The freight procurement process—especially contract freight—is long overdue for a transformation. For years, shippers and carriers have relied on outdated methods to secure capacity, build partnerships, and manage costs. But is the traditional freight RFP process delivering on its promises anymore? Or is it time to rethink everything?
The Problem with Today’s Freight RFP Process
Despite the structure and rigor of annual freight RFPs, the process is fundamentally broken. Countless hours are spent drafting complex bid documents, managing multiple negotiation rounds, and analyzing proposals—only to result in non-binding agreements that offer little certainty for either party.
“We’re putting tremendous effort into tactical tasks that deliver minimal strategic value,” says one logistics director at a major CPG firm.
The $90 Billion Cost of Inefficiency
The scale of inefficiency in U.S. truckload transportation is staggering. In a highly fragmented market valued at approximately $906 Billion in 2024*, shippers and carriers still rely heavily on outdated, manual processes—phone calls, spreadsheets, emails, and even faxes—to secure capacity and manage freight.
Industry estimates suggest that nearly $90 billion is spent every year on these manual, tactical tasks. Despite employing over 5 million workers to address these challenges, inefficiencies persist: up to 25% of truck miles are still driven empty, wasting driver hours and increasing turnover.
This is where digital freight platforms and AI-powered tools offer not just incremental improvements, but transformative potential. By reducing manual processes, improving forecasting, and enabling enforceable digital contracts, these solutions can unlock tens of billions in value—while building a more reliable, efficient freight network.
Digital Freight Platforms: Transforming the Game
Automation and Efficiency Gains
Modern platforms can automate up to 40% of manual workflows, streamlining processes like load matching, rate quoting, contract execution, and document management.
Cost Reduction at Scale
Companies leveraging real-time data and digital procurement tools have reported a 20% reduction in transportation spend, including administrative and operational expenses. That equates to a potential $18 billion in annual industry-wide savings.
Fewer Errors, Greater Productivity
Automated platforms drastically reduce invoice discrepancies, eliminate redundant communications, and lighten administrative burdens—boosting team productivity and service accuracy.
The Rise of Smart, Enforceable Digital Contracts
Perhaps the most groundbreaking innovation is the shift from soft, non-binding RFP results to binding digital freight contracts. This evolution addresses one of the industry's biggest pain points: a lack of enforceability.
Consider Tetheree’s solutions: a comprehensive suite of technology for transportation and distribution functions, offering a platform and leverages a suite of software that enable shippers and logistics brokers to execute agreements with trusted partners and streamline their operations. Its capabilities extend well beyond simply matching loads to trucks.
- Automated Opportunity Analytics: Helps users instantly identify the best-fit carriers or specific lanes or routes in their network.
- Proprietary Matching & Rating Algorithms: Ensures alignment on service requirements, historical performance, and price expectations.
- Standardized Digital Contracts: Reduce legal ambiguity and simplify compliance across all partners.
- Live Contract Monitoring: Tracks whether obligations are met during execution and flags discrepancies in real-time.
The result? Carriers gain the predictability needed to build efficient routes and reduce empty miles, while shippers gain confidence that service levels and costs will be honored.
Why AI is the Freight Buyer’s New Best Friend
Artificial Intelligence isn’t replacing freight managers—it’s amplifying their capabilities. Here’s how:
- Predictive Pricing: AI analyzes historical data, current market trends, and external variables to generate forward-looking rate forecasts.
- Lane and Carrier Scoring: Models assess performance, risk, and fit—enabling data-backed award decisions.
- Scenario Planning: AI helps simulate “what if” contracting scenarios, enabling strategic planning without guesswork.
- This shift from reactive to predictive procurement is what separates the leaders from the laggards in modern transportation.
Conclusion: The Path Forward for Freight Procurement
Today’s freight procurement systems are strained under the weight of outdated processes, unreliable agreements, and mounting operational costs. But the solution isn’t another spreadsheet—it’s a smarter, digitally enabled, AI-augmented ecosystem.
By embracing automation, enforceable digital contracts, and real-time data insights, shippers and carriers can finally escape the cycle of inefficiency and unlock billions in collective savings.
So, here’s the question: Are you still stuck in the manual, reactive freight world—or are you ready to build a smarter freight strategy?
Sources:
ATA Freight Transportation Forecast https://www.atabusinesssolutions.com/Shopping/Product/viewproduct/12435945/ATA-U.S.-Freight-Transportation-Forecast-to-2035