C.H. Robinson launched a new load board aimed at carriers looking to access longer-term dedicated freight opportunities. It's also added new requirements for carriers to work with the broker.
The company said its new BidBoardX platform comes in response to both carrier and shipper needs, with carriers looking for better access to “committed” freight, and shippers looking for more reliable coverage on critical lanes.
- The new platform showcases planned, higher-volume freight with defined timelines and expectations from the company's shipper customers, not spot-negotiated loads.
- It's open to any-size carrier, from just a single truck on up, provided they're approved to haul in C.H. Robinson's network.
- The freight broker recently updated standards for contracting carriers, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that upped the ante on broker liability.
- Those changes appear to have locked some owner-operators out of the broker's network, including any Conditional rated carrier.
"C.H. Robinson works with carriers of all sizes that have different needs,” said Adam McDonough, Vice President for Capacity. “Small carriers want consistent, predictable revenue opportunities, while mid- to large-size carriers want to optimize their networks."
BidBoardX aims to deliver access to such opportunities in local or short haul, dedicated freight, and "our Drop Trailer Plus and 4PL programs," McDonough added.
By committed freight, the company noted it means something akin to typical longer-term direct freight contracting. CHR gave the example of a series of 400 loads between two cities, within a certain timeframe, on specific days of the week.
Small carriers and owner-operators can bid on partial volume in any contract, not limited just because they can’t take every load in a given lane for a shipper.
BidBoardX is "still brokerage," not direct freight, noted a company spokesperson. Shippers will pay C.H. Robinson a premium for "connecting them with the ideal carrier and everything that comes with managing the freight." Appointment setting, tracking, handling disruptions and the like, and any necessary consolidation and order management included.
Participating carriers must go through the same vetting and meet the same standards as any other certified to haul for our customers, recently updated by the company following the Supreme Court ruling on broker negligent hiring liability in a case Robinson lost:
- Authority must be active for at least a week.
- FMCSA safety rating of Unrated or Satisfactory only.
- $1 million minimum in commercial auto liability insurance.
- Carrier is not identified "high risk" by C.H. Robinson proprietary analysis using CSA SMS category data.
[Related: Brokers want FMCSA to publish list of 'high risk' carriers]
Criteria previously in place also apply:
- Carrier must complete onboarding with the Highway "carrier vetting" platform.
- Carrier must certify safety responsibility through the contract, likewise maintain a minimum of $100,000 of cargo coverage.
- Carrier passes C.H. Robinson’s additional proprietary background review, and maintains internal approved service delivery scores in five areas: On-time performance, use of tracking, "Late Bounce," visibility on the Navisphere Carrier platform, with real-time updates.
- No known history of double brokering with C.H. Robinson.
- Cargo claims rate below a defined threshold, determined by C.H. Robinson's tracking of claims history.
- Equipment counts operate within Robinson's approved thresholds, based on a "proprietary tractor count logic."
- USDOT number can't be active as a freight broker -- C.H. Robinson does not co-broker, the company said.
[Related: C.H. Robinson gave thousands of loads to double brokering chameleon carrier: Court docs]
The brokerage highlighted the challenges small carriers can face in finding more long-term and stable freight from shippers.
“Through BidBoardX, available on C.H. Robinson’s digital platform, certified carriers in C.H. Robinson’s network can search for freight that previously wasn’t accessible to them, submit bids and track their activity -- all through one user-friendly online interface,” the company said.
BidBoardX is available today, and carriers can sign up via the C.H. Robinson carrier platform.
[Related: C.H. Robinson named in lawsuit over triple-fatal Harjinder Singh crash]
