


Shippers, why are you still using brokers or spot?
I ask this question to shippers a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. The top five answers are on the board: I don’t have a choice when I need to move a load. I’m not sure, I think someone has a relationship with them. It’s the way we’ve been doing it around here forever. They are part of my TMS and our tender process. They provide good service And now my personal favorite... It’s convenient. It’s hard to believe that billions of freight and transportation dollars are on the line and the best solution is a broker, DFB or the spot market. Taking control and bringing the broker's capacity and service in-house- through technology- is the key, here is how you get there. I don’t have a choice when I need to move a load. Yes you do, however it means change. And change can sometimes be unwelcome. In order to survive, you and your company need to be adaptable. Investing in solutions which reduce friction and cost to enable you and your team to focus on the real issues, not spending the majority of your time putting out fires. The broker paradigm is not a fire extinguisher, it is a cup of water on a four alarm fire, and an expensive one at that. The issues need to be solved using a software solution that automates and eliminates the broker. Opening up the fire hose giving you direct access to millions of small carriers that brokers shelter and use, providing better service to your customers and eliminating the broker and the hidden margins. By eliminating the broker,...
Carrier Cost Is One of the Quickest Ways to Reduce Transportation Cost
Transportation costs continue to rise making it difficult for shippers to effectively manage their transportation budgets. Did you know that the top 3 transportation metrics are related to carrier cost? They are: freight cost per unit shipped, outbound freight cost as a percentage of net sales, and inbound freight cost as a percentage of purchases. These carrier costs play a crucial role in total transportation spend. One of the quickest ways to reduce transportation spend is to select the most cost-efficient carriers. Traditionally, shippers have relied heavily on contracted rates to move freight. But in today’s market, contracted rates are no longer a guarantee that the goods will move. In fact, contracted acceptance rates have fallen to all-time lows, forcing many shippers into the costly spot market. And you know what happens once a load hits the spot market, it becomes a feeding frenzy for the brokers. So how can shippers reduce transportation spend, even during extreme market conditions? First, they need to change their mentality from working with a select few carriers to working with a large network of carriers. Second, they need to leverage technology to become agile and cut out waste. Working with Multiple Carriers Working with multiple carriers mitigates risk, especially when capacity is tight and acceptance rates from your primary/ preferred networks decline. Plus, working with multiple carriers can drive down costs by fostering a healthy, competitive bidding atmosphere. Imagine the savings impact if there were 5 or 6 world-class carriers bidding on each of your loads in real-time. Not only would the cost drop, reducing transportation spend, but the shipper would gain inside knowledge on true market...