Freightex technology

Advanced technology that finds return loads for vehicles

Real-time freight exchange technology helps Freightex stand out from its competitors. For every one of our carriers' vehicles present in the Freightex database we calculate driving times and distances to all suitable loads (checking space, weight, specifications etc.) and work out an economic value for each of those loads relative to each specific vehicle. More importantly we do these economic and routing calculations continuously in real-time, shifting relative values as customers change the prices that they are prepared to pay and hauliers the prices that they are prepared to receive.

The result is that we are able to show continuously updated ranking lists of the best economic loads for every truck (and vice versa) to help our users make better informed choices in their asset allocation. By doing so they will also make better environmental choices.

Reducing CO₂ emissions through intelligent backloading

To find the most efficient trucks for our customers, our real-time systems continually look for opportunities where a truck needing to get from a future delivery point to a subsequent collection point can fulfill a new load within the required constraints and generate a positive return.

In these circumstances, rather than a truck driving empty from delivery point to subsequent collection point and a second truck moving the new load, the original truck makes a detour to take the new load, saving resources and generating efficiency savings for both carrier and customer.

Where we fill a truck going from A to B in this manner with a backload from C to D, we reduce the original unloaded distance AB to the sum of the two detour distances AC and DB. If we multiply the distance saved AB-(AC+DB) by the total GHG CO2 equivalent per km for an unloaded HGV (see DEFRA conversion factors table 7d) then we can calculate the total CO2 saved.

Real-time mapping

On busy days freight can move very quickly through our systems. Hauliers logging on to the Freightex website see a personalised map showing a selection of current loads based on work they have done for us in the past. As new loads come in and existing loads are allocated, the map updates automatically.

Hauliers can select loads that they are interested in and request them directly from the map or make price offers for loads and view the status of those offers on the map. This ease of haulier bidding is particularly valuable for our customers who use Freightex to run private freight exchanges to communicate electronically with their existing suppliers.

Operations centre

We recognise that road haulage is a complex and often unpredictable industry. Consequently we run a large, multi-lingual operations centre to manage the many issues that can't be dealt with online. Our operations centre is staffed by experienced freight professionals from across Europe who are always on hand to provide telephone assistance and support for our customers and carriers.