Relay Launches Freight Payment System for Brokers
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Relay Payments is to start offering a freight payment option specifically targeted at brokers called RelayDirect, the company said Oct. 17.
RelayDirect allows brokers to automate their carrier and factor payments, offer flexible payment terms, improve cash flow, and reduce administrative burdens.
Among RelayDirect’s trial customers is Chicago-based TransLoop, which brokers 70,000 shipments a year and has annual revenue north of $100 million.
TransLoop began using RelayDirect around five months ago and the system has been fully up and running for two months, CEO Nicholas Reasoner told Transport Topics Oct. 13.
The 4-year-old brokerage wanted to automate payments, implement a Quickpay program and aid factor and payee management, Reasoner said, adding that previously the company was using Excel spreadsheets and outdated technology to do the same job, which could delay payments.
Reasoner said TransLoop was able to save around $100,000 a year as a result of switching to RelayDirect and the shift was also resulting in a better carrier experience and improved customer service.
Relay, which specializes in logistics and trucking industry payment solutions, including a digitized fuel payment platform for use by drivers at truck stops, said its initial RelayDirect customers represent more than $1.5 billion in annual freight payments.
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“Moving money in the trucking industry has always been unnecessarily complicated,” Relay CEO Ryan Droege said in a statement. “Brokers are paying carriers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, and RelayDirect modernizes these transactions. Brokers can now manage their cash flow while carriers receive payments instantly and securely. It’s a win-win.”
Brokers using RelayDirect can offer flexible payment terms to enable additional revenue streams and can work with their existing factoring companies, partner with Relay, or build their own payment terms, Atlanta-based Relay said. A further benefit, it added, was carriers receiving instant payments and the chance to deploy those funds immediately.
