to load scheduling, Drumkit’s automation tools to deploy during the life of a load include:
- AI-Powered Smart Autoreplies that drastically reduce response time.
- Automated Load Building, which eliminates manual data entry errors.
- Load Matching to enable quick and accurate carrier selection.
- Intelligent Sidebar to empower brokers to see all load information across platforms in one place.
Track and Trace
Automation enables freight brokers, shippers, and carriers all to be kept informed every step of a load’s journey.
At Drumkit, we provide:
- Inbox Triage Automation, which prioritizes communications for immediate action if — and when — something goes wrong with a load.
- Automatic Status Updates keep all parties informed when things are going smoothly — and when they’re not.
- Real-Time Shipment Updates enable AI-powered tracking without constant check-ins.
Automate Everything You Want With Drumkit
“Using technology to automate processes allows you to focus on growing your book of business and develop carrier relationships,” eCapital said. “The most successful freight brokers constantly discover and implement new tools that can make their jobs easier. The technology for scheduling, instant pricing, and business analytics exists to help freight brokers streamline their business operations.”
Drumkit has the advanced technology to give freight brokers that competitive advantage. Our freight broker software integrates seamlessly with existing TMS, quoting tools, appointment scheduling tools, and CRM platforms to streamline operations and improve communication across all touchpoints in the supply chain.
Book a demo today.
