The freight broker with the best software captures the margin everyone else leaves on the table.
We build custom logistics platforms — load boards, carrier management systems, shipment tracking portals, and the rate optimisation and dispatch infrastructure that increases margin per load. Fixed scope, fixed price.
You're doing carrier procurement on the phone, tracking shipments via carrier check calls, and sending customers status updates manually. A logistics platform automates all three — and the time you recover is margin.
Freight brokerage margin is captured or lost in three places: rate procurement, carrier tracking, and customer communication. In all three, manual processes are the norm — but manual processes don't scale, and they leak margin at every step.
Rate procurement done by phone is slow, inconsistently priced, and relies on the broker knowing which carrier to call. A carrier-facing digital load board with automated rate solicitation gets you more bids, faster, at prices that reflect actual market demand rather than what a specific carrier quoted last week. That improvement in rate procurement efficiency is directly measurable in margin per load.
Shipment tracking via carrier check calls is the biggest time sink in the operation. A 100-load-per-week broker is making 200–300 check calls per week just to stay informed on shipment status. Every hour spent on check calls is an hour not spent on procurement or sales. Carrier API integrations (FourKites, Macropoint, carrier EDI feeds) that replace check calls with automated location updates are one of the highest-ROI technology investments in logistics.
Customer communication done by email is the last manual process in the chain. A customer portal where shippers see their shipment status, documents (BOL, POD), and invoice without emailing their broker is the customer experience that retains the shipper who has other options.
A custom logistics platform with a carrier-facing load board, automated rate procurement, real-time shipment tracking, customer portal with live updates, and the ops dashboard that manages it all from a single screen.
Carrier-facing digital load board
Loads posted to the load board automatically from the TMS or from direct entry. Carriers browse available loads, filter by lane and equipment type, and submit bids directly in the platform. Bid comparison and carrier selection from a single screen.
Automated shipment tracking
Integration with MacroPoint, FourKites, or direct carrier EDI for location pings on active shipments. Tracking data visible in the ops dashboard and customer portal without broker intervention. Exception alerts when a shipment is late or off-route.
Customer shipper portal
Shippers log in to see their active and completed shipments, real-time location updates, document access (BOL, POD, commercial invoice), and invoice status — without emailing the broker for a status update.
Rate management and lane pricing
Historical rate data by lane, carrier, and equipment type. Rate benchmarking against spot market (DAT or Truckstop integration). Margin calculation per load with cost and revenue visible side by side.
Operations dashboard
All active loads across the book of business — load status, carrier assigned, current location, delivery ETA, and exception flags — in a single view. Dispatcher workload management and load priority tools. Built on Next.js, Postgres, MacroPoint/FourKites API, EDI integration where needed, Stripe or ACH for carrier payment, and DAT/Truckstop API for rate benchmarking.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
A custom logistics platform with a carrier-facing load board, automated rate procurement, real-time shipment tracking, customer portal with live updates, and the ops dashboard that manages it all from a single screen.
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Logistics is a volume and margin business. Technology investment is evaluated against the loaded-per-dispatcher metric and the margin-per-load metric. Fixed-price software with a defined ROI calculation is how a logistics operator makes the investment decision with confidence.
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Read moreQuestions, answered.
Most TMS platforms have API access or at minimum CSV export capability. We integrate bidirectionally where the API supports it — loads from TMS appear on the platform automatically, and carrier assignments and tracking data flow back. McLeod and AscendTMS have the strongest API support.
Carrier onboarding includes insurance verification (via FMCSA API), MC number validation, carrier contract signature (DocuSign), and payment detail capture. New carriers are held in a review queue before they can accept loads. Carrier performance data (on-time rate, claims history) accumulates over time.
Both configurations are possible. In the broker-mediated model, the portal is for tracking and documents only. In the self-service model, shippers can request loads, select service levels, and approve rates — with the broker managing carrier assignment on the backend.
Load board, automated tracking, customer portal, rate management, and operations dashboard typically runs $45k–$90k. EDI integration and multi-modal complexity add scope. Fixed-price.
14 to 18 weeks including TMS integration and carrier portal configuration.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.