Our Marketplace has significantly enhanced how shippers and carriers interact, bringing new opportunities and streamlining processes. As a shipper, you can now see rates from carriers you hadn't yet onboarded or booked. So, to make sure the process is clear, avoid mistakes, and improve the user experience, we have implemented a new feature designed to streamline the onboarding process and reduce errors.

Our updated system now requires shippers to update the status of a carrier before sending out a tender for the first time. 

How it works?

1. Carrier Status Update: Shippers must categorize carriers into specific statuses such as "Out-of-Network," "Onboarding," or "In-Network."
   • Out-of-Network: you haven't booked with a carrier and we have added them for you, this carrier is going to be an “Out of Network” status.
   • In-Network: the carrier is fully onboarded for business transactions. You have either booked with a carrier in the past or have manually updated it from “Out-of-network” to “In-network”
   • Onboarding: transitional status from “Out-of-Network”  to “In-network”. It is mostly used when the shipper has this onboarding process available.
2. First-Time Tender Requirement: Before a shipper can send a tender to a carrier for the first time, they must update the carrier’s status to either "Onboarding" or "In-Network."
3. Streamlined Integration: This new process ensures that shippers only tender loads to carriers that are appropriately vetted and integrated into their network, minimizing errors and avoiding potential TONUs.

How to configure or change a carrier status? 

At the time you create a quote, you are going to see a lot of different instance rates, and some of them are from a carrier you haven't onboard on your system yet. It means this carrier has an “out-of-network” status (as in the image below).

So, before you book with them, you need to update their status to “In-network” or “onboarding” (in case you require an onboarding process from them) by taking the following steps:

1. Go to the “Quotes” menu
2. Select the quote, then the carrier
3. Click ‘Book’.

A new pop-up is going to appear, and you’ll need to select the status you want them to have. You have two options:

1. ‘In-network’, if you want the carrier to be part of your network.
2. ‘Onboarding’, if the carrier needs to go through your onboarding process before being part of your network. 

Then click “Update Status and continue” to confirm the option you’ve selected. 

After updating the carrier status, you’ll be able to book your shipments with them by choosing the option ‘Yes, book shipment”

You also have the option to change it directly in the Carries management menu, going to the “Relationship status” field and selecting “In-network”, “Onboarding” or “Out-of-Network”

Benefits

This feature enhances the efficiency of adding new carriers to a shipper's network by:

• Preventing Errors: Reducing the likelihood of booking errors and costly TONUs by ensuring carriers are properly onboarded before receiving tenders.
• Improving Workflow: Providing a clear and manageable process for shippers to follow, making it easier to integrate new carriers into their network.
• Supporting Scalability: Facilitating the expansion of carrier networks in a more user-friendly manner, which aligns with our goals for scalability in the Marketplace.

For further assistance or if you have any questions about the new carrier status update process, please contact our support team at https://community.loadsmart.com/hc/en-us. We’re here to help you navigate these changes and make the most out of your Marketplace experience.