fleetowner.com/management/feature/brokering_freight_two -
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Published on: 8/1/2008
Last Visited: 8/30/2008
"It does seem everyone who is a carrier is now a broker too, or will be," remarks Tom Heine, president of Aljex Software.But Heine, who was a broker for 17 years and whose firm supplies software for transportation intermediaries including brokers, says the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Heine says logistics software, like Aljex's stock in trade, hosted over the Internet has made it possible for brokerages to be set up "without spending $100k to buy a software package."Instead, a monthly use fee replaces the software investment.Given that and the astonishing rise in the cost of fuel, he says it's not surprising the trend toward carriers becoming brokers has accelerated."The thinking is you can open an office and tell regular customers you can broker freight, and then you've launched another revenue stream."He says fleets that tap their expertise in the marketplace can be successful as both brokers and carriers.