Darren Ash brings 25 years of experience across the Australian freight and logistics industry, spanning metropolitan, interstate and international freight.
His experience has given him a practical understanding of how freight is priced, purchased, managed and delivered — from domestic transport through to complex international FCL, LCL and air freight movements. Over those 25 years, Darren saw first-hand the challenges businesses face in controlling freight costs and understanding increasingly complex freight pricing. And one problem kept standing out. THE FREIGHT INDUSTRY CHANGED. THE PRICING MODEL DIDN'T.
Freight forwarders play an essential role in international trade — managing carriers, documentation, overseas agents, transport and the countless details required to move freight around the world. But the traditional commercial model can make it difficult for the customer to know exactly what they are paying for.
Freight is purchased at one rate and sold to the shipper at another. Margins can be built into freight rates and charges, leaving businesses with little visibility of the underlying cost. Darren believed there was a better way.
WHY FREIGHTFIXED WAS CREATED
FreightFixed was built around one simple idea: Separate the cost of freight from the cost of managing it.
FreightFixed accesses international freight rates through the global network of one of the world's major freight wholesalers. Rather than turning those underlying wholesale rates into marked-up retail freight rates, we pass the wholesale rates through and charge a clearly defined fixed percentage fee for managing your freight. You can see what the freight costs are. You can see what FreightFixed earns. And you can verify the wholesale rates behind it.
EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE OLD PRICING MODEL
FreightFixed isn't about removing the freight forwarder. Businesses still need experienced people coordinating suppliers, carriers and overseas agents, checking documentation and charges, resolving problems and managing shipments from origin through to delivery. What we've changed is how we get paid.
Instead of relying on margins within freight rates and charges, FreightFixed earns a transparent fixed percentage fee. Our interests are clear. Our fee is clear. And your freight costs are clear.
STILL PERSONALLY INVOLVED
Today, Darren remains actively involved in FreightFixed and its work with Australian importers and exporters. The same experience that led to FreightFixed's creation continues to shape how we manage freight today: cost control, transparency, accountability and hands-on freight management.