As many of you are wrapping up a relatively quiet transportation year for shippers in 2023, there are major undercurrents that could point to momentous change in 2024. While rates in all carrier modes have reversed and stabilized, this means transportation companies are exiting capacity from the industry and a reversal of supply/demand is coming. While we would say it’s important to get those monies back that were paid out in ‘21 - ‘22 in ocean, parcel, LTL, and TL, it’s also critically important to align with the right partners going forward.
Since our launch of Freight Think this year, we’ve had the good fortune to work with a number of incredible companies, ranging from the largest in the country to start-ups. That said, we are seeing the same issues and challenges across companies of all sizes - competing priorities and lack of resources are the common culprits hampering the completion of critical objectives.
If you can only do a few things this year, these are our top choices to strengthen your business from a transportation and logistics perspective.
Give These Five Your Time and You Will See a Multi-Year Return
#1 - Parcel Contracts: If you haven’t renegotiated your parcel deal this year or you’re holding off because your current contract doesn’t expire until 2024 or beyond, do not delay. Even if you have an early term penalty, that shouldn’t stop you. The major players are feeling the squeeze from an overall softening of the economy and Amazon’s decision to make their own deliveries. They are responding with discounts that were previously not available. Ultimately, they will reverse course. The time to act is now.
#2 - Eliminating Packaging “Dead Air”: This is a “no-brainer”. Week after week, all of us get cartons that are way too big for their contents. This is bad for business and bad for the environment. The good news is that there are cost effective strategies to address this issue.
#3 - Port Drayage Services: This could be the most ignored link in the supply chain. For most shippers, the rates haven’t come down the way they should have, and the fees and charges keep adding up. Fortunately, we can connect you to great providers and reduce this expense with great customer service.
#4 - Vendor Compliance: Poor performance reduces sales, increases expenses and ultimately leads to dissatisfied customers. An effective program is built by gaining insights from robust reporting and developing effective responses to drive meaningful and measurable results.
#5 - Consolidation and Domestic Intermodal Rail: These are the keys to reducing your cost of less than truckload, securing capacity when demand returns, and reducing CO2 emissions. It’s win after win. And with the right providers, transit times are much shorter than they used to be.
Let us know how we can be part of your transportation goals and objectives. We are excited to work with your company and look forward to engaging further in 2024!
Sincerely,
Bill and Reid