Table of contents
Long invoices, hidden fees and lack of overview are just a few of the many things that make freight and logistics confusing. This often also puts a stop to your transport optimisation.
Over 80 years of experience in freight and logistics has taught us many things, but there is one transport optimisation tip in particular that we want to pass on to you: Be honest with yourself and appreciate the soft values.
Quality matters more than price
It can be hard not to be blinded by prices when looking for savings on freight agreements. So remember to be honest with yourself when comparing carriers and don't always put price first.
We often see a correlation between more expensive freight quotes and better service and shorter transport times. Price is important, but the right carrier can take your logistics (and competitiveness) to the next level.
For example, consider the administrative costs of having multiple carriers instead of centralising all freight with one or a few carriers.
Remember the soft values
We have compiled a list of soft values that are important for you to consider when choosing a shipping agreement.
- Transit time
- Frequency of departure
- Own material
- Track & Trace
- Booking deadline
- Booking flow
- Own office or agent
- Customer service
- Loading/unloading
- One or more carriers
- IT
- One-stop-shop or specialists
- Relationship
- Complaints
- CSR
We elaborate on each point in the following.
Transit time
How long should your customers expect delivery to take?
Frequency of departure
How often does the carrier send shipments? For example, some carriers have daily departures to Germany, while others only offer 2-3 times a week.
Own material
For example, does the carrier have their own vehicles or do they resell your shipments?
Track & Trace
If the carrier offers track & trace, it saves you time when you need to find out where your shipments are. It's also something your customers appreciate, so they can follow the parcel without having to contact customer service.
Booking deadline
What does it mean that you can "produce" an order until 6pm instead of 4pm?
Booking flow
Is the carrier connected to booking systems such as Webshipper, Shipmondo or Consignor? How is the document flow?
Own office or agent?
Does the carrier use agent networks or is it their own people located around the world?
Customer service
Is "One point entry" offered or is communication with the carrier via customer service?
Loading/unloading
Can the carrier's drivers load/unload the goods themselves?
One or more carriers?
How much time is spent managing multiple carriers versus consolidating it into fewer carriers?
IT
Integrations, Automatic POD (Proof Of Delivery), Booking, EDI, etc.
One-stop shop or specialists?
Do you need one carrier to cover all your markets or do you value specialists in the simple markets?
Relationship
Good relationships with your carriers are important. Your carriers are important suppliers, so the chemistry must also be in place.
Complaints
What is the claims process like? Smooth or lengthy?
CSR
Do their values align with yours in terms of CSR, for example?
To sum up
Of course, it's entirely up to you what you value most. What we can see from our data is that choosing a carrier based on quality instead of price can often take your logistics to a much higher level.