Loads more efficiency for UK transport as Mandata grows into freight exchange

In June of this year, Mandata Group acquired Returnloads.net the UK’s leading freight exchange provider helping manufacturers, shippers, and distributors find new transport suppliers, as well as enabling transport operators to expand their networks and find new work.
 
Mandata Group provides Transport Management Software (TMS) solutions to road transport operators helping them control their transport operations more effectively and increase productivity.
 
The acquisition brings something totally new to the road transport sector giving operators the ability to expand their networks to find new customers and suppliers using Returnloads.net and then to execute that work more efficiently using Mandata TMS.   
 
Steve Spark, CRO of Mandata Group explains that collaboration is a key theme for the road transport sector today and the combination offers exciting opportunities moving forward.   “Our customers have told us that they need to be able to work more effectively with their customers and subcontractors.  They need help to win new work and to expand their own supply chains to get work done when they do not have capacity in their own fleet” adds Steve.
 
“Returnloads.net gives us a fantastic platform from where we can build out our collaboration proposition.   We have exciting plans to invest further in the platform both as a stand-alone proposition and how we integrate the platform with Mandata Group transport management solutions.”
 
Customers who use Returnloads.net to find new work, can expect to see enhancements to the existing platform that will help them promote their services more effectively by highlighting aspects of their service.  Customers who use the website to find new suppliers will benefit from a much improved search engine allowing them to focus on things that are important to them, such as customer ratings, industry accreditations and memberships, helping them to validate who they work with.
 
Mandata TMS customers who want to find new suppliers will be able to publish loads quickly and easily on Returnloads.net. If they already subscribe to the platform to find new work, then they can easily bring the new work back into TMS to get the job done, while providing real time updates back to their customers through in Returnloads.net.”
 
Chris Wall, Client Services Director at Mandata explains: “The acquisition of Returnloads.net really compliments the work Mandata has done on launching the Subbie Portal earlier this year.”
 
“The Subbie Portal gives Mandata TMS customers the ability to allocate loads to members of their existing supply chain who are not users of Mandata TMS themselves.   Sub-contractors can provide real time job updates, ETA’s and PODs straight back into Mandata TMS, removing the long-standing problem of a lack of visibility on loads once they get handed over to a sub-contractor.”
 
“In developing the Subbie Portal and acquiring Returnloads.net we are giving Mandata customers the ability to find new customers and win more new work if they want to. This means they can work in a more integrated way with their existing supply chain network and expand their network by finding new sub-contractor partners.   We are basically giving our TMS customers the ability to create their own networks,” added Chris.
 
Steve Spark goes on to say “being successful is harder than it has ever been for transport operators right now.   This is the first phase of our plans to help our customers work in a more collaborative and integrated way with their customers and suppliers.  We have some really exciting plans for how we will expand that offer which we will be communicating during 2021.”

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