Supply chains were recently strained during the COVID capacity crunch, which resulted in many shippers proactively investigating solutions to avoid similar debacles. To navigate this, many corporations partner with third-party logistics providers (3PLs) that offer a range of services, including freight brokerage and managed transportation solutions. One such 3PL is Translogistics, Inc., which does business as TLI. With hundreds of shippers turning to them for their customized transportation needs, TLI stands out as unique by offering both essential freight brokerage and more robust managed transportation services. But what’s the difference between these two offerings, and why are shippers flocking to TLI?
Understanding Freight Brokerage Services
At the core of any quality 3PL are freight brokerage services. Freight brokers act as intermediaries between shippers and carriers, ensuring that freight is transported efficiently, at competitive rates, and using the best motor carrier for the job. The 3PL streamlines the transportation processes for companies that do not have the resources or expertise to handle transportation logistics in-house.
Key services provided by freight brokers like TLI include:
Carrier Sourcing: Finding the best carrier options for different shipment types.
Rate Negotiation: Securing competitive freight rates on behalf of shippers.
Load Planning: Matching the right carriers with the right freight based on size, weight, equipment type, and destination.
Document Creation: The 3PL generates pallet labels and bill of ladings while also digitally archiving historic documents so they can be reconciled against the freight bill.
Freight Scheduling: Ensuring pickups and deliveries happen on time.
For shippers with easy and straightforward logistics needs, these simple freight brokerage services provide flexibility and cost efficiency without requiring deep in-house logistics expertise.
How Managed Transportation Services Go Further
While freight brokerage handles the basic needs of sourcing and managing carriers, managed transportation services (MTS) offer an expanded suite of tools and support designed for shippers with more complex, high-volume needs. MTS solutions go beyond just finding a carrier—they involve an end-to-end approach to transportation management, providing shippers with comprehensive oversight and optimization of their logistics processes. TLI’s managed transportation services address these needs, offering features such as:
Freight Claim Management: When shipping challenges occur, such as lost or damaged goods, TLI's MTS helps manage, mitigate and resolve claims, reducing administrative burden and ensuring swift resolutions.
Freight Invoice Auditing: TLI meticulously reviews all freight invoices for accuracy, helping shippers avoid costly billing errors and ensuring alignment with contractual terms. TLI will also go back to the carrier and mitigate the billing errors on the shipper’s behalf, ensuring accountability, visibility, and accuracy in shipment billing.
Automated Cost Center & GL Coding: Streamlining financial operations, TLI automates the coding of freight invoices into specific cost centers or general ledger (GL) accounts for easier financial reporting, forecasting and analysis.
Transportation Management System (TMS): A robust TMS like TLI’s ViewPoint allows shippers to track shipments in real-time, manage routing and optimization, and access detailed reporting. This tech solution helps companies automate load planning and gain full visibility over their supply chain.
Carrier RFP Sourcing & Contract Monitoring: TLI handles the entire RFP process for carrier sourcing, ensuring shippers get the best rates while maintaining compliance with long-term contract obligations.
Spot TL (Truckload) Support: When shippers need to move truckloads at the last minute, TLI’s spot market expertise ensures they can secure capacity quickly without sacrificing cost or service quality.
Multimodal Support: TLI offers expertise across multiple transportation modes including:
Parcel, LTL (Less-than-Truckload), Volume, Partial, and Full Truckload (FTL)
International shipments (LCL and FCL)
Intermodal transport, and expedited options
Specialized equipment types: Flatbeds, low boys, double drops, Conestogas, RGN trailers, sprinter vans, and cargo vans, to name just a few.
Customizing Solutions for Shippers' Unique Needs
TLI offers shippers a flexible approach, recognizing that no two businesses have identical transportation needs. Some shippers may have small-scale operations that require basic load planning and cost-effective carrier sourcing. For these companies, TLI’s shipTLI platform provides a simplified, user-friendly solution that covers these essentials.
On the other hand, shippers with more intricate logistics needs—such as multiple distribution facilities, complex multimodal shipments with high freight volumes—may opt for the full managed transportation suite. These shippers benefit from TLI’s deep logistics expertise, receiving a tailored solution that covers every facet of transportation management, from contract negotiation to freight audit and beyond.
For companies that have their own in-house logistics team but still want to delegate some administration tasks and harness TLI’s advanced transportation technology, ViewPoint TMS offers access to a powerful transportation management system. This scalable solution, when integrated into the shippers ERP, empowers businesses to manage their own freight more efficiently, with automation and data insights driving strategic decision-making.
Data-Driven, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Solutions
What sets TLI apart is its commitment to providing data-driven, scalable solutions. For shippers of all sizes, TLI’s ability to leverage data for transportation contract management, improving carrier accessorial rates, customizing cargo liability around actual needs and auditing performance leads to measurable cost savings. Delegating transportation management to TLI’s experienced team not only allows companies to focus on their core business but also enhances internal accountability by providing transparency and insights into current logistics operations.
TLI’s comprehensive services, from freight brokerage to fully managed transportation, offer shippers significant energy savings and improved quality of service. By partnering with TLI, shippers gain access to a full range of logistics expertise, enabling them to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve service levels in a way that aligns with their unique business needs.
The Shippers’ Strategic Partner
TLI serves as the perfect bridge between freight brokerage and managed transportation services, offering a comprehensive solution that benefits both small and large shippers alike. For smaller businesses experiencing growth, TLI provides the flexibility to start with simple freight brokerage services, then seamlessly scale up to more sophisticated managed transportation as their needs evolve. This allows growing companies to manage their logistics efficiently without worrying about outgrowing their current service providers. However for larger enterprises, such as Translogistics' publicly traded customers, acquiring subsidiaries and leveraging increased buying power are critical to optimizing logistics data. TLI’s robust data management and multimodal capabilities ensure that all logistics operations are streamlined under one cohesive, scalable and consolidated strategy. Key questions like "Is the distribution network scalable?" and "Are cost center and GL coding effectively measuring costs by location or shipment direction?" are addressed within this framework.
Take outbound freight as an example: some shippers invest significant time manually rate shopping to save small amounts, while neglecting the inbound vendor routing program, leading to inefficiencies in production schedules and a lack of visibility. TLI solves these challenges with a real vendor routing portal—a feature customers leaving big-box brokers often emphasize as a top need. TLI’s inbound program offers even greater sophistication, providing historical tracking and consolidation opportunities, which drive cost savings and reduce unnecessary emissions. Many vendors ship orders individually, missing out on consolidation opportunities that could significantly lower shipping costs.
Whether a shipper is seeking a simple freight brokerage service or a full suite of managed transportation solutions, TLI has the resources, technology, and expertise to deliver. Hundreds of shippers have partnered with TLI because they recognize the value of a tailored, scalable, and data-driven approach to transportation management. Whether they need basic load planning, a cutting-edge TMS solution, or a fully managed transportation program, shippers know that TLI is the key to optimizing their logistics strategy. The possibilities for optimization are extensive. For instance, TLI helps shippers identify better transportation modes for loads too large for LTL but too small for full truckload (FTL), ensuring cost efficiency. From small businesses to publicly traded companies, TLI has consistently helped shippers improve operations, and they could do the same for you—or at least are worth exploring.
The smartest move for a shipper is to delegate transportation needs to TLI, sidestepping the poor service of big-box brokers and the capacity, integrity, and urgency issues of small "garage shop" brokers. TLI, which stands for Trust, Loyalty, and Integrity, focuses on making shipping easy. They offer the perfect balance of strategic expertise, scalability, and personalized service to ensure supply chain operations. By partnering with TLI, shippers streamline supply chain processes, boost service quality, and access a team of logistics experts truly dedicated to their success, making TLI the strategic choice for transportation management.