Tabi Connect and Kleinschmidt Automate Freight Quoting

Tabi Connect and Kleinschmidt will automate freight quoting through the Kleinschmidt Intelligence Network, the companies announced Sept. 14.

Under the integration, freight quote requests moving through Kleinschmidt's network flow directly into Tabi, where a brokerage's pricing rules are applied automatically before the quote returns to the shipper. No broker needs to key in a rate.

The companies said the deal cuts the time brokers spend responding to quote requests and gives them a consistent way to apply pricing strategies across their teams.

At the core of the workflow sits Tabi's Pricing Logic Engine. Brokerages can set rules based on customer, lane, equipment type and market conditions. The system then applies those rules to incoming requests instead of requiring a broker to manually determine each rate.

"Freight brokerage is more crowded than it's ever been, and margins keep getting thinner, so speed and consistency are what actually separate the brokers who win from the ones who don't," said Ricky Gonzalez, CEO of Tabi Connect.

The partnership also connects Tabi with Capacity IQ, Kleinschmidt's predictive freight-capacity platform. Capacity IQ analyzes more than 150,000 loads moving across North America each day to predict where trucks are likely to become available. According to Kleinschmidt, the platform uses tender insights and predictive analytics to identify carriers likely to have capacity near a particular pickup location before they unload.

That gives brokers another signal when pricing a load. A broker can factor expected carrier availability in a particular market into a rate before submitting the quote, rather than reacting after the fact.

"Tabi helps brokers consistently apply their own pricing strategy to every opportunity," said Dan Heinen, president and CEO of Kleinschmidt. "Combined with the Kleinschmidt Intelligence Network, it can dramatically shorten the time between receiving a quote request and responding."

The Kleinschmidt deal adds another connection to Tabi's network of freight platforms. Tabi currently connects with over 88 shipper TMS platforms, bid boards and freight marketplaces, according to the company — 17 through native API integrations and 71 through robotic process automation, or RPA, connections.

Speed varies by connection type. Tabi says its API connections return quotes in around three seconds. Its RPA connections, which automate interactions with shipper portals, typically return rates in about 35 to 50 seconds.

For brokerages competing on thin margins, the pairing of automated pricing rules with forward-looking capacity signals points toward quote responses measured in seconds rather than minutes — a shift that could reshape how fast shippers expect freight pricing to arrive.