How expedited LTL shipping just became painless

If you do any less-than-truckload shipping, you’ve likely experienced the anxiety that comes with needing to move freight fast but seeing no expedited shipping option in your transportation management system.

But, you don’t have another choice; you still need to move those goods in one or two days. You’re forced to spend hours researching online and making phone calls to carriers, keeping your fingers crossed that one of them can move your shipment in your specific lane. 

What would it be like if that expedited option was always there in front of you? 

It would make booking expedited LTL shipments painless and fast. It would allow you to always have a lifeline to move freight quickly when unexpected situations come up. And, those expedited options open up the door for potential savings while getting your freight to its destination quicker.

Luckily for shippers, this is a reality.

Estes Forwarding Worldwide (EFW), an international and domestic freight forwarder and logistics provider, is connecting shippers and the ability to expedite their freight in a much simpler way than before through its new expedited service offering, an API (application programming interface)-driven product called “Get It There Faster,” which launched at the beginning of the new year.

Just as the name suggests, Get It There Faster helps shippers quickly source and move LTL ground and air freight, instantly bringing expedited rates to their screens.

Expedited options are always at shippers’ fingertips with Get It There Faster, which offers accelerated shipping rates for any service level and displays transit times as quick as one-, two- or three-day delivery alongside the standard options. Because the tool is powered by its API, shippers don’t need to navigate away from their TMS platforms to book these shipments. 

“If you’re a platform provider, or you’re a 3PL, you want your customer to automatically press a button and have that [expedited] option. That’s only good for your customer,” said Michael Campese, SVP of sales and marketing at EFW, during an interview on WHAT THE TRUCK!?! 

Because with Get It There Faster shippers inherently see choices they might not have even known they needed or were possible, it could change the game for their business. For example, if a shipper expects it to take four or five days to move freight, choosing the readily available options to move the same shipment in one or two days could actually help them save money in the long run.

“It changes the calculus of the project,” Campese said. “The upcharge on the expedited [option] may be well worth the overall reduction in costs.”

Get It There Faster was initially developed for internal use by EFW as a way to instantly source expedited rates for its customers. The company thought it made sense to turn the product into an API and offer it to the market. 

While it has been available for the last two years on another TMS platform and found success, EFW launched Get It There Faster 2.0 at the start of the year, making it available to a wider audience. Get It There Faster’s API is now available through EFW directly, or project44, a supply chain visibility provider.

MyCarrier, a leading SaaS based TMS provider, is the first platform to make this new version of Get It There Faster available. 

EFW allows shippers to keep their same patterns and habits, but receive new options, said Bobby Russell, vice president of sales at MyCarrier.

“With EFW you’re benefiting the shipper, the receiver of the freight, the field rep … and you’re giving them not only this expedited offering but a platform to have visibility on this and share this visibility with multiple people,” Russell said.

As a full-service logistics provider offering international and domestic ground, air or ocean freight services, EFW understands the complex and fast-paced nature of the transportation industry and the need for a customized approach to logistics.

A freight forwarder under the umbrella of Estes, the largest privately held transportation company in the U.S., EFW has the backing of Estes Express Lines’ assets and network to provide unparalleled LTL capacity and reliability. EFW works with many industries, including retail, government, e-commerce, automotive, health care, exhibit services and technology.

Whether domestic expedited shipping, truckload brokerage, warehousing or tapping into instant rates with Get It There Faster, EFW is up to the task of providing the full-service logistics solutions that any business could need.

To learn more about Get It There Faster and EFW’s full-service logistics solutions, click here.

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Source: freightwaves - How expedited LTL shipping just became painless
Editor: Jenny Glasscock