Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 8. KPIs and Reports

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 8. KPIs and Reports

9 years ago

Throughout this series of blogs, the focus has been on how Best in Class shippers ensure their freight is delivered at the right place, at the right time and intact. The beauty of freight management is that so much about transportation is measurable. Over the years we have observed how Best in Class shippers pull […]

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 7. Strategy

9 years ago

Success in business comes from crafting and executing effective business strategies. The attainment of strong financial performance comes from integrating and aligning the various strategies of the business into a cohesive force. A company’s supply chain strategy, of which transportation strategy is a key component, is often a critical piece of the company’s business strategy. […]

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 6. Technology

9 years ago

The previous blog focused on some of the core freight management processes that are part of a company’s supply chain. For many years, prior to the age of computers and tablets, these processes were performed with manual procedures, calculators and spreadsheets. Some companies still use spreadsheets to manage a few or all of these processes. […]

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 5. Process

9 years ago

One can view a supply chain as a series of processes. From inbound freight management, the process of picking up raw materials, to last mile delivery, freight management is a group of practices and procedures that, when performed well, are seamlessly integrated to ensure a company’s goods, arrive on time, at the right place, damage […]

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 4. Freight Spend Management

9 years ago

In many firms, freight costs can be in the millions or tens of millions of dollars. This large expense can represent a significant percent of a company’s revenue. As a large expense item, it needs to be managed very skillfully. The first blog in this series (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/becoming-a-best-in-class-shipper-1-freight-data-management) looked at the need for detailed, accurate, freight […]

Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 3. Leadership

9 years ago

It takes leadership and management skill to become a Best in Class shipper. One question many companies face is where should Transportation fit within the company’s organization structure? Clearly one size does not fit all since manufacturers may have freight budgets ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars. The […]

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Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 2. Knowledge

9 years ago

Best in Class shippers possess an understanding of the following subjects.  Modal options and trade-offs (e.g. Air, Road, Rail, Marine)  Carrier selection and management in each mode of transport  Routing guide preparation and compliance tracking  Best practices in border crossing and border security (e.g. C-TPAT, AMPS)  Freight rates and freight […]

Is your company a Best in Class Shipper? – Find out with a Transportation Audit

9 years ago

Many manufacturers and retailers throughout North America spend millions of dollars a year on freight transportation. Freight costs can represent between 1 and 10 percent of a company’s operating revenue, one of the largest cost items. They are often treated as a necessary evil. From time to time a shipper may try out […]

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Freight Bid Tip # 4. Cast a Wide Net in Selecting Carriers and Freight Management Companies

9 years ago

There are thousands of freight carriers, load brokers and logistics service providers throughout North America. One of the important elements of an effective freight bid is to seek out those carriers that can provide the best combination of service, capacity and rates to meet the unique needs of your business. Over the years, we […]

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 […]