Freight Auctions Go Online

Going once, going twice, sold. Freight contracts are being awarded by an increasing number of companies using an electronic auction process.

The process, which uses a system called OptiBid, will “fundamentally change the way shippers and carriers do business,” said Matthew Menner, director of sales and marketing for Sabre Technology Solutions.

While some carriers worry that the system will create a bidding war to drive down prices, Sabre says its system is a tool that helps carriers as well as shippers.

OptiBid is a closed auction. Shippers screen carriers to determine which are qualified to bid. The system generates a bid request for specific shipping lanes for a set period of time, according to Menner.

“Shippers can present freight and shipping lane information in an intelligent format,” said Chis Caplice, director of shipper logistics at Sabre in Burlington, Mass. Also, shippers can “secure relationships with carriers at rates that are known and constant.”

The system provides carriers with detailed information about what they are bidding on, so they will have a good idea about operating costs and equipment needs before they make their bids, Menner said.

For the full story, see the August 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.