Sylectus shippers posting !!

[turritrans]

The risk if not getting paid from a broker off a non-Syletcus board is much higher. We have bond claims every year even from Sylectus brokers/carriers. The risk of a truckload type broker defaulting is much higher. I second the comment John made about direct customers, and building solid relationships for "filler" loads from a more reputable source such as Sylectus. The established carriers have the infrastructure and relationships to better move the trucks and establish more load opportunities for the o/o, not saying it can't be done by a start up or small carrier but it's much more difficult.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

The system reeks of hypocrisy...some of these owners don't even like each other, can't stand the way each other does business, but tolerate each other in the chase for the cash...I guess that is business...

 

[idtrans]

So very true but I as a small carrier credit check every broker before load is accepted. And I use a non recourse factoring company my rate was 5% but has gone down to 3% with the volume I run.
Now I honestly don't need a factoring company money wise I like the fact it takes the billing and chasing if slow pay for my money it is worth every bit I give them. Plus the $ is in my account the same day they get the fed ex packet or if I can get paid on faxes then they pay same day fax arrives. Anyone not using a non recourse factoring company or is chasing money and trying to drive a truck and run a company is crazy and anyone not running a credit check before a loads accepted is insane IMHO.

And OVM I agree so much hate in the industry and so much back stabbing but they are all buddy buddy at get togethers makes me sick. But thats the corporate world. I had a large and I mean HUGE company call me today for a load offered me a low rate i said no thanks and the broker lady for this company said you should take the load so you can haul more freight for us I said no thanks mam I would go bankrupt at those rates. And her professional self cursed me and hung up on me and now I am glad I won't work with that large carrier. Trust me size isn't everything it's the quality of the carrier let's use load 1 as a example he is not huge but he is good sized and from what I hear he treats his contractors and partner carriers with respect and I like that. I have met John and had a long talk with him very nice man and very serious I like that he is no dummy and he is good people from what I could see. And with that said there are many others carriers the size of Load 1 in the usa so why put them out because they are not huge. BTW John I saw a couple of your loads today for the first time on load board no clue of the rates but i'm sure they were good. Unfortunately I grabbed the load taking me to my Florida house I am past due for a mini vacation.

The risk if not getting paid from a broker off a non-Syletcus board is much higher. We have bond claims every year even from Sylectus brokers/carriers. The risk of a truckload type broker defaulting is much higher. I second the comment John made about direct customers, and building solid relationships for "filler" loads from a more reputable source such as Sylectus. The established carriers have the infrastructure and relationships to better move the trucks and establish more load opportunities for the o/o, not saying it can't be done by a start up or small carrier but it's much more difficult.

 

[CharlesD]

Running a one vehicle operation on your own authority can be profitable doing bid board freight because you're not splitting the revenue with anyone. The real kicker comes when you want to expand as a carrier and quit driving like I did. You have to give drivers a rate that is competitive with what the other carriers are paying and you have to keep them fairly busy. To do that you need to get access to better freight, but some of the sources of the better freight don't want to deal with a small company trying to grow. So they want you to be so big before they deal with you, but you don't want to get too big without having access to enough of the better freight. Real catch 22 sometimes.

 

[Pilgrim]

Yes, building relationships is key. I don't think a carrier can make it just on brokered freight from larger carriers, but if you have access to enough 3PLs and you use the other carriers to fill in the gaps, you can keep your trucks rather busy. That's the way we've been operating lately. We started out with just the partner agreements with larger carriers until we started finding out some of the other freight sources out there and we've been able to get some good 3PL contacts where the freight isn't on a bid board and the rates are a bit better. That's the key. Get some customers or get a bit closer to the source on a lot of the freight and try to get access to freight that isn't posted on a bid board. The bid board stuff can supplement the other freight and keep you busy but it shouldn't be the only thing you're running. When things are hopping, you do fine just off bid board freight, but in the winter it's a different story.

That concept is the key that opens the magic box, especially in the expedite business. In a perfect world the carrier has a customer base - and usually a group of key customers - that will call them exclusively whenever they have a critical shipment; in those cases they're concerned with SERVICE. There's a relationship built on trust and a performance history so that the customer calls DeMaris for example because they know their emergency situation will be handled satisfactorily no matter what. They're not concerned with load boards, email bids and other methods of getting the cheapest price. Of course these relationships are developed over time and must be maintained with good performance and personal attention from salesmen or somebody from the company that makes eyeball contact with them on a regular basis and can be a point of contact of a problem arises. The problem is that so many of the larger customers/shippers are contracting with NLM, Landstar, and other 3PLs in an effort to lower their premium freight costs. However, there are still a lot of small and medium sized shippers that can be developed into loyal customers by offering good service and a sound marketing plan. Once that's in place the Sylectus boards and partner carrier relationships can be used to fill in when needed.

 

[jelliott]

Sylectus is a great tool. But so is a fax machine or a phone. Neither will ring or really work with out building a relationship. Sylectus is not really a load board. It is a dispatch software. It automates the process of brokering loads between users. We still broker thousands of loads a year to non Sylectus using carriers. But the easier and more seamless the product, the more likely that we will look to do business with them. Now carriers get Sylectus all the time and then thy will say to us...we see your loads on Sylectus and you don't use us???? I then have to explain to them relationship. Take the time and call, introduce your company and people and let us know what you do and do well. So simple but it is amazing how so many companies just don't get it. If you wanted a load board get transcore, Internet truckstop or heck CH Robinson. If you want an integrated transportation management system (dispatch software) than Sylectus, TMW, or McLeod are all great choices.

 

[Bruno]

Sylectus is a great tool. But so is a fax machine or a phone. Neither will ring or really work with out building a relationship. Sylectus is not really a load board. It is a dispatch software. It automates the process of brokering loads between users. We still broker thousands of loads a year to non Sylectus using carriers. But the easier and more seamless the product, the more likely that we will look to do business with them. Now carriers get Sylectus all the time and then thy will say to us...we see your loads on Sylectus and you don't use us???? I then have to explain to them relationship. Take the time and call, introduce your company and people and let us know what you do and do well. So simple but it is amazing how so many companies just don't get it. If you wanted a load board get transcode or Internet truckstop.

Thank you John for explaining and sharing what Sylectus is about to EO members. I wish Fleet owners could use it to get freight from other carriers. If they did we would use it.