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FAQs What makes TIE unique?
How will broker participants be selected? Initially, brokers and other transportation intermediaries will be invited. Later, firms may apply to join the TIExchange if they meet TIE's standards for experience, insurance, service quality and reputation and agree to follow the rules outlined by TIE. What types of service will stakeholder brokers receive? The technology to match normal shipper need to carrier capacity electronically, from beginning to end. The technology to review invoices, check for accuracy, audit and approve payment quickly. The capacity to pay within 3-5 days. Do TIE participants have to use ALL of TIE's services? No. Each company can select only those services that it believers are of benefit to its operation. Is TIE a load auction? TIE is NOT a load matching auction where shippers enter loads and carriers enter bids to win the haul. All truck locations will be known by the Exchange and taken into consideration when making load-sharing recommendations for available loads in the system. Each broker will maintain marketing and pricing contact with its own customers as well as control which loads it handles. Do members have to identify all their loads to TIE? The more business that moves through the TIExchange, the greater the cost savings and additional revenue opportunities for its members. Why would members NOT want to identify all their loads? All confidential customer and carrier information will be maintained by TIE in fields that are restricted to access by the broker providing the confidential information. How are costs shared? Cost of start-up will be shared by stakeholder brokers. How can the Exchange assure confidentiality of customer and carrier information? Sophisticated internal control procedures and technology will be in place to prevent any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Electronic collaboration among competing companies is not new. Controls have been tested, tried and found to be secure. TIE's load matching system and other services will not disclose any member's pricing or confidential customer information to any other member. Will the Exchange enter data? Sit in on any internal meeting of a transportation brokerage. You'll hear cries for the need to gather more information on customers and carriers and enter it into the system. Yet we never quite get to that point. We're just too busy. The Exchange could have the capacity to expand information on carriers and/or customers and constantly update information like insurance. TIE can move brokers to a new, higher level of knowledge management. The stakeholders themselves will make the decision about data entered to and by the Exchange. Is TIE simply another Internet website? Absolutely not. The technology and collaboration among stakeholders and participants will make TIE as basic a brokerage tool in the future as were the telephone, the Rolodex, the fax and the computer, in their time. Is TIE a new broker association? No. TIE is a stand-alone business enterprise staffed by technology, transportation and customer service professionals and funded by broker stakeholders. The enterprise holds the right to invite, accept or reject applications for participation. Will TIE have regular business hours? TIE staff will be available 24/7/365 to assist transportation intermediaries and their shippers and carriers with TIE services. TIE staff will use optimization and load-matching software developed by a leader in the field with transportation experience and a clear understanding of the relationships among carriers, transportation intermediaries and shippers. What happens if something goes wrong with a shipment? The same remedies available to a broker are available to the Exchange. Who pays the carrier? TIE will be responsible for payment to carriers within 3 to 5 days after receipt of PODs, less a fee (flat fee or percentage). TIE will invoice the shipper and add a fee (flat fee or percentage). How does a broker earn revenue? Each participating broker receives a percentage of the fee charged by the Exchange, for the shippers and/or carriers they sponsor into the system. The core participating brokers will determine procedures to be used to determine who gets credit for whom. What value-added services will be provided? Value added services could include items like these:
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