How To Diversify Your Carrier Network Before Peak Shipping Season?

Carrier diversification

Carrier diversification is perhaps one of the most impactful strategies for the year 2022. Also, companies of all sizes can benefit from it.

What Is Carrier Diversification?

An eCommerce company needs to select carriers to get to customers in time and within a specific budget. Working with a single company rarely ends well for you. This is why carrier diversification has been such a popular concept.

Multiple carriers mean you can utilize the best rates, faster delivery times, and improved customer satisfaction. However, as companies rely on the same companies, it puts increased pressure on them, reducing efficiency and reliability during the peak season.

How To Diversify Your Truckload Carrier?

While it may be difficult for you to manage relationships with multiple carriers but you can use a third-party logistics company for this purpose. They will help you strategically integrate carriers to form an effective transportation plan.

Hiring a 3 PL will give you the advantage of diversifying your network and managing a single relationship. The 3 PL will bring together equipment, business processes, and price fluctuations from multiple small carriers. This way, all parties involved will have positive returns.

The Benefits Of Carrier Diversification:

Diversification of your carrier is recommended before the peak season because it is a proven successful shipping strategy. If you face delays during the peak season, this means you will be losing business opportunities. 

Faster, Less Expensive Deliveries:

Regional carriers are specialized to make deliveries in smaller areas. This way, they can fulfill orders sooner. Shipping speed can also be increased by using zone skipping. This process consolidates packages of one region and then delivers them within one area. This way, time and money can both be saved. 

More Personalized Attention:

Getting in touch with a regional carrier is more accessible than getting hold of national logistics providers. If you detect issues in the shipment procedures, you will have better chances of resolving the problems with a regional carrier. 

You can get in touch with a regional carrier in case of any bottlenecks. They can make modifications accordingly before the customer feels the impact. Having a diversified network will mean you have hands-on attention even during peak season. 

Managing Fluctuations:

Using only one or two carriers is risky, especially during the peak season. The last mile logistics is constantly changing, and tiny disruptions can have ripple effects for your business. 

Distributing your shipment among several regional carriers can divide the burden and make the operations a success. Smaller carriers have a shorter delivery time as compared to larger providers. 

FAQS

Q1- Tips to diversify your carrier mix?

To know what carriers will work best for you, you need to know your shipping volumes. This will help you narrow down which carriers will handle your needs.

After this, you can start working with them to see how they perform according to your performance indicators. The best carriers should maintain open communication with you.  

Q2- How do you increase shipping capacity?

You can increase your shipping capacity by the following:

  • Stay up-to-date on the changes within shipping capacity limits.
  • Diversify your use of national carriers.
  • Take advantage of regional carriers.
  • Leverage zone skipping where possible to ship more by ground.

Conclusion:

Finding a suitable logistics carrier can be a trial and error process, but it is worth your time and money. Having suitable carriers on your side can make a huge difference, especially during the peak season.

Also Read: LTL Carriers: When To Use Less Than Truckload Freight Carriers?