Choosing a Dispatch Service for Owner Operators
One of the biggest questions every owner-operator must address is whether to use a dispatch service to find loads or rely on self-dispatching. There’s no universal right answer to that question and there are many different factors that can make either choice the right option.
When making your decision, the most important thing to consider is probably cost. Dispatchers typically get paid a percentage of your earnings off of each load they find. Some dispatchers charge a flat rate (for example, $50 per load), but most higher quality dispatch services will charge an average of 5-10 percent for each load. That can add up fast — especially if you’re a smaller operation.
What Do Dispatch Services for Owner-Operators Do?
The role of a truck dispatch service is essentially to manage freight on behalf of owner-operators or carriers. A dispatcher’s job involves locating loads, connecting with brokers, conducting negotiations, and eventually dispatching drivers and setting up their routes. Sometimes dispatchers will also help with back-office work like reviewing truck drivers’ logs and tracking their hours. The best dispatchers may go even further, helping you maintain motor carrier compliance, manage delays, improve relationships with shippers, and more. In return for these services, dispatchers take a portion of your earnings for each load they find.
It’s important to understand that freight dispatchers are not the same as brokers. A freight broker is a legal entity that serves as a middleman between the manufacturer or shipper (who needs their freight moved) and the carrier (who can move that freight). The freight broker is legally allowed to represent both the carrier and the shipper at the same time, but they should never have a personal investment in either side. The dispatcher, on the other hand, is directly affiliated with a carrier and works on their behalf alone.
How Do Dispatchers Get Loads?
The goal of a freight dispatcher is to find high-quality, relevant loads for their clients. Once you have an owner-operator dispatcher contract in place, it’s up to the dispatcher to learn about your operation and which loads best fit your business. Some dispatchers will use their personal connections to find loads. Or, in many cases, they will use load boards to find freight for you. That’s right — just like anyone who self-dispatches, professional dispatchers also use load boards to find the right freight.
In fact, freight dispatchers often use the exact same load boards that an individual owner-operator has access to. Dispatchers use those boards in the same way, either posting their clients’ trucks and letting the system find a match or performing a search. To search, all they have to do is put in the information about the truck they are trying to fill including the type, any special features it may have, and the lanes, origin, and destination they are looking for.
Should Owner-Operators Use a Truck Dispatch Service?
Clearly, there are pros and cons to using a truck dispatch service. The main con is the cost. You’re giving someone else a part of your earnings for performing a function that you could hypothetically do on your own.
On the other hand, not having to worry about finding loads yourself can leave you free to spend more time on the road. That means you may end up delivering more loads and thus earning more than you would if you tried to self-dispatch without a quality system in place. Further, the best truck dispatchers typically have good negotiating skills and go into conversations with brokers armed with knowledge about specific lanes and markets. Given that a higher rate will benefit them as well as you, freight dispatchers often end up negotiating better rates for loads than individual owner-operators can get on their own.
In addition to saving you time and potentially securing you better rates, good freight dispatchers often offer additional services that can help owner-operators run their business — especially when they’re first starting out. For instance, they can help:
- Make sure you maintain motor carrier compliance
- Manage relationships with shippers and tackle any issues that may arise
- Navigate unexpected delays while you’re on the road
- Handle back-office tasks including paperwork, billing, and collections
In short, if you’re willing to give up some of your earnings on each load you deliver, using a dispatch service can be a good idea.
How to Choose the Right Owner-Operator Dispatch Service or Load Board
When it comes to choosing the right load board, there’s no better choice than DAT and Loadlink. With DAT and Loadlink, you get access to the largest freight marketplace in the business, backed by quality customer service that will ensure you’re supported as you learn to navigate the load board.
If you’re choosing a dispatcher, things get a bit more complicated. There’s no universally agreed-upon best dispatch service, which means you’re going to have to do some research to find the option that’s right for you.
The first thing you need to do is make a list of what exact services you’re looking for from your freight dispatcher. Are you just looking for help finding loads? Or do you also want help building customer relationships and managing back-office tasks? Knowing what you’re looking for will give you a good place to start your search.
From there, you should start seeking out recommendations from people you trust. Talk to your peers about which dispatch services they use. You should also try to find reviews from real users online. That can help you get a sense of whether a dispatch company really delivers on everything you’re looking for.
Finally — and very importantly — you need to consider cost. How much does the dispatch service charge per load? Can you handle that amount in addition to all the other costs that are necessary to operate your business? Is there a minimum amount you can charge per load to cover all those accumulated costs? You need to have those numbers ready before you start speaking to a dispatch service so you don’t sign a contract that is not in your best interest.
Making the Right Choice for Your Business
In the end, the choice of using a dispatch service is a personal one for each owner-operator. The important thing to remember is that it’s all about finding the right fit. If you hire a dispatch service, you need to make sure you have a dispatcher whose model will work for you. And if you self-dispatch, make sure you’re using the best load board on the market: DAT and Loadlink.
