One of the most famous episodes of the show Seinfeld featured a character named the “soup Nazi” who ran a restaurant where the soup was so good that customers were not allowed any modifications. And if they attempted to make one, he would say “No soup for you” and they were banned from the store!
I share this story because after hearing the news about FedEx’s decision to abruptly “prune” approximately around 1400 customers last week, it raised some concerns that other shippers could start hearing FedEx and other LTL carriers saying “NO TRUCKS FOR YOU!”
Three things you need to do so that you’re not soup-less – or in this case, truck-less!
First, it is imperative that you have an understanding, or at a minimum, an awareness of how your carriers see your business. If you are not periodically using your business review process with your carriers to review their “Report Cards” then you need to download a copy of our Carrier Yield Test. After you download this, ask your key carriers to review it with you or send you anything comparable that shows how they rate your business. This process has proven to be an effective tool in helping you strengthen and improve your relationships with your carriers.
Second, the term “shipper of choice” is being commonly used in today’s environment. But what does that mean? At a minimum, it means being a good steward of your carrier assets. We’ve done several interviews with several CEOs from both LTL and TL carriers and the one theme that we hear repeatedly is this: You need to respect the carrier drivers and effectively utilize their time! With ELDs and dimensionlizers, the carriers know how much time and space is being used to service your business. As we learned in our interview about being a “shipper of choice” with Dave Venberg, it means you need to be aware of, and address what happens when a carrier shows up at your docks, or the docks of your customers and suppliers.
Third, at your business reviews with your carriers ask how your freight “fits” with their network. Carrier networks are constantly changing, especially in today’s environment. What looked like good freight to that carrier two years ago may not now be a good fit based on the changes that have occurred.