Today Convoy has introduced instant bid responses, a new feature in the Convoy app that helps carriers save time planning their schedules, maximize their earning potential, and get peace of mind in knowing that they have a load booked. This new capability is rolling out throughout January to the 97% of carriers and drivers in Convoy's digital freight network who use its app to find, bid on, and book loads.

Traditional freight brokering has typically been a time-intensive process. It requires carriers to first build relationships with brokers to gain access to shipments. And for every shipment, there’s back-and-forth negotiation over the phone, which can take hours or sometimes days. Apps like Convoy have eliminated much of this hassle by helping carriers find and book loads they otherwise wouldn’t have access to, while eliminating many of the pitfalls associated with phone negotiations, including haggling, language barriers, and gender and cultural biases. However, many apps still require carriers to wait several hours to learn if they won or lost a load, which leads to uncertainty and delays in finalizing their schedules.

Instant bid responses address these challenges by providing carriers with immediate feedback and reduce the response time on bids submitted from hours to seconds. Through this upgrade, approximately 98% of bids on Convoy-sourced loads will be immediately accepted, countered, or rejected, providing carriers real-time flexibility to quickly book a load or adjust their rates and submit new bids.

The addition of in-app counteroffers provide real-time, actionable feedback on bids, reducing the risk of a carrier losing a load. To date, engagement with counteroffers has been extremely positive, with many bids receiving counteroffers that are subsequently accepted.

Instant bid responses use Convoy’s dynamic pricing models to quickly evaluate carrier bids and changing market conditions to determine which bids to accept, reject, or counter.

“Instant bid responses are an exciting evolution to the Convoy app experience for carriers,” said Grant Goodale, Carrier Experience Officer of Convoy. “Providing real-time responses to bids was one of the most requested upgrades from the Convoy carrier network, and we’re pleased to now be able to provide a better way for carriers to quickly and more effectively secure loads. At Convoy, it’s our mission to help carriers earn more with less hassle, and instant bid response is an important step forward in fulfilling that promise.”