What's new at REPOWR

Most trailer networks still run on spreadsheets, manual carrier approvals, and one-off repositioning calls. One person tracks where the trailers are and another figures out where they need to be. The gap between the two gets closed with phone calls, emails, and empty miles.

That gap is what REPOWR's latest supplier product webinar was about. Chief Product Officer Matt Harb and Director of Product Colin Osborne walked through the newest tools we're building alongside trailer owners and fleet equipment teams.

Each tool solves a different problem. All of them are built around the same three priorities:

1. Make every trailer interchange safer.
2. Make trailer repositioning easier and more cost-effective.
3. Give trailer teams purpose-built tools to manage their networks.

Key takeaways

• Network Buckets automatically sorts carriers into Auto Approval, Manual Review, Do Not Use (DNU), and Active Reservations, based on rules the equipment owner sets.
• Shortrun Pricing offers a lower daily rate on qualifying reservations of 14 days or fewer that move a trailer toward a market where the owner needs it.
• TOP, REPOWR's Trailer Optimization Platform, turns location, trailer count, and pool commitment data into a live view of which markets are short, balanced, or in excess.
• Repositioning plans in TOP connect short markets to feeder markets and turn on Marketplace listings from one system, including for locations that aren't live yet.
• Hitch inside TOP analyzes the network, recommends a plan in plain language and, once approved, makes the configuration and listing changes.

1. Network Buckets: more control over which carriers access your trailers

Not every carrier should be treated the same way.

REPOWR has long integrated with Highway and let equipment owners set requirements for carriers renting their trailers. Network Buckets makes that control more granular by sorting every carrier into one of four categories based on the owner's criteria:

• Auto Approval: carriers that meet the owner's requirements
• Manual Review: carriers that need a second look
• Do Not Use (DNU): carriers that should not have access to equipment
• Active Reservations: carriers currently using the owner's equipment

Owners can build rules around authority history, authority type, fleet size, previous REPOWR reservations, reservation scores, failed payments, and claims history. Existing carrier lists, including DNU lists, can be uploaded directly, so established relationships carry over on day one.

The buckets aren't static. If an auto-approved carrier stops meeting the owner's requirements, REPOWR can move that carrier to Manual Review or DNU automatically.

Owners keep control of their equipment. Trusted carriers get an answer faster.

Network Buckets adds another layer to REPOWR's Safety, Security & Compliance framework, which builds verification, transaction controls, and monitoring into every trailer interchange.

2. Shortrun Pricing: turning a trailer rental into a repositioning move

Sometimes the goal isn't to rent a trailer for as long as possible.

It's to get the trailer where it needs to go.

With Shortrun Pricing, when an equipment owner needs a trailer moved from one market to another, qualifying reservations of 14 days or fewer can be offered to carriers at a significantly lower daily rate.

In the webinar, Colin walked through a trailer that would normally rent for $16-17 per day being offered for about $9 per day to a carrier moving it toward a market where the owner needs it. The carrier gets inexpensive short-term capacity, the owner gets the trailer repositioned, and instead of paying to move an empty asset, the trailer moves while hauling freight.

Shortrun rates show up throughout the Marketplace, so carriers see the savings as they search, pick a destination, and book.

The reservation itself becomes part of the repositioning strategy.

That's a bigger shift than it looks. Trailer repositioning doesn't have to be a cost center. When equipment that needs to move meets carriers that need capacity, a necessary repositioning move creates value for both sides.

3. TOP: trailer pool balancing without the spreadsheet

For most trailer teams, network balancing still starts in a spreadsheet.

One tab shows where the trailers are. Another shows where they need to be. Someone compares the two, decides which markets are short or long, creates listings by hand, and keeps it all updated as the network shifts.

REPOWR built TOP, our Trailer Optimization Platform, to take that manual work off the team's plate. TOP connects to an equipment owner's existing source of truth and needs three pieces of information to get started:

1. Locations
2. Trailer counts and trailer IDs at each location
3. Pool commitments at each location

That data can come from an existing file or a deeper integration. TOP turns it into a visual map of the trailer network. Teams can see at a glance which markets are short, balanced, or in excess, and where equipment has been sitting idle too long.

The question changes from "Where are our trailers?" to "Where should these trailers go next?"

4. From trailer imbalance to repositioning plan in a few clicks

Seeing an imbalance only matters if you can act on it.

In the webinar, Colin pulled up a market running roughly 30 trailers short of its pool commitments. TOP identified the markets that could feed equipment into that shortage. From there, the owner set up the connections between those locations and turned on Marketplace listings built to start moving trailers in the right direction.

Spotting the problem, updating a spreadsheet, finding origin markets, and creating listings used to be four separate jobs. Now they increasingly happen in one system.

TOP also lets teams stage future pool commitments before a new location goes live. If a customer needs equipment at a new site, teams can set up the location and commitment in advance, so trailers start moving before they're needed.

That moves trailer management from reacting to shortages to planning for them.

Want to see what this could look like across your trailer network?

See how TOP turns trailer data into actionable repositioning opportunities.

5. Hitch inside TOP: an AI assistant that plans and executes network moves

We've integrated Hitch, REPOWR's AI-powered assistant, directly into TOP.

The point isn't to bolt on a chatbot so the platform can say it has AI. Hitch analyzes trailer positions, pool commitments, and imbalances across the network, then helps an equipment manager build a plan in plain language. Ask it:

• "Help me plan this week."
• "A customer needs trailers in Dallas. How can you help?"

Hitch reviews the network and recommends a multi-step plan. Once the user approves it, Hitch makes the TOP configuration and listing changes needed to put that plan into action.

Every action stays under the user's control, and every action can be reversed.

That's the distinction that matters. The goal isn't AI that tells trailer managers what their data says. It's AI that helps them decide what to do next, then takes the manual work out of doing it.

What's next on the REPOWR product roadmap

These tools are only part of what's coming.

• Market Priority will let owners flag their most important shortage markets and give those destinations more visibility and promotion in the Marketplace.
• Equipment planning and analytics will evaluate pool commitments using loaded and empty trailer velocity, calculate network balance scores, surface financial benchmarks, and feed recommended plans directly into Hitch.
• LoadAway in TOP is planned for moves where marketplace-driven repositioning can't meet a deadline.
• Maintenance workflows will factor into trailer balance decisions.

The direction is straightforward: one place for trailer teams to understand their network, make better decisions, and put those decisions into action.

Built with trailer teams, not just for them

Matt made one point in the webinar that shapes how we build at REPOWR: these tools aren't designed in isolation.

Trailer managers have historically had fewer purpose-built tools than the teams handling freight planning, fuel, or yards. We want to change that, and that means spending time with the people managing equipment every day and building around the decisions they actually make.

The conversation will keep going. REPOWR plans to host product webinars regularly to share new releases, show what we're building, and hear directly from the people using it.

Because the goal isn't more software. It's fewer spreadsheets, fewer manual decisions, and a trailer network that works harder for your business.

FAQs: REPOWR's new trailer management tools

What is Network Buckets?

Network Buckets is a REPOWR feature that automatically sorts carriers into Auto Approval, Manual Review, Do Not Use (DNU), and Active Reservations, based on criteria the equipment owner sets. Rules can use authority history, fleet size, reservation scores, failed payments, and claims history, and carriers move between buckets automatically as their record changes.

How does Shortrun Pricing help reposition trailers?

Shortrun Pricing offers a significantly lower daily rate on qualifying reservations of 14 days or fewer that move a trailer toward a market where the owner needs it. The carrier gets low-cost capacity, and the owner gets the trailer repositioned while it hauls freight instead of running empty.

What is a trailer optimization platform?

A trailer optimization platform shows where a fleet's trailers are compared with where they're needed, then helps move equipment to close the gap. REPOWR's TOP flags short, balanced, and excess markets, highlights idle equipment, and turns imbalances into Marketplace listings that move trailers toward demand.

What data does TOP need to get started?

TOP needs three inputs: locations, trailer counts with trailer IDs at each location, and pool commitments at each location. TOP can get that data from an existing file or a deeper integration with the owner's system of record.

What can Hitch do inside TOP?

Hitch, REPOWR's AI assistant, analyzes trailer positions, pool commitments, and imbalances, then recommends a multi-step plan from a plain-language request. Once the user approves the plan, Hitch makes the TOP configuration and listing changes, and every action can be reversed.

Will REPOWR host more product webinars?

Yes. REPOWR plans to host product webinars regularly to share new releases, demo what's in development, and gather feedback from trailer owners and fleet equipment teams.

Missed the webinar?

Watch the full supplier product webinar to see Network Buckets, Shortrun Pricing, TOP, and Hitch in action.

Want to see how TOP could work across your trailer network?

SEE TOP IN ACTION

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