As a business development executive, I have the opportunity to speak with many of the country’s top supply chain officers. It’s a standard retort to hear “we only do business with asset providers” or “we’re not adding brokers.”

I understand that the anemic level of economic activity in the US has made finding transportation capacity easier than in past years. Having been a transportation buyer before joining Barton Logistics, I understand why companies try to leverage the freight spend across a core group of carriers. As a seller of transportation services, I also know why brokers are essential to the equation when the objective is to optimize the amount you spend on freight.

For more than a few years I’ve been speaking about the convergence of the asset and the asset-light provider. I’ve written blogs about it. I’ve offered empirical evidence that “it” is occurring. Convergence is happening, and it appears that it is still a secret based on the number of “asset only” responses I hear.

Further analysis of this trend suggests that convergence is accelerating. In this year’s Top 100 Brokers 53 brokers were associated with asset-based providers. Out of 100 Brokers, more than half are or own asset based companies. Convergence. I humbly submit that a pure asset-based provider is getting harder to find. Pure Brokers are becoming harder to find as well. There are still plenty of companies who will tell you what you want to hear, or let you believe what you want to believe. Asset-right companies (assets where it makes sense & owner operators everywhere else) are the majority of what constitute freight brokers.

So you can begin to appreciate how balled up inside I get when someone slams the door with “asset only.” I just have to chuckle and move on; and, write articles like this to gently remind them that the belief system that asset based strategy is fast becoming obsolete, just like pure brokers!

Double clicking on the information we are given to better understand what is really going on is one the ways we deliver on the brand promise that “Life is better with Barton”. Give us a call at 817-505-0392 to request pricing that comes with trucks that deliver on time.