How do you know when it is Time to Conduct a Freight Bid?

How do you know when it is Time to Conduct a Freight Bid?

9 years ago

Recent stock market and currency value declines in China and Canada point to a challenging year ahead for the economies of these two countries and many others around the world. While the United States has remained fairly stable amidst current world turmoil, its high valued currency may slow exports to its key trading […]

Now is the Time to Conduct your next Freight Bid

9 years ago

As everyone knows, it is very difficult to time the stock market. While we are all aware of the old adage, “buy low and sell high”, in reality, this is not easy to do. When it comes to freight rates, it is sometimes problematic to select the right time to put a company’s freight […]

Freight Carriers – How to Achieve Success with Freight Bids – Part 2

9 years ago

In my last blog, I outlined a set of tips to help carriers achieve greater success with Freight Bids. Here are a few more. Put your best foot forward early in the process We observe both incumbent and new carriers hold back on their pricing to see where they need to be at the […]

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Freight Carriers – How to Achieve Success with Freight Bids – Part 1

9 years ago

Freight Bids or Freight RFPs have been around for over two decades. Every year we hear comments about their imminent demise. Unfortunately for many motor carriers, this is wishful thinking. While these exercises are often detested by freight companies, they are popular with shippers across North America. Why? When well done, they provide the […]

Final Reflections on Freight Bids

10 years ago

Freight bid projects have become one of the most commonly used methods of sourcing freight transportation services over the past two decades. They have become popular with shippers for obvious reasons. When done well, they produce good results. Manufacturers and distributors can strengthen their supply chains by selecting a dedicated group of professional transportation companies […]

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Freight Bid Tip # 11. Conduct Ongoing Performance Review Meetings with your Carriers

10 years ago

Monitoring carrier performance is an ongoing process. Some trucking companies will track performance for new shippers with a heightened level of intensity for a designated period of time and then revert back to old habits or standard service levels when the shipper’s focus is no longer there. Every shipper should understand that there is no […]

Freight Bid Tip # 10. Implement Robust Compliance Tracking Processes

10 years ago

Some shippers operate under the misconception that once the bid awards have been made, the RFP process has been completed. This is not the case. There is another critical step that can “make or break” the bid process. It is absolutely essential, particularly in multi-plant companies, to have a process in place, immediately upon implementation, […]

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Freight Bid Tip # 9. Sign Contracts with your Large Core Carriers

10 years ago

If your company provides hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in revenue to certain carriers, they are a critical part of your success, or failure and vice versa. While a rate quote may be a suitable form of agreement between shipper and carrier, for low volume service providers, it is not adequate for larger […]

Freight Bid Tip # 8. Perform a Market Test with New Carriers

10 years ago

As the freight bid process comes to conclusion, there is an urgency to award the business so the shipper can begin enjoying the cost savings that were achieved. While this is understandable, it is important to keep several things in mind. First, if business is being awarded to new carriers, they need to come up […]

Freight Bid Tip # 7. Establish Backup Carriers for Most Blocks of Business

10 years ago

We live in an ever-changing world. Trucking companies come and go. They are being bought, sold, merged, downsized and resized every day. Under new management, a company may flourish or deteriorate. In this era of driver shortages, carriers are being very deliberate about how they allocate their capacity. As they focus on yield management, this […]