Freight Bid Tip # 3. Obtain quality data on the company’s shipment activity

Freight Bid Tip # 3. Obtain quality data on the company’s shipment activity

9 years ago

In order to conduct a freight RFP exercise, shippers need to secure historical data on their traffic volumes by type of service (e.g. small parcel, LTL, over the road truckload, intermodal etc.) and freight costs by lane (e.g. origin – destination pair). The data serves two purposes. First, by capturing and sharing shipment activity […]

Freight Bid Tip # 2. – Obtain Accurate Product Descriptions and Density Calculations

9 years ago

In an RFP, the carriers are being asked to bid on specific types of freight moving on specific traffic lanes. The rates they quote are based on the freight descriptions that you provide. It is essential that all aspects of the freight be documented in sufficient detail so as to ensure the quotes received are […]

Freight Bid Tip #1. – Obtain Buy-in and Participation from the Operating Divisions

9 years ago

Over the past eleven years, my colleagues and I have worked on a variety of successful freight RFP or freight bid projects. During that time, we have observed a number of factors that are the keys to success. This is the first in a series of blogs that will provide tips on how to run […]

The Incredible Shrinking Canadian Freight Carrier Industry

10 years ago

For many years, industry experts have been predicting a consolidation in the Canadian freight industry. During and after the Great Recession, the decibel level of these warnings increased as most trucking companies faced the challenges of reduced freight volumes, sinking rates and the difficulty of managing a business during recessionary times. In fact, the industry […]

The Successful Management of Freight Transportation Requires a Partnership between Finance and Logistics

12 years ago

Freight costs often represent a significant percent of a manufacturer or retailer’s expenses. While many companies have highly qualified CFOs and VPs of Logistics or Transportation, the management of freight costs is often sub-optimized. This appears to be a result of a lack of collaboration between these executives with each having a different set of […]