3PL opens up capacity, drives business growth with all-risk, smart cargo insurance

“[Loadsure] opened up our capacity by five times, and it’s helping us maintain great relationships with our customers and carrier base.”

— Robert Dodge, Director of Carrier Relations

BUSINESS

Delivering third-party logistics services with a high degree of professionalism

Today’s just-in-time supply chain has grown increasingly complex—and with that complexity comes added risk. It’s why shippers turn to Fifth Wheel Freight. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this fast-growing third-party logistics provider eases the burden of moving freight from Point A to Point B, contracting customer loads with reputable carrier partners.

From flatbed and hazmat to LTL and reefer—and everything in-between—Fifth Wheel Freight has earned a reputation for trusted, reliable service.

CHALLENGE

Securing capacity for high-value customer loads

“Capacity is always an issue,” says Fifth Wheel Freight director of carrier relations, Robert Dodge. “Either there’s too little freight and carriers are fighting over your loads or there’s too much freight and it’s hard to service your customers.”

This lack of capacity became a real challenge for Fifth Wheel Freight in August and September. At the time, the company was moving an increasing volume of high-value alcoholic beverage loads—loads for which only 10 to 15 percent of its carrier base carried enough cargo coverage to haul. And, as capacity tightened, Fifth Wheel Freight was increasingly challenged to service its valued customers.

“Our customers were growing,” says Dodge, “and our capacity was being limited by carrier insurance limits. We knew we needed a solution to continue servicing their business. We had to be able to use high-quality-of-service carriers with $100,000 cargo policies.”

SOLUTION

Instant all-risk coverage for high-value and specialty loads

Like many, Dodge scoured the internet for answers.

“I was surprised to find there weren’t as many specializing in this type of coverage as I thought there would be,” he says.

Discovering Loadsure, however, Dodge had an inkling he’d found the solution the company needed. The AI and automation-powered platform delivered instant cargo insurance quotes, dynamic pricing and products, and up to $2M in per-load, all-risk coverage—even for commonly excluded commodities, like alcoholic beverages.

The Loadsure demo gave Dodge added confidence.

“Processing certificates is instantaneous,” he says. “You just type in the address and load details, hit buy, and you’ve got the certificate in your email. We researched other solutions, but they didn’t deliver certificates right away. We just feel safer and more secure when we could instantly see the Loadsure certificates.”

BENEFIT

Opening up much-needed capacity to service customer business

“Loadsure has been a great solution for us,” says Dodge. “It’s opened up our capacity by five times, and it’s helping us maintain great relationships with our customers and carrier base.”

With fast, simple access to per-load, all-risk cargo insurance, Fifth Wheel Freight can now cover loads in 40 seconds or less—and for up to 80% less than traditional single trip policies. This enables the company to reliably service its business-critical customers, moving high-value loads with their larger pool of small but trusted carriers, despite the fact that load values exceed their coverage limits.

“Now, we’re not working all day on a single load trying to find that unicorn out there that will take the load for a rate that’s not going to break us,” says Dodge.

What’s more, Fifth Wheel Freight no longer has to process claims through their carriers’ insurance.

“That means we don’t have to worry anymore about them not covering the claim and getting stuck with the bill if they didn’t follow proper protocols or go out of business,” says Dodge. “And, when it comes to high-value cargo, that’s an enormous risk to take. Loadsure’s all-risk insurance makes us feel more comfortable taking those risks.”

Perhaps most importantly, it makes it easy for Fifth Wheel Freight to say yes when customers come calling with high-value and specialty loads.

“We love it,” says Dodge. “Loadsure is simple, and it saves us time and money. That benefits us and it benefits our customers. Now, we’re able to move anything, and that’s our goal—we don’t want to turn anything down. We want to service our customers and be there for them.”

So, what did Dodge say when we asked if he’d recommend Loadsure?

“Absolutely—100%. It’s an advantage. I highly recommend it.”