On Aug. 24, uShip announced an expansion into the commercial freight market with the soon to be released uShip Pro platform.
Currently about 70 percent of uShip’s online auction-style freight moving service comes for the consumer side.
uShip is the backbone of the reality show ‘Shipping Wars’ on the A&E television network. Three of the stars of the show, Marc Springer, Jennifer Brennan and Roy Garber, were on hand at the uShip booth, where they signed autographs, and at the company’s press conference announcing the new uShip Pro platform.“Since 2004, about 30 percent of uShip’s business has come from B-to-B,” said Dean Xeros, vice president of sales for uShip. “We are now ready to take this to the next level.”
The uShip Pro platform is designed to provide carriers with full details about each load and the tools to negotiate bids for loads online. Carriers create a profile that includes their MC numbers, insurance coverage, safety rating and other necessary details. As the carrier moves loads through uShip Pro, they can increase their uShip rating and visibility to shippers, just as they do with the consumer uShip platform.
Brokers and shippers can track shipments online. They can also create private carrier networks to send loads to send loads automatically based on their carriers’ lane preferences or past transactions. Upon receiving loads, carriers in the private network can choose to “book it now” or reject the load without the need for phone calls or faxes. Payments can be automated upon delivery through PayPal.
The uShip Pro platform also has integration tools for brokers and shippers to import load postings directly from transportation management systems.
UShip Pro was still in the beta-testing stage with several carriers, but uShip executives promised major announcements would be coming in the next couple of weeks, with a full rollout of the new platform in the fall.
