Convoy introduces ‘hassle-free’ lumper payments within its mobile app

Seattle-based digital freight broker Convoy today introduced what it said is an industry-first for motor carriers within its mobile app, in the form of “hassle-free” lumper payments.

With this offering, the company said carriers are now able to request and receive lumper payment codes immediately and subsequently eliminate time-consuming phone calls and out-of-pocket expenses that typically take several weeks for reimbursement. 

Convoy defines lumpers as third-party companies that shippers use to load or unload freight from trucks at their facilities, noting that more than 35% of carriers in Convoy’s network have required lumper services on a shipment, ranging from $50 to over $500.  As an example, it explained that when using the lumper service, carriers traditionally call their broker to request a payment code that can take hours to receive, frequently leading to delays that cause carriers to miss their next appointment. And it said that carriers frequently have to spend hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket for the lumper service, with reimbursement of those fees often taking weeks to receive, and up to 9% of carriers note that their traditional brokers don’t pay them back, Convoy said. 

“Dealing with lumper payments has been a major pain point for carriers. Yet, the experience fundamentally hasn’t improved for carriers for decades,” said Ziad Ismail, Convoy Chief Product Officer, in a statement. “With hassle-free lumper payments, we are excited to simplify the time-consuming process of retrieving lumper payment codes, and eliminate those out-of-pocket expenses for carriers.” 

A Convoy spokesman told LM there are some key benefits and takeaways of hassle-free lumper payments for shippers.

“Specifically, shippers are the ones who have lumpers on site to load and unload trailers at their facilities,” he said. “So this feature enables carriers to quickly request and receive lumper codes, which ensures that these lumpers can get paid quickly and can get to work. For shippers, this ensures that their facilities stay on-schedule and avoid backups that can be caused by delays in payment to the lumpers.