We talk to lots of shippers and one thing that most of them have in common is that they’re always looking for ways to reduce their freight costs. That has led to some interesting dialogue—especially when they compare their intentions (a.k.a lowering costs) versus results.
Lately I’ve been giving several talks and when asked about how people can achieve their goals, I like to remind them that when you get the picture and understand what you are looking at, you're more likely to create the best transportation plan possible. And this plan needs to address the opportunities to improve your operations both inside and outside your company.
When rates are skyrocketing, it's easy to focus just on what's happening outside your company—on all the factors that raise rates or decrease service levels like gas prices, driver shortages, and natural disasters.
But what we've often seen in working with shippers is that internal factors can have just as much impact as external ones.There can be lots of opportunities for improvement inside your company—the first step forward is to see them.
For example, we've heard many companies talk about how things like supplier fill rates and inter-company transfers can quietly escalate costs if they’re not being tracked. Once these are broken out, it creates a clearer picture of the rest of their operations.
To help transportation professionals identify opportunities for improvement, we created a Transportation Spend Management Plan eBook.Like a pair of glasses, it can help you to see things you couldn't make out before.
If you could use help getting started with building a transportation management plan, we encourage you to take a look at our eBook.
We provide all of this because we’re on your team, we’re here to help and we’re passionate about seeing you be successful.
