The Metrics That Matter Before the First Load
Why trust in logistics is still built in the dark – and how we can fix that
Insights
Mar 30, 2025
In logistics, everyone pays lip service to “service over price.”
But when the quotes come in, and one provider’s rate is a little higher than the others – how do you justify choosing them?
“They’ve always come through for me.”
“If something goes wrong, they jump on it.”
“I just trust them more.”
These are the phrases I’ve heard again and again while talking to shippers, dispatchers, and freight brokers across r/logistics.
But when I asked, “How do you know that before your first shipment?” – the answers got quiet.
The Invisible Signals Behind Trust
The most trusted logistics providers aren’t always the cheapest. They’re the ones you call when it really matters – tight deadlines, delayed cargo, upset customers. But how do you find those providers before it’s too late?
Most people still rely on gut feeling, referrals, or trial by fire.
✅ They replied fast to my quote
✅ They were honest about tradeoffs
✅ They didn’t overpromise
✅ They gave me tracking before I asked
✅ They owned their mistakes
✅ They stayed calm when it hit the fan
These are patterns. Behavioral signals.
But they’re invisible until it’s already too late.
Reviews Aren’t the Answer
Every operator I talked to said the same thing:
“I don’t trust online reviews.”
They’re easy to fake. They hide red flags. And in freight, most people don’t write them anyway – because they don’t want to hurt a partner’s business or expose their own issues.
What the industry needs isn’t another review platform.
It’s a new layer of evidence.
What If You Could See the Patterns?
Imagine this:
📬 Average response time to your quote requests
🧠 Clarity of replies – did they explain options or just say “Yes”?
🔁 Friction to book – how many emails did it take?
🚨 Issue handling history – when things went wrong, how did they respond?
📍 Regional reliability – consistent performance in your lanes
Not guesses. Not opinions.
Just structured insights from real logistics threads – only shared by users who opt in.
No spying. No reviews. No marketing fluff.
A New Kind of Profile
I’ve been building in FreightTech for over 20 years. Most recently, I built Tiliport – a tool that tried to surface exactly these kinds of behavioral signals from real logistics email threads.
We didn’t get it perfect. But the idea is still worth building.
Because in a market flooded with tools that promise better rates, better tracking, and better dashboards – what people really want is a better way to trust each other before it’s too late.
More to Discover
The Metrics That Matter Before the First Load
Why trust in logistics is still built in the dark – and how we can fix that
Insights
Mar 30, 2025
In logistics, everyone pays lip service to “service over price.”
But when the quotes come in, and one provider’s rate is a little higher than the others – how do you justify choosing them?
“They’ve always come through for me.”
“If something goes wrong, they jump on it.”
“I just trust them more.”
These are the phrases I’ve heard again and again while talking to shippers, dispatchers, and freight brokers across r/logistics.
But when I asked, “How do you know that before your first shipment?” – the answers got quiet.
The Invisible Signals Behind Trust
The most trusted logistics providers aren’t always the cheapest. They’re the ones you call when it really matters – tight deadlines, delayed cargo, upset customers. But how do you find those providers before it’s too late?
Most people still rely on gut feeling, referrals, or trial by fire.
✅ They replied fast to my quote
✅ They were honest about tradeoffs
✅ They didn’t overpromise
✅ They gave me tracking before I asked
✅ They owned their mistakes
✅ They stayed calm when it hit the fan
These are patterns. Behavioral signals.
But they’re invisible until it’s already too late.
Reviews Aren’t the Answer
Every operator I talked to said the same thing:
“I don’t trust online reviews.”
They’re easy to fake. They hide red flags. And in freight, most people don’t write them anyway – because they don’t want to hurt a partner’s business or expose their own issues.
What the industry needs isn’t another review platform.
It’s a new layer of evidence.
What If You Could See the Patterns?
Imagine this:
📬 Average response time to your quote requests
🧠 Clarity of replies – did they explain options or just say “Yes”?
🔁 Friction to book – how many emails did it take?
🚨 Issue handling history – when things went wrong, how did they respond?
📍 Regional reliability – consistent performance in your lanes
Not guesses. Not opinions.
Just structured insights from real logistics threads – only shared by users who opt in.
No spying. No reviews. No marketing fluff.
A New Kind of Profile
I’ve been building in FreightTech for over 20 years. Most recently, I built Tiliport – a tool that tried to surface exactly these kinds of behavioral signals from real logistics email threads.
We didn’t get it perfect. But the idea is still worth building.
Because in a market flooded with tools that promise better rates, better tracking, and better dashboards – what people really want is a better way to trust each other before it’s too late.
More to Discover
The Metrics That Matter Before the First Load
Why trust in logistics is still built in the dark – and how we can fix that
Insights
Mar 30, 2025
In logistics, everyone pays lip service to “service over price.”
But when the quotes come in, and one provider’s rate is a little higher than the others – how do you justify choosing them?
“They’ve always come through for me.”
“If something goes wrong, they jump on it.”
“I just trust them more.”
These are the phrases I’ve heard again and again while talking to shippers, dispatchers, and freight brokers across r/logistics.
But when I asked, “How do you know that before your first shipment?” – the answers got quiet.
The Invisible Signals Behind Trust
The most trusted logistics providers aren’t always the cheapest. They’re the ones you call when it really matters – tight deadlines, delayed cargo, upset customers. But how do you find those providers before it’s too late?
Most people still rely on gut feeling, referrals, or trial by fire.
✅ They replied fast to my quote
✅ They were honest about tradeoffs
✅ They didn’t overpromise
✅ They gave me tracking before I asked
✅ They owned their mistakes
✅ They stayed calm when it hit the fan
These are patterns. Behavioral signals.
But they’re invisible until it’s already too late.
Reviews Aren’t the Answer
Every operator I talked to said the same thing:
“I don’t trust online reviews.”
They’re easy to fake. They hide red flags. And in freight, most people don’t write them anyway – because they don’t want to hurt a partner’s business or expose their own issues.
What the industry needs isn’t another review platform.
It’s a new layer of evidence.
What If You Could See the Patterns?
Imagine this:
📬 Average response time to your quote requests
🧠 Clarity of replies – did they explain options or just say “Yes”?
🔁 Friction to book – how many emails did it take?
🚨 Issue handling history – when things went wrong, how did they respond?
📍 Regional reliability – consistent performance in your lanes
Not guesses. Not opinions.
Just structured insights from real logistics threads – only shared by users who opt in.
No spying. No reviews. No marketing fluff.
A New Kind of Profile
I’ve been building in FreightTech for over 20 years. Most recently, I built Tiliport – a tool that tried to surface exactly these kinds of behavioral signals from real logistics email threads.
We didn’t get it perfect. But the idea is still worth building.
Because in a market flooded with tools that promise better rates, better tracking, and better dashboards – what people really want is a better way to trust each other before it’s too late.