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Carrier Assure Launches BAVRA Standard to Strengthen Shipper Broker Selection Process

Cassandra Gaines, founder and CEO of Carrier Assure, has released the BAVRA Standard, a 34-page framework to help shippers evaluate and monitor freight brokers, freight forwarders, managed transportation providers and motor carriers with brokerage authority. The Broker Assessment, Verification, Risk and Accountability Standard complements the existing CAVRA Standard for motor carrier selection. The framework addresses a significant gap in transportation risk management, as many shippers conduct minimal due diligence before selecting brokers despite careful vetting of other suppliers. The BAVRA Standard requires shippers to assess whether brokers maintain written carrier-vetting standards, operational controls, trained staff and appropriate risk-management procedures. Gaines emphasizes that confirming a broker's operating authority, bond, insurance and contract represents only baseline requirements. The framework advocates for a balanced approach where shippers neither completely outsource transportation decisions nor micromanage broker operations.