Balancing transportation carrier cost and quality is a crucial challenge for warehouse operations. You want to optimize your shipping budget, but you also need reliable and timely service from your carriers. How can you achieve both goals without compromising one or the other? Here are some tips to help you negotiate and manage your transportation contracts effectively.
Before you start looking for carriers, you need to have a clear understanding of your transportation needs. What are your shipping volumes, frequencies, destinations, and service levels? How flexible or urgent are your delivery schedules? How do you measure and monitor your carrier performance? These factors will help you define your requirements and expectations for your carriers, as well as your budget and priorities.
You must understand your need of time for transportation and your goods to deliver with the best quality to your cuatomer , and never get complain of delay and quality of the product
In my experience keeping in mind E2E process focus on customer, looking a carrier with this kind of engagement, and aligning KPI to measure the performance and open mind in opportunities
Once you have your needs defined, you can start comparing your options for carriers. You can use various sources of information, such as online directories, industry associations, referrals, or brokers, to find potential carriers that match your criteria. You can also request quotes and proposals from different carriers to compare their rates, services, and terms. Look for carriers that offer competitive prices, but also have a proven track record of quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction.
After you have narrowed down your choices, you can negotiate your contract with your preferred carrier. You want to secure the best deal possible, but you also want to establish a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with your carrier. Therefore, you should be prepared to communicate your needs and expectations clearly, but also be flexible and realistic about your demands. You should also consider the value of non-price factors, such as service guarantees, discounts, incentives, penalties, or insurance, that can affect your overall transportation cost and quality.
Once you have signed your contract, you need to monitor your performance and that of your carrier regularly. You can use key performance indicators (KPIs), such as on-time delivery, damage rate, freight cost, or customer satisfaction, to measure and evaluate your transportation efficiency and effectiveness. You can also use feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, reports, or reviews, to collect and share information and insights with your carrier. This way, you can identify and resolve any issues or problems quickly, as well as recognize and reward any achievements or improvements.
Transportadores precisam ser contratados através de um processo robusto de qualifica??o: visitas técnicas, documenta??o, robustez financeira, auditorias periódicas, SLA definido em contrato, indicadores com metas e avalia??es mensais de desempenho. Foco em parceria e melhoria contínua nos custos/ nível de servi?o.
Finally, you need to review your contract periodically to ensure that it still meets your needs and expectations. You can use the data and feedback from your performance monitoring to assess the value and quality of your carrier service. You can also use market research and benchmarking to compare your carrier with other options and alternatives. If you find any gaps or opportunities for improvement, you can renegotiate or revise your contract accordingly, or even switch to a different carrier if necessary.
Understand pricing to and from your place of business. If you know how much loads should cost on average to and from your location you can build a quality relationship with the brokers you use without getting price gouged. Know dedicated lane pricing and also the premium spot market pricing for loads that must ship last minute with all the extras.(Team drivers, end of month, holiday etc.)