Have you ever made an important decision, and realized it was the wrong one because you only had part of the story? Well, this is an everyday reality for large shippers, and transportation teams across the country. Most rely heavily on historical 1st party data, along with 3rd party market data, which doesn’t paint a clear picture on a shipper’s unique freight at that moment in time.
It’s been my experience that shippers are handcuffed because they only receive a portion of their freight data from their transportation vendors. Data transparency is extremely important in many ways, but there are two that stand out to me.
- Data transparency allows shippers to make informed data-driven decisions, which will result in better outcomes. For example, if a shipper obtains all of the data related to carriers who are moving their loads they can optimize their carrier network by dropping poor-performing carriers, and shifting more loads to high-performing carriers.
- Data transparency builds stronger relationships. When a vendor shares 100% of the data, trust is built and both parties benefit from it. For example, freight brokers purposely don’t share carrier names and carrier rates, which gives them a negative perception. Sleek Technologies, on the other hand, shares 100% of the carrier data so shippers know which carriers are moving freight, and what the carrier is getting paid so they can understand true market cost at that moment in time.
Data is crucial to any industry, especially logistics. Because the freight market is constantly changing, shippers need to proactively manage the outcome. When a shipper gains real-time, 100% data transparency, they have the tools necessary to effectively manage transportation costs and service levels.
This blog is written by Aimee Dappas. Aimee is a Client Success Advisor with Sleek Technologies. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in Purchasing and Supply Management. Aimee has over 10 years of experience in customer service, and 6 years of experience in transportation.