Courierology :

A freight exchange is a web site where hauliers and couriers can buy and sell work.

Members with more work than they can cover advertise loads, and other members bid for the work. Most freight exchanges will send SMS text alerts to your mobile phone when loads are posted.

They usually also have forums or 'chat' pages, help pages, FAQs and other information for members.

For small courier businesses a freight exchange is a way to serve customers all over the country by subbing work out. And for owner-drivers without their own customers it is a way to find more work, especially backloads for empty vehicles on return journeys.

The forums and member lists are good for networking — getting to know other couriers around the country to build business relationships with them.

Everybody has their favourite, but there isn't one that's better than all the others.

Courier Exchange probably has most work, but it is not necessarily best for you.

You can find out more about the different freight exchanges by looking on the forums, such as codforum (but search before you ask!).

Here are some of the things you should think about…

how much work?

The obvious question is, how much work is posted on the freight exchange? This is important — but it's not everything.

alerts

With some freight exchanges you have to visit the site to see if there is any work in your area, but most will send you alerts to tell you about new work.

Some sites send email alerts — either one for each load or combined, with several jobs on each email.

Other sites send text alerts (SMS) to your mobile phone, so you get the information straight away without waiting for emails.

price

A couple of freight exchanges are free. For the others the cost ranges from £26 a year to about £300 a year, plus the cost of text alerts.

They all have different ways of charging, such as:

• pay a setup charge, then monthly or annual subs plus text alerts
• register for free, then monthly or annual subs plus text alerts

support

Some freight exchanges have a staffed office and offer telephone support, others have email support, and some have no support at all. You should find out what's on offer and decide what you are prepared to pay for.

trade or retail?

Some freight exchanges are trade only, but others are open to ‘retail’ — end users can place load details on the site and get bids from members.

A 'proper' freight exchange is trade-only, with no end-user access.

If you register with a freight exchange and just wait for alerts to be sent to you, you will probably find you have wasted your money. Even with the busiest and best of sites there are a few simple things you can do to get the best value from it…

fill in all your details

The first thing to do is fill in all your details on your account or ‘profile’. Other members will look at this information when they are looking for subbies.

send in your insurance documents

Most sites will want to see a copy of your GIT insurance, and it gives other members confidence that you are serious about your business.

set up your alerts

On most sites you have to set up your account so you get the right alerts — choose the area you want alerts for, and what size vehicle you want them for.

post your empty van

There will be some way to tell other members you are available and looking for work — this might be called a ‘return journeys’ page, or ‘vans available’ or something similar.

This is usually a waste of time, and you might get a call from it perhaps one time out of every hundred. But every call you get is a new business relationship started, and could lead to lots more work in the future.

And some sites will send you alerts for any new loads that are posted in the area you are available.

use the forum

Every site has some kind of forum or ‘chat’ page, for members to talk to each other. Some people never use these, and they can get a bit political and even petty.

But you should post a new topic to say hello to other members. Tell them who you are and where you are, what van you've got, and any other relevant information — such as previous experience.

And join in with other topics if you've got something to say, so other members get to know you and will remember your name.

use the directory

The site will have a member list or ‘directory’ where you can look up other members.

Use this list to find members in your area, or other parts of the country you are interested in, and get in touch with them. Tell them you got their details from the site, and let them know you are available.

and remember — it's good, but you can't live on it

You should never rely on a freight exchange to keep you busy. Get out and get your own customers, or network with other couriers in your area, and treat any work you get from a freight exchange as a bonus.