Managing Inbound Freight Transportation – Part 1 – Identify the Cost Savings Opportunities

Managing Inbound Freight Transportation – Part 1 – Identify the Cost Savings Opportunities

8 years ago

Managing Inbound Freight is often overlooked or not optimally managed as an opportunity for cost savings in many companies. This is a conclusion we have come to after working with a range of companies and industries over the past 13 years. When we are invited to meet with a manufacturer or distributor of freight, the […]

Freight Management is a Team Sport

8 years ago

Freight costs represent between two and five percent of revenue in many manufacturers and distributors. They are typically the single largest supply chain expense. When transportation costs begin to escalate, the Transportation department and the Transportation leader can become the “whipping boys” for senior management. Over the years, we have observed that the companies that […]

Technology Comes to the Freight Brokerage Industry in 2016

8 years ago

Every few years I like to take a look at some of the new technology-based entrants to the freight transportation industry to see who are the “movers” and “shakers.” While Amazon dominates the headlines, there are a host of other companies doing some very interesting things in the technology space. This blog will look […]

Crafting an Effective Intermodal Utilization Strategy

9 years ago

Back in the 90s, I had the privilege of leading Canada’s largest Intermodal Marketing Company. Since that time, I have been a big supporter of this service. In our consulting work with shippers, we are often struck by the fact that this service remains undervalued and underutilized. The purpose of this blog is to challenge […]

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A Lack of Routing Guide Compliance Dooms Many Freight Bid Projects

9 years ago

Many shippers don’t achieve the cost savings they expect from their freight bid exercises. This can happen despite the time, energy and costs that go into these projects. Based on our work with shippers over the past twelve years, these are the main reasons why this happens. A Failure to Provide Full Disclosure of Requirements […]

Creating an Effective Shipper-Motor Carrier Freight Agreement – Part 2

9 years ago

The first part of this blog focused on the operational, service and equipment issues that constitute a strong shipper-carrier freight agreement. This blog will address the financial and business issues that need to carefully captured in detail. 6. Rates and Service Charges The rates, fuel surcharges and other accessorial charges need to inserted […]

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 […]

Some KPIs to Monitor the Transportation Industry

9 years ago

There are a host of economic indicators that provide economists, academics and transportation professionals with insights into how the general economy is performing. Data on gross domestic product, imports, exports, housing starts, stock market trends, consumer confidence and unemployment levels are barometers of the level of economic activity in a particular country. These indicators, while […]

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 […]

It is all in the Numbers – Part 1 – Manage your Freight Spend Data to Improve Your Bottom Line

9 years ago

A company’s freight costs often represents between two and ten percent of total revenues. For many companies in the manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors, their freight spend has a direct impact on their bottom lines. Nine years ago I wrote a blog with the title above. In that blog, I identified one of the consistent […]