·2 min read
Outsourcing transport to subcontractors gives you flexibility: you absorb peaks without extra vehicles and staff. The risk is losing track. With a fixed way of working you stay in control of who drives what, at what price, and what needs to be paid.
1. Put the route out with all the details
A subcontractor can only respond properly if they know what they are taking on: region, stops, distance, vehicle type and time window. Record that once, with a target price.
2. Let subcontractors respond
Open the route to your subcontractors in one go instead of calling them one by one. Let them respond at your price or name their own, and compare the responses side by side.
3. Assign and record the agreement
When you assign, record what was agreed: route, price and surcharges. If the execution later differs, you compare with the agreement instead of with what someone remembers.
4. Pass on changes straight away
A cancelled route, a different time or an extra stop: make sure the subcontractor knows immediately, in writing. That prevents arguments about who knew what.
5. Complete and settle per period
After the route, record what was actually driven. Collect the completed routes per subcontractor each week or month and settle them in one go, for example with self-billing and a batch payment.
Subcontractors of subcontractors
Larger carriers sometimes pass routes on to their own subcontractors. Agree whether that is allowed, who will then drive, and that your agreement with the carrier still applies. Settlement runs through your own carrier.
How Charterportaal helps
Charterportaal is made for outsourcing transport: putting routes out to your carriers, comparing responses with your margin in view, passing on changes automatically and settling per period. Carriers with their own subcontractors can work in it too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I outsource transport to subcontractors?
Put routes out with all the details and a target price, let subcontractors respond, assign and record the agreement, pass on changes straight away and settle per period based on what was actually driven.
How do I stop a route from being given away twice?
By putting routes out and assigning them in one place. Once a route is assigned, nobody else can take it.
May a carrier pass a route on to a subcontractor?
If you agree to that. Record that your agreement with the carrier still applies and that settlement runs through the carrier.