Introduction
The Recommended Price tool and Pricing Insights are valuable features within Super Dispatch that simplify pricing decisions and streamline your workflow. This tool provides actionable insights to help you set competitive rates effortlessly. Explore the details below to learn how to make the most of this resource.
Understanding Recommended Pricing and the Quoting Process
Navigating the complexities of transportation costs and broker fees is crucial in the logistics industry. This article aims to demystify these elements, focusing on how carrier pay is determined, the customer quoting process, and strategies for responding to carrier bids.
What is Carrier Pay?
Carrier Pay refers to the amount a carrier will receive upon successfully delivering a vehicle. This figure is crucial from a shipper's perspective as it represents the cost of transportation. It's important to note that Carrier Pay is not a fixed amount; it varies and is often the subject of negotiations between the shipper and the carrier. Shippers utilize historical and predictive data to estimate the lowest possible pay to effectively determine Carrier Pay and ensure the vehicle is dispatched promptly to a carrier.
The Customer Quoting Process Explained
The transportation brokerage industry aims to maximize profits from the Broker Fee, which typically starts at $100 per order but can vary. The process begins when customers contact shippers (usually brokers) via phone or email to inquire about the cost of transporting their vehicle from point A to point B. The amount quoted to the customer is known as the Total Tariff.
💡 Key Insight: Carrier Pay + Broker Fee = Total Tariff
After determining the carrier pay, the shipper adds the desired broker fee to the total tariff. This final amount is what gets quoted to the customer.
Determining Recommended Pricing Before Posting
Preparation for posting an order involves adjusting the Carrier Pay to an appropriate amount. Posting with a high Carrier Pay might attract many load requests and calls, potentially leading to revenue loss. Such orders are often called “anchor loads” due to their higher-than-average Carrier Pay.
Conversely, setting the Carrier Pay too low may cause the load to remain unclaimed on the Loadboard, leading to customer frustration and a potential loss of trust.
The goal is to post the order at a Carrier Pay amount close to the most recent Accepted/Delivered Orders to balance attracting carriers without undervaluing the service.
How to Respond to Carrier Bids
Carriers may attempt to negotiate for a higher Carrier Pay than posted, either over the phone or through digital channels. The shipper must then decide how to respond to these requests. Some bids may be reasonable and align with average costs for the route, while others may not.
Decision-making in this context requires access to Carrier Pay Insights, enabling shippers to:
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Accept a Carrier's request for higher pay if it aligns with market averages.
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Decline unreasonable requests for a higher Carrier Pay.
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Make a counter-offer to negotiate a more acceptable Carrier Pay.
Understanding these processes and employing strategic negotiation and posting techniques are essential for maintaining profitability and efficiency in the transportation and logistics industry.
Pricing Insights
Our Pricing Insights engine is designed to enhance your understanding of pricing dynamics in the auto-hauling industry. By setting competitive prices for loads, carriers are more likely to quickly accept and remove them from the board.
When you are creating a load and setting a price, you will see a pricing recommendation when you have set the price too low like so.

You can also look at recent moves to see what loads with similar vehicle details and routes were moved for.

Additionally, you can use Pricing Insights when you are making a counteroffer to a carrier in the offers tab of Shipper TMS.

Need Help?
Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to contact our support team at any time. You can reach us via email at support@superdispatch.com, or simply click on the chat icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen to start a conversation with us. We're here to help and look forward to assisting you!