Finding hidden value: What a multi-shipper network analysis reveals
Most enterprise shippers operating under a managed transportation model assume their logistics provider is continuously optimizing their network.
In reality, the structure of most managed partnerships limits what a provider can do.
In a hybrid managed transportation setup, the provider manages carrier contracts and execution, but the shipper retains control over routing and mode decisions. The provider may have the intelligence to find better outcomes, but not the authority to act on them, limiting what’s possible. A network that looks like it's performing could be leaving real value on the table.
Multi-shipper network analysis changes that. Under a fully managed transportation model, logistics providers can run a shipper's freight against data across a broad network. They can quantify exactly what's being missed across consolidation opportunities, mode conversions, and lane-level rate benchmarking, and surface specific actions to recover it.
Why network scale matters
What makes this analysis meaningful is the network behind it. A provider managing freight across many shippers can see things no single shipper can replicate on their own: carrier availability trends across lanes, demand signals that surface before they show up in rates, and pricing benchmarks built from real transactions.
The provider can act on those signals in ways that create value for multiple shippers simultaneously. When a carrier delivers a load and would otherwise deadhead back empty, a provider with network visibility can route that carrier directly to another shipper's pickup. When two shippers are moving freight to the same region, their loads can be consolidated onto a single truck. A shipper's non-repetitive spot lanes can be bundled with similar freight across the network, becoming more attractive to carriers and resulting in more stable rates.
This is the value that network scale provides. But shippers can only access this value under a fully managed transportation model with a multi-shipper network provider.
What a network analysis uncovers
When a logistics provider conducts a network analysis, they're running a shipper's full shipment history (typically one year of data) against a set of structured diagnostics.
The analysis typically examines three core areas:
Freight consolidation opportunities: Finding orders that could share a truck or be combined into multi-stop moves. This is the most consistent source of savings across shipper networks, regardless of industry or size. Shippers managing freight in-house or with limited optimization tooling routinely send shipments separately that could be combined. When an analysis surfaces these patterns, savings typically range from 4-8%, and the opportunity compounds over time as shipping patterns are corrected.
Mode optimization and conversion: Identifying where the wrong mode is being used for each lane and finding faster, less expensive options. That could mean freight moving by truckload is converted to intermodal, or consolidating LTL shipments to save money. In a market where LTL rates have reached all-time highs and intermodal pricing is expected to rise as truckload capacity tightens, getting mode selection right has a direct and growing cost implication.
Rate benchmarking against multi-shipper data: Comparing what a shipper is actually paying on a lane against what carriers are accepting across the broader network for similar freight. Without peer benchmarking, shippers have no way to know whether their rates are competitive because they're benchmarking against themselves. Point-in-time benchmarks, as opposed to 30- or 90-day lagging indices, are particularly valuable as they give shippers a real picture of where their rates stand today.
Together, these diagnostics give a complete view of a shipper's current transportation operations and what can be realistically executed to improve them.
How to know if you're getting the full value of the network
Fully managed shippers should expect their provider to surface network analysis findings proactively, on a regular cadence. A provider actively deploying the network on a shipper’s behalf should be able to show whether their rates are at or below market, and whether shipping patterns are being fully optimized based on the most up-to-date network information.
To understand the full value of a logistics provider, shippers should ask three questions:
When did you last run a complete network analysis on our freight?
What specific savings opportunities did it find, and how much has been executed?
How do our lane rates compare to what you're seeing across the rest of your network?
A provider running a rigorous, ongoing analysis should be able to answer all three questions with specifics. That means findings presented in ranges, with honest assessments of what's achievable near-term versus what requires operational changes.
If these questions don't have clear answers, there's likely value on the table that hasn't been found yet.
Uber Freight's logistics engineering team conducts structured value assessments for fully managed shippers. With $17B+ in freight under management, 125,000+ truckload carriers, and a track record trusted by 1 in 3 Fortune 500 shippers, our managed transportation model has helped customers drive more than $1B in savings and deliver an average 3x ROI year over year.
Looking to uplevel your transportation management in 2026? Our teams have the resources you need: Connect with an Uber Freight representative today.