What to do with your Forwarder during the Pandemic

(Or) If you are a forwarder – What to do with your customers during the Pandemic?

During this time when meetings are Zoomed and lunch discussions for now are a thing of the past, undoubtedly you are still receiving calls and requests to Zoom or Facetime or some other video conference platform from your forwarders. I have spent my 27 year career in this industry, so I have a couple of suggestions for how to best use this somewhat slowed down time in the world to your advantage.

Have a QBR (Quarterly Business Review). Always requested, always expected but often procrastinated. Have one over Zoom. Your forwarder has (or should have) a plethora of information that they can compile, crunch and share with you to better understand your volume and lane trends as well as show you how good (or not so good) they have been doing at handling your business. Ask to finally have one scheduled.

Test a new Lane or Supplier with them. Your Salesperson more than likely have asked for a some additional business. Now might be the perfect time to finally give them a shot on a new lane or new supplier when both you and the forwarder have the time to dedicate the best possible experience and process to succeed. They can finally show you their capabilities in a new market or tough to reach location.

Finally take the time to view their full I.T. capabilities. Again something your Salesperson has likely suggested to you before. Now would be a fantastic time to set up an online virtual presentation on the full scope of your forwarder’s online tools as well as any additional bolt-on products they have for taking your supply chain to a whole new level. Think purchase order management or vendor management assistance. Most forwarders now expect very little cost set up to integrate their systems. If you have the resources and willingness to send your order data by EDI, I can all but assure you that they are just as excited to receive it this way. (If not, you really should take all of these steps with some new companies).

Zoom Meet some Upper Management. If you have not met your Salesperson’s boss or their boss’s boss or your operational contacts’ supervisors; ask to finally do so. What a great time and a perfect way to finally meet the important Executive teams of some of your forwarders. A virtual meet and greet or town hall would be valuable for both sides. From experience, not enough Executive level officers get this chance and they always benefit from these conversations and it brings the relationship to a whole new level.

And of course, finally….

Review/Negotiate the upcoming Transpacific Eastbound Rate levels. More on this and my thoughts on the Market in the coming days…

Hope these suggestions help. And just one more suggestion and a shout out to all the Salespeople out there… Let some new forwarder prospects in the virtual door as well to give you the same discussions and tours.  Again this somewhat slowed down and strange time in our world is a really great opportunity to get to know some new maybe even smaller, more boutique types of companies. There are a whole lot of fantastic companies and even better Salespeople out there in need of some “facetime” even if it is not in person… Thanks for listening.