CHECKLIST
As a shipper, selecting the right freight carrier is one of the most important business decisions you’ll make. The right partner keeps your supply chain running smoothly and efficiently. The wrong one can lead to delays, service failures, and unnecessary costs that impact your bottom line.
This guide gives you a structured, no-nonsense approach to evaluating carriers—built on decades of industry experience and real-world insights from shippers who’ve been in your shoes.
Get vetting questions (each worth 5 points) from seasoned freight shipping and logistics experts across eight performance categories:
Fillable scoring fields and notes for each question let you quantify answers from 1 point (Not a fit) to 5 points (Exactly what you’re looking for) as you ask them. At then end of the document, you can tally points up for a final, quantitative value score. Carriers can score 115-125 (Ideal Partner) to Below 88 (Consider Other Options).
Take a deep dive into carrier red flags and green lights for each question based on our decades of experience in the trucking industry.
Too many shippers chase the lowest rate and then wonder why their freight is late, damaged, or stuck in limbo. The right carrier isn’t just the one with the cheapest bid—it’s the one that actually does what they say they will. Are they consistent? Do they pick up and deliver on time? Do they own their mistakes and fix problems fast? Can you get a straight answer when you need one? If a carrier can’t give you clear, honest responses to those questions, they’re going to be a headache. Find a partner who values reliability over excuses, and you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time and money. Shippers work with us because we don’t play pricing games or promise capacity we don’t have, and we don’t leave you guessing when something needs to be fixed. You call, we answer. You need something handled; we handle it. It’s not complicated—we just do the job right and keep people coming back because they know they can count on us."
Director of Brokerage Operations
Badger Logistics
Ready to experience the difference that truly integrated logistics can make? Since 1993, Badger Logistics has been delivering customer-focused trucking services to shippers large and small. Managed by a team of experienced transportation and safety professionals, our fleet and brokerage provides local, regional, and long-haul full truckload (FTL) and partial shipment services. We’re strategically located in southeastern Wisconsin between Madison and Milwaukee and less than 200 miles north of Chicago. Join hundreds of shippers solving their complex logistics challenges with one call.
