WOW! Apparently, we’ve touched a raw nerve!
The Two Minute Warnings over the past couple of weeks have focused on how shippers can use world class sourcing events to get better LTL rates from their carriers AND actually improve their relationships with their carriers.
We love all the positive feedback, but I also heard from a good friend and buddy who likes to hold me accountable. So he challenged me with this statement: “Reading between the lines of your recent Two Minute Warnings, you should say what you’re really thinking. A lot of LTL shippers could do a much better job of conducting their LTL sourcing events. And they’re leaving a bunch of money (a.k.a. savings) on the table because they’re not following some of your tips from your Two Minute Warnings.”
So I asked him: “What do you want me to do?” He suggested that we provide some more practical tips and examples of things LTL shippers should be addressing. And he told me to also share some key attributes of a world class LTL sourcing event.
Fortunately, I knew who to contact to meet this request. So in this week’s Two Minute Warning we’ve teamed up with our good friend and former associate Vic Stajduhar to get his advice on things shippers need to do when they conduct their LTL sourcing events.
Vic had some great insights and we’d strongly recommend that you listen to the interview if you or anyone on your team will be conducting an LTL sourcing event in the next 6 to 9 months. In the interest of time (and space) Here are a few of the tips he had to share. For more great information, listen to the full interview we held with him.
- Your freight profile better be accurate! If carriers sense a difference between what you’re representing versus what they think they’ll get, you’re going to get safety pricing – they will hedge their bets so they can protect their profitability.
- Put yourself in the shoes (and ideally the spreadsheets) of your main carriers. Ask your incumbent carriers for cost data from their operating ratio worksheets so that you’ll have a good understanding of what their cost drivers look like and how your freight fits into the picture.
- Know your internal practices inside out and how these practices impact your carriers. Having a good idea of your carriers' needs should be paired with a solid understanding of what changes are possible internally.
Like I said, Vic has many other great insights from his decades of experience in the logistics industry that you can hear when you listen to the interview.
Also, before you conduct any transportation sourcing events, we’d strongly recommend that you take a look at our eBook on How to Create a Transportation Spend Management Plan if you haven't already. This will help you to get started on Vic's advice (and our own) about managing your freight from the inside out.
There's a lot more to managing LTL freight of course. We encourage you to keep learning and if you could use help, get in touch with us to benchmark your rates.
