Loadmax.com.au aims to match shipping companies with customers

Stuart Corner
Monday, 11 April 2011 17:12

Business IT - Networking

A new online marketplace aims to match the spare capacity on transport company routes with people who have goods to ship.

Loadmax.com.au is a website where users needing to move goods list their items, and receive competitive bids from service providers wishing to fill their loads. Would be shippers simply enter the postcodes of origin and destination along with details of the goods and preferred shipment dates and receive, via email, quotes from shipping companies wanting their business.

Loadmax.com.au charges shippers a commission only on for jobs won, on a sliding scale starting at 9.9 percent of the bid price for the first $150, 7.9 percent for $150 - $350, 5.9 percent from $350- $1000 and 3.9 percent on the portion of any fee in excess of $1000.

According to Loadmax, "At present, it is estimated that 75 percent of trucks do not travel with a full load. This new system maximises transport loads, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing CO2 production by ensuring transport space does not go wasted."

The company's press release says that Loadmax founder, Erin Mulvey, "started the company because she was frustrated at the high price of shipping when buying goods online as transporting an item from ebay is often twice as expensive as the cost of purchasing the item."

The release also suggests the prime target market is buyers of online goods, although no such bias is evident on its web site. It suggests: "By bidding for consumers' business online, carriers can maximise their load and increase their revenue, whilst users can enjoy a reduction in haulage costs for their online purchases."

However also notes "The applications of Loadmax.com.au also extend much further, with implications for other industries, including haulage of boats, vehicles and even back-loading harvests, such as grain and cotton."