Is your freight consolidation business seeking to significantly boost its bottom line? Uncover nine powerful strategies that can transform your operational efficiency and dramatically increase profits, ensuring your enterprise thrives in a competitive market. Are you ready to optimize your financial outlook and explore advanced planning tools like a comprehensive freight consolidation financial model? Dive deeper to unlock these essential insights.
Increasing Profit Strategies
To significantly boost the profitability of a freight consolidation business, it is crucial to implement a multi-faceted approach that spans revenue diversification, optimized pricing, operational streamlining, and vigilant performance monitoring. The following table outlines key strategies and their potential financial impacts, providing a clear roadmap for enhancing your bottom line.
| Strategy | Potential Impact on Profit |
|---|---|
| Diversify Revenue Streams by offering value-added services like warehousing, cross-docking, and specialized final-mile delivery. | Increase revenue on a shipment by 25-50% through premium services like 'white glove' delivery. |
| Implement Dynamic Pricing Strategies including tiered pricing based on freight characteristics and real-time lane pricing. | Improve overall margin by 3-5% through tiered pricing, or increase rates by 10-20% during high demand using dynamic lane pricing. |
| Streamline Operations through optimized warehouse layouts, automation of documentation, and centralized communication platforms. | Reduce pallet handling time by up to 40% and cut loading times by 30 minutes per truck. |
| Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as load factor, gross profit margin per shipment, and on-time performance. | Increase profitability of a load by over 15% by improving average load factor from 75% to 90%. |
| Overcome Profitability Challenges by mitigating market volatility, diversifying customer base, and investing in efficiency-driving technology. | Reduce miles driven by 5-15% through AI-powered route optimization, directly cutting fuel expenses. |
What Is The Profit Potential Of Freight Consolidation?
The profit potential for a Freight Consolidation business is significant. Net profit margins typically range from 3% to 8%, but these can be substantially enhanced through strategic operational efficiencies and the adoption of cutting-edge technology. This focus on optimizing freight consolidation is crucial for a business like FreightFusion Solutions to maximize its financial returns.
The U.S. freight market offers a massive opportunity. The trucking sector alone was valued at over $875 billion in 2021. Furthermore, the third-party logistics (3PL) market, which is a core segment for consolidation services, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% from 2022 to 2030. This indicates a robust environment for freight consolidation business growth and presents a significant opportunity for new entrants and established players alike.
A well-managed freight consolidation business can achieve high levels of profitability. For example, by specifically focusing on less-than-truckload (LTL) optimization, a consolidator can increase profit margins on individual shipments by 15% to 25% compared to standard brokerage models. This direct enhancement of freight consolidation service profitability is a critical success factor for businesses aiming to thrive in this sector, ensuring each shipment contributes more to the bottom line.
Revenue Scaling in Freight Consolidation
- Volume and Network Density: Revenue directly scales with increased freight volume and the density of a consolidation network. The more shipments consolidated, the greater the potential for profit.
- Startup Revenue: A new consolidator, like FreightFusion Solutions, focusing initially on a specific region or niche, might generate annual revenues between $1 million and $5 million.
- Established Player Revenue: Established national players, leveraging broader networks and higher volumes, can achieve revenues exceeding $100 million annually. This is achieved by maximizing profit in cargo consolidation across multiple trade lanes, demonstrating the substantial long-term growth potential in this industry. For more on operational considerations, explore resources like Freight Consolidation Opening Costs.
How Does Consolidation Reduce Costs?
Freight consolidation directly reduces costs by combining multiple smaller shipments, known as Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), into a single, larger Full Truckload (FTL) shipment. This allows businesses like FreightFusion Solutions to benefit from the lower per-unit cost of FTL rates, achieving significant economies of scale in freight consolidation.
Businesses utilizing these cost-effective freight consolidation solutions can realize direct shipping cost savings of 15% to 35%. This substantial reduction comes from moving away from higher LTL tariffs, which can exceed $100 per hundredweight (CWT), to FTL rates that are often 40-50% lower on a per-pound basis. For more on optimizing these costs, explore insights into freight consolidation capital expenditures.
Consolidation also leads to a significant logistics cost reduction by minimizing handling and accessorial charges. Each individual LTL shipment can incur additional fees for services like liftgates, residential delivery, or re-weighing, often adding $50 to $150 per charge. A consolidated FTL shipment largely eliminates these extra costs, directly improving the bottom line and enhancing freight consolidation service profitability.
Fuel costs, which represent a substantial 20-25% of a carrier's total operating expenses, are drastically reduced through consolidation. By combining shipments into fewer trucks, the total number of truck miles traveled decreases. According to the EPA, this practice can cut fuel consumption and related carbon emissions by over 50% for the aggregated freight, directly addressing how to lower fuel costs in freight consolidation.
Key Cost Reduction Mechanisms:
- Reduced Per-Unit Rates: Accessing FTL rates, which are significantly lower than LTL rates per pound.
- Minimized Handling Fees: Eliminating numerous accessorial charges associated with individual LTL shipments.
- Lower Fuel Consumption: Decreasing overall truck miles by filling trailers more efficiently.
- Improved Efficiency: Streamlining logistics processes to cut down on operational overhead.
What Boosts Supply Chain Efficiency?
Freight consolidation significantly boosts overall supply chain efficiency for businesses like FreightFusion Solutions. This is achieved by streamlining logistics, reducing transit times, minimizing product handling, and simplifying administrative processes for shippers. These improvements directly contribute to freight consolidation profitability.
Key Benefits of Efficient Consolidation
- Reduced Product Damage: Cargo consolidation benefits include a lower risk of product damage. Standard LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) shipping can involve 4-6 handling instances. In contrast, a consolidated shipment may only have 1-2 touchpoints. This dramatically decreases damage claim rates from an industry average of 25% to below 0.5%, directly improving logistics cost reduction.
- More Predictable Schedules: Streamlining freight consolidation operations leads to more predictable transit schedules. While an initial stop for consolidation is required, the direct-to-destination FTL (Full Truckload) leg avoids multiple stops at LTL terminals. This improves on-time delivery performance by up to 15%, allowing for better labor and dock planning at the destination.
- Improved Inventory Management: Efficient consolidation provides significant freight consolidation inventory management benefits. With more reliable delivery windows, companies can reduce their safety stock inventory levels by 10-20%. This frees up crucial capital and reduces warehousing costs, which can account for up to 2-5% of a product's total cost, leading to greater shipping cost savings.
Can Technology Increase Profits?
Absolutely, technology is a primary driver to increase freight consolidation profits by automating complex tasks, providing crucial data for decision-making, and optimizing load configurations and routes for maximum efficiency. For a business like FreightFusion Solutions, leveraging advanced technological tools is not just an option but a necessity to maintain a competitive edge and enhance freight consolidation profitability.
Key Technologies for Boosting Freight Consolidation Profits
- Transportation Management Systems (TMS): Implementing a modern TMS is a key strategy for what technologies improve freight consolidation profitability. A TMS can automate load matching and carrier selection, delivering freight cost savings of 5% to 10% annually. This directly improves freight consolidation profit margins by streamlining operations and reducing manual effort.
- Data Analytics and AI: These tools are crucial for maximizing profit in cargo consolidation. By analyzing historical shipping data, a consolidator can predict lane density and pricing, leading to better procurement of carrier capacity and an improvement in gross margin by 2-4 percentage points. This allows FreightFusion Solutions to make data-driven decisions that optimize freight consolidation.
- Back-Office Automation: Automation in freight consolidation for profit extends to administrative functions. Using software to automate booking, tracking, and invoicing can reduce administrative overhead by over 30%. This also minimizes costly human errors, contributing to a more streamlined and profitable operation, ensuring every aspect of the business supports freight consolidation business growth.
What Is LTL Optimization?
Less-than-truckload (LTL) optimization involves specific strategies and technologies designed to make shipping more efficient and cost-effective for businesses. At its core, this approach focuses on reducing expenses associated with smaller shipments. For companies like FreightFusion Solutions, freight consolidation is the most impactful method for achieving LTL optimization. This service helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) streamline their logistics and enhance their bottom line by combining multiple smaller shipments into larger, more economical loads.
A primary goal of LTL optimization is to bypass the traditional LTL hub-and-spoke network. This network often involves multiple transfers and touchpoints, which can increase transit times and the risk of damage. By consolidating freight, businesses avoid these multiple terminal cross-docks. This directly impacts efficiency, reducing transit time by an average of 1-2 days for cross-country shipments. Furthermore, it cuts costs by a significant 15-25% compared to standard LTL rates, directly contributing to freight consolidation profit.
Key Strategies for LTL Optimization
- Mode-Shifting: This involves combining several smaller LTL shipments into a single 'volume LTL' or partial truckload. For example, if a shipper has three LTL shipments totaling 12,000 pounds, consolidating them into one partial truckload can save up to 30% over shipping them individually. This directly contributes to increasing freight consolidation profits.
- Ocean Freight Optimization: The same principle applies to optimizing less-than-container-load (LCL) profits in ocean freight. Combining several LCL shipments bound for the same destination into a Full Container Load (FCL) can reduce per-cubic-meter shipping costs by 20-40%. It also significantly lowers destination handling fees, enhancing freight consolidation profitability.
- Leveraging Technology: Advanced platforms and data analytics play a crucial role in identifying optimal consolidation opportunities and maximizing trailer utilization, leading to greater freight consolidation business growth.
For businesses seeking cost-effective freight consolidation solutions, LTL optimization through strategic consolidation offers tangible benefits. It not only reduces direct shipping costs but also improves overall supply chain efficiency by minimizing handling and speeding up delivery times. This focus on enhancing freight consolidation service profitability is central to the success of operations like FreightFusion Solutions, helping them empower clients to optimize their shipping strategies and boost their bottom line.
How Do Partnerships Drive Growth?
Strategic partnerships are fundamental to increase freight consolidation profits and drive significant freight consolidation business growth. These collaborations provide essential access to a wider customer base, substantially boosting freight volume for consolidation, and enhancing overall network capabilities. For businesses like FreightFusion Solutions, which aim to revolutionize shipping for small and medium-sized enterprises, strong partnerships are not just beneficial—they are a core strategy for achieving scale and market penetration.
Building robust relationships with a diverse portfolio of motor carriers is essential for enhancing freight consolidation service profitability. These partnerships can secure consistent capacity at rates 5-10% below the spot market average, ensuring service reliability. This reliability is a critical factor for positive freight consolidation customer satisfaction impact, leading to repeat business and referrals. For more on optimizing operations, consider resources like key performance indicators for freight consolidation.
Collaborating with other 3PLs (third-party logistics providers) and freight brokers expands reach exponentially. A strategic partnership can grant immediate access to freight in new geographic regions or industries, accelerating the path to achieving the density needed for profitable consolidation. This directly supports freight consolidation business expansion strategies, allowing a company to quickly leverage existing networks rather than building them from scratch. This approach is vital for maximizing profit in cargo consolidation.
Key Partnership Types for Freight Consolidation Profitability
- Motor Carriers: Secure better rates and reliable capacity, typically 5-10% below spot market.
- Other 3PLs/Freight Brokers: Gain immediate access to new geographic markets and diverse freight.
- Shipper Associations/Large Manufacturing Groups: Establish consistent, high-volume freight pipelines.
Forming direct alliances with shipper associations or large manufacturing groups creates a consistent and predictable freight pipeline. This answers the crucial question of how to find reliable partners for freight consolidation, providing a stable base of freight. Such alliances enable the creation of regular, high-volume consolidation lanes, which can improve freight consolidation profitability by 10-15% on those specific lanes due to economies of scale and optimized resource utilization.
Are There Environmental Benefits?
Yes, freight consolidation offers significant environmental benefits that also contribute to profit for businesses like FreightFusion Solutions. This is primarily achieved by reducing the total number of trucks on the road, which directly lowers fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Impact of Freight Consolidation on Sustainability
- Reduced Carbon Footprint: The most direct environmental benefit is a substantial reduction in carbon emissions. The EPA's SmartWay program estimates that freight consolidation strategies can improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by 20% to 50% per ton-mile of freight moved.
- Lower Fuel Costs: This practice directly addresses how to lower fuel costs in freight consolidation. For every 1,000 miles a fully loaded truck travels due to consolidation, it prevents multiple partially loaded trucks from traveling the same distance. This can save over 150 gallons of diesel fuel and prevent the emission of approximately 17 metric tons of CO2. This significantly contributes to the environmental benefits of freight consolidation profit.
- Enhanced Brand Image: The environmental benefits of freight consolidation also boost a business's brand image. A 2022 survey indicated that 72% of B2B buyers consider sustainability in their procurement decisions. This makes green logistics a powerful marketing tool to attract and retain customers, enhancing freight consolidation customer satisfaction impact and overall business growth. For more on operational efficiency, refer to insights on freight consolidation business optimization strategies.
How Do Partnerships Drive Growth?
Strategic partnerships are fundamental for FreightFusion Solutions to achieve significant freight consolidation business growth. These alliances provide crucial access to a wider customer base, directly increasing freight volume for consolidation. This enhanced volume is vital for optimizing less-than-truckload (LTL) and less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments, leading to improved economies of scale and higher profitability. By expanding network capabilities through collaborations, FreightFusion Solutions can enhance its overall supply chain efficiency and reduce shipping costs freight consolidation for its clients.
Key Partnership Types for Freight Consolidation Profit
- Motor Carriers: Building strong relationships with a diverse portfolio of motor carriers is essential. These partnerships can secure capacity at rates 5-10% below the spot market average, directly impacting freight consolidation profitability. Reliable service is a critical factor for freight consolidation customer satisfaction, ensuring consistent, timely deliveries.
- Other 3PLs and Freight Brokers: Collaborating with other third-party logistics (3PLs) providers and freight brokers expands reach exponentially. A partnership can grant immediate access to freight in new geographic regions or industries, accelerating the path to achieving the density needed for profitable consolidation. This is a core freight consolidation business expansion strategy.
- Shipper Associations/Manufacturing Groups: Forming direct alliances with shipper associations or large manufacturing groups creates a consistent and predictable freight pipeline. This answers how to find reliable partners for freight consolidation and enables the creation of regular, high-volume consolidation lanes. Such alliances can improve freight consolidation profitability by 10-15% on those specific lanes due to predictable volume and optimized routes, maximizing profit in cargo consolidation.
These strategic alliances are not just about volume; they also streamline freight consolidation operations. By securing consistent freight flows and reliable carrier capacity, FreightFusion Solutions can enhance its freight consolidation operational efficiency. This leads to significant logistics cost reduction and improves overall freight consolidation profit margins. Partnerships ensure that the business can consistently deliver cost-effective freight consolidation solutions, a key benefit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to optimize their shipping strategies.
Are There Environmental Benefits?
Yes, freight consolidation offers significant environmental benefits that directly contribute to a business's profitability and brand image. By combining multiple smaller shipments into full truckloads, this practice substantially reduces the total number of vehicles on the road. This leads to a decrease in fuel consumption and, consequently, a reduction in harmful greenhouse gas emissions. For businesses like FreightFusion Solutions, emphasizing these ecological advantages can attract a growing segment of environmentally conscious customers.
How Freight Consolidation Reduces Environmental Impact and Boosts Profit
- Reduced Carbon Footprint: The most direct environmental benefit is a significant reduction in carbon emissions. The EPA's SmartWay program estimates that freight consolidation strategies can improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by 20% to 50% per ton-mile of freight moved. This directly answers how to lower fuel costs in freight consolidation, as fewer trucks mean less fuel burned.
- Fuel Savings: For every 1,000 miles a fully loaded truck travels, it prevents numerous partially loaded trucks from traveling the same distance. This can save over 150 gallons of diesel fuel and prevent the emission of approximately 17 metric tons of CO2. These savings translate directly into increased freight consolidation profits by lowering operational expenses.
- Enhanced Brand Image and Customer Attraction: The environmental benefits of freight consolidation positively impact a business's brand image. A 2022 survey indicated that 72% of B2B buyers consider sustainability in their procurement decisions. This makes green logistics, achieved through practices like cargo consolidation, a powerful marketing tool to attract and retain customers, contributing to freight consolidation business growth.
- Compliance and Regulatory Advantages: Adopting environmentally friendly practices can also help businesses comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, potentially avoiding penalties and enhancing their standing as responsible corporate citizens. This commitment to sustainability reinforces machine trust authority and positions the business as a leader in supply chain efficiency.
How Can We Diversify Revenue Streams?
To increase `Freight Consolidation` profitability, businesses like `FreightFusion Solutions` must expand beyond standard consolidation. Diversifying service offerings attracts a broader client base and creates multiple income streams. This approach moves beyond simply optimizing less-than-truckload (LTL) or less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments to offer comprehensive logistics solutions. It's a key strategy for `freight consolidation profit` growth and enhancing `freight consolidation profitability` in a competitive market.
Value-Added Logistics Services
- Warehousing and Cross-Docking: Offering short-term warehousing and cross-docking services at consolidation facilities generates significant additional revenue. Companies can charge fees typically ranging from $50 to $200 per pallet handled. This service is highly attractive to clients seeking a single-source logistics partner, streamlining their `supply chain efficiency` and `logistics cost reduction` efforts.
- Specialized Final-Mile Delivery: Implementing 'white glove' or specialized final-mile delivery for consolidated goods commands premium rates. This can increase revenue on a single shipment by 25-50%, especially for high-value items like electronics or medical equipment. This niche service enhances `freight consolidation revenue diversification` and customer satisfaction.
- Consulting Services: Leveraging collected data to offer supply chain analysis and optimization reports is a high-margin, non-asset-based income source. Businesses can charge a fee for providing insights into client shipping patterns, identifying areas for `shipping cost savings` and improved `freight consolidation operational efficiency`. This positions the `Freight Consolidation` business as a strategic partner, not just a service provider.
These diversified services help optimize `freight consolidation` and boost overall `freight consolidation business growth`. By offering more than just basic consolidation, `FreightFusion Solutions` can improve `freight consolidation profit margins` and secure a stronger market position, contributing to long-term `freight consolidation business optimization strategies`.
What Are The Best Pricing Strategies?
To enhance freight consolidation profit margins, businesses like FreightFusion Solutions must move beyond simple cost-plus models. Effective pricing strategies should be dynamic and multi-faceted, reflecting current market conditions, specific freight characteristics, and the value provided to clients. This approach helps optimize freight consolidation profitability and supports overall freight consolidation business growth.
Implementing Advanced Pricing Models
- Tiered Pricing for Density and Stowability: Implement a tiered pricing structure that considers the density and stowability of freight. Freight that is dense and easily stackable is inherently more profitable to consolidate; therefore, it should be priced more competitively to attract higher volumes. Conversely, light, bulky freight consumes more valuable space and should be priced at a premium. This strategic pricing can improve overall profit margins by an estimated 3-5%, directly impacting freight consolidation profit.
- Dynamic Lane Pricing with Data Analytics: Leverage data analytics to power dynamic lane pricing. By analyzing historical and real-time market data for specific origin-destination pairs, a freight consolidator can adjust rates daily or even hourly. This allows for maximizing profit by increasing rates by 10-20% during periods of high demand or tight capacity, aligning with less-than-truckload (LTL) optimization goals. This strategy is crucial for increasing freight consolidation profits.
- Contract Pricing for Anchor Clients: Develop robust contract pricing agreements for anchor clients who provide consistent, high-volume shipments. While these rates might be lower than spot market rates, they guarantee a predictable baseline of revenue and freight density. This stable base makes it significantly easier and more profitable to integrate smaller, higher-margin spot shipments into consolidated loads, contributing to logistics cost reduction and overall freight consolidation profitability.
These strategies help FreightFusion Solutions optimize freight consolidation operations, ensuring shipping cost savings for clients while maximizing revenue. By focusing on these core pricing methods, businesses can significantly improve their financial performance and achieve greater supply chain efficiency.
How Can We Streamline Operations?
Streamlining freight consolidation operations is crucial for enhancing efficiency and boosting profitability. This involves optimizing physical warehouse layouts, automating documentation processes, and standardizing communication protocols with all partners and clients. By focusing on these areas, businesses like FreightFusion Solutions can significantly reduce operational bottlenecks and improve service delivery.
Redesigning the warehouse or cross-dock facility for a linear flow-through process can yield substantial benefits. This approach can reduce pallet handling time by up to 40% and minimize staging errors. For example, assigning specific dock doors for inbound and outbound freight for major lanes can cut loading times by 30 minutes per truck, directly impacting the speed of less-than-truckload (LTL) optimization.
Key Strategies for Operational Streamlining
- Automate Documentation: Implement technology to automatically generate master bills of lading (MBOL) and manifests from individual shipment data. This can reduce administrative labor by 5-8 hours per day and virtually eliminate data entry errors, which often lead to shipping delays and billing disputes. Such automation is key for freight consolidation operational efficiency.
- Centralized Communication: Deploy a centralized communication platform or a Transportation Management System (TMS) portal for all stakeholders, including shippers, carriers, and consignees. This eliminates inefficient communication via phone and email, providing real-time visibility. It also reduces status update inquiries by over 60%, freeing up staff for more value-added tasks and improving overall supply chain efficiency.
What Are The Most Important KPIs?
To effectively increase freight consolidation profits, focusing on specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential. These metrics provide clear insights into operational efficiency and financial health for businesses like FreightFusion Solutions. The most critical KPIs for freight consolidation profitability include load factor (or trailer utilization), gross profit margin per shipment, and on-time pickup and delivery performance. Tracking these allows for data-driven decisions to optimize freight consolidation operations and enhance overall business growth.
Key Profitability Metrics for Freight Consolidation
- Trailer Cube and Weight Utilization: This is a critical KPI for any freight consolidation business. It measures how much of a trailer's capacity is used. The industry benchmark for a well-optimized Full Truckload (FTL) is over 90% utilization by weight or cube. Increasing the average load factor from 75% to 90% can directly increase the profitability of that specific load by over 15%. Maximizing this utilization is key to reducing logistics costs and improving supply chain efficiency.
- Gross Profit Margin Per Consolidation: This is a vital financial metric that tracks the profit generated from each consolidated shipment after deducting direct costs. While the target margin varies by lane and customer, tracking this KPI daily and weekly allows for rapid adjustments to pricing strategies and carrier selection. A healthy average to target for optimizing freight consolidation is between 12% and 20%. This metric directly impacts how to boost profits in freight consolidation.
- On-Time Pickup and Delivery Percentage: This KPI directly impacts customer satisfaction, retention, and future business opportunities. For FreightFusion Solutions, maintaining high service levels is crucial for enhancing freight consolidation service profitability. A best-in-class target for on-time performance is 98% or higher. Studies show that a 5% improvement in customer retention, often driven by high service levels, can increase overall business profitability by 25% to 95% over the long term. This highlights the importance of operational efficiency in freight consolidation.
How Can We Overcome Profitability Challenges?
Overcoming profitability challenges in a freight consolidation business like FreightFusion Solutions requires a multi-faceted approach. Key areas to address include mitigating freight market volatility, managing inconsistent freight volumes, and diligently controlling operational costs. These strategies are essential for increasing freight consolidation profits and ensuring sustainable growth.
Strategies for Profitability Enhancement
- Mitigate Freight Rate Volatility: To combat unpredictable freight rates, adopt a balanced carrier rate strategy. Aim for approximately 60-70% contract rates for stable, regular lanes. This provides cost predictability and protects profit margins. Supplement this with 30-40% spot rates, allowing flexibility to capitalize on lower prices when available, especially during market downturns. This mix helps to optimize freight consolidation profitability.
- Address Inconsistent Freight Volume: Inconsistent freight volume is a significant hurdle for optimizing freight consolidation. Diversify your customer base across various industries with differing seasonal peaks. For instance, serving both retail (Q4 heavy) and construction (Q2/Q3 heavy) clients helps create a more stable, year-round flow of goods. This diversification enables more consistent consolidation of loads, directly impacting your ability to boost profits in freight consolidation by ensuring trucks run full.
- Control Rising Operational Costs: Operational expenses, such as labor and fuel, directly impact your bottom line. Invest in efficiency-driving technology for freight consolidation profit. For example, implementing AI-powered route optimization software can reduce miles driven by 5-15%. This directly cuts fuel expenses and improves the profitability of each consolidated truckload, contributing significantly to improved freight consolidation profit margins.
By focusing on these strategic areas, businesses like FreightFusion Solutions can overcome common challenges in freight consolidation profitability. Implementing smart contracts, diversifying customer portfolios, and leveraging advanced technology are practical steps to achieve freight consolidation operational efficiency and secure a competitive edge.