Uber Freight rolls out shipper-based platform

Last month, Uber Freight, a subsidiary of ridesharing service Uber, rolled out a new offering, entitled Uber Freight for Shippers.

Unlike its official entrance into the market in 2017, which focused on matching trucking companies with loads to haul through its app and subsequently removing the guesswork out of finding and booking freight, which is often the most stressful part of a driver’s day, this new offering provides shippers of all sizes a direct connection to Uber Freight’s vast carrier network, the company said.

Uber noted that this enables shippers to see instant upfront load pricing, tender a load with only a few clicks and track their shipment from start to finish. And it added that this platform was built in close collaboration with shippers to help transform a process that would typically take hours to finish and leave them without key information on pricing and carriers.

An Uber Freight spokesman told LM that there were various drivers that led to the rollout of Uber Freight for Shippers.  

“Today, shipping freight is a fairly manual, time intensive process and tendering a single load can take hours of back and forth between shippers and third party providers,” he said. ‘For the past year Uber Freight been collaborating and working with shippers of all sizes to learn the way they like to work, their processes, preferences, and pain points, and using that information to build this platform.”

Uber said that the Uber Freight Platform gives shippers the ability to:

• Tender a load in seconds: Create and tender loads with just a few clicks and dramatically reduce the time and energy it takes to book a shipment;
• See instant marketplace pricing: Get instant and transparent price quotes for shipments. Uber Freight’s rates are based on market conditions and other factors and generated in real-time;
• Access Uber Freight’s reliable network of carriers and drivers: Have peace of mind knowing all loads tendered through the shipper platform are backed by Uber Freight’s vast and reliable network of carriers;
• Track freight in real-time: Track shipments online at any time of day. Automatic notifications for major milestones mean no more searching through an overcrowded inbox for tracking information; and
• Streamline document management: Upon delivery, necessary documents and paperwork are automatically organized and stored for instant and future access.

The spokesman said that Uber Freight for Shippers enables shippers tap into the robust and reliable network of carriers that Uber Freight has been building over the past year and a half, and offers real-time access to market prices and capacity.

“It reimagines how a shipper can plan out their freight and allows them to move their spot or contract freight quickly and effortlessly around the country,” he said.

As for next steps, Uber said that the shipper platform is a natural extension of the Uber Freight app that carriers and drivers love.

“It represents a broadening of our capabilities and offerings as we strive to improve the freight industry for all parties,” the spokesman said. “Uber Freight envisions a future where freight flows seamlessly and effortlessly around the country, and the launch of this platform is a major step towards making that vision a reality.”