And when that happens, saying “We did our due diligence” may not be enough. You may need to prove it.

That’s exactly why we built Shipper Shield.

Built directly into AscendTMS and included FREE for every AscendTMS user, Shipper Shield automatically creates a permanent record of the carrier-selection due diligence performed on your loads — capturing the checks, actions, decisions, and integrated services used when the carrier was selected.

So instead of trying to piece together what happened months or years later, you have a record of what you knew, what you checked, and what you did — when you did it.

And for freight brokers, that protection can become something even more powerful: a competitive advantage.

In a world where shippers are paying closer attention to who is moving their freight, being able to demonstrate a documented carrier-selection process doesn't just help protect your business.

It can help you win theirs.

Best of all, getting started is simple. To use Shipper Shield, you'll need to be integrated with at least one of AscendTMS's three supported carrier onboarding and monitoring partners: MyCarrierPortal, RMIS, or Highway. Carrier verification results from SearchCarriers can also become part of the Shipper Shield record, giving you another layer of documented carrier-selection intelligence.

You do the due diligence. Shipper Shield helps you prove it.

Once you've assigned a carrier to your load, you're ready to create your Shipper Shield document.

There are two ways to access the Shipper Shield generator in AscendTMS. The fastest and easiest is directly from the load you're working on.

From the green Load Actions bar within your load, hover over Load Documents, then select Generate Shipper Shield Document.

That's it! You'll be taken directly to the Shipper Shield Document Generator, and AscendTMS will immediately begin creating the document for that load. Since you started the process from within the load, there's no need to enter the Load ID or click Generate Document again.

Here's where Shipper Shield goes to work.

As your document is generated, AscendTMS checks for carrier-selection information available through your connected carrier onboarding and monitoring integrations.

A satisfactory carrier rating from MyCarrierPortal, RMIS, or Highway will be documented with a green check mark on your Shipper Shield document.

If a satisfactory SearchCarriers rating is available for the carrier, that information will also be included.

This gives you a clear record of the carrier information and satisfactory ratings available when your Shipper Shield document was created.

If AscendTMS cannot find a satisfactory rating from a supported onboarding integration or SearchCarriers, we'll let you know.

You'll also be encouraged to connect with one of AscendTMS's supported carrier onboarding integrations to strengthen your carrier-selection process and help provide additional fraud protection.

Once Shipper Shield finishes generating your document, you have two options:

When saved to the load, AscendTMS automatically processes and tags it as a Shipper Shield document. You'll also be able to see who saved the document, giving you another layer of accountability and recordkeeping.

And that's the real power of Shipper Shield: the documentation stays with the load, giving you a record to reference later instead of trying to recreate your carrier-selection process from memory.

Your Shipper Shield document isn't the only record AscendTMS maintains.

AscendTMS's Accountability Log provides an extensive audit trail of activity performed within your account. When additional documentation is needed, authorized users can export that information for review.

From the green Load Actions bar with the load, hover over Admin/Financials, then select Accountability Log.

Once there, click Export in the upper-right corner.

AscendTMS will create a .CSV file containing the applicable activity and details from the Accountability Log and save it to your downloads.

This can provide an additional level of detail surrounding activity associated with your loads and carrier assignments.

The Accountability Log can contain detailed load activity and potentially sensitive business information, so we've added a dedicated user permission controlling who can export it.

Administrators can enable this permission only for users who should have access to exported Accountability Log data.

This gives your organization the benefit of a detailed audit trail without giving every user the ability to export potentially sensitive information.

Need to generate a Shipper Shield document without opening the load first? You can do that too.

Navigate to Settings > Report & Document Settings and locate the Shipper Shield Document Generator.

Unlike generating the document directly from a load, you'll need to enter the applicable Load ID # and then click Generate Document.

AscendTMS will then generate the Shipper Shield document for that load using the same process described above.

For most day-to-day use, generating Shipper Shield directly from the load will be the quickest option. But having the generator available within Settings gives authorized users another convenient way to create the documentation whenever it's needed.

With Shipper Shield, your carrier-selection due diligence becomes a documented record you can stand behind.

Protect your brokerage. Build shipper confidence. And give customers one more reason to trust you with their freight.