Freight consolidation is an efficient way of gaining control over your cargo and reducing costs while doing so. Inbound freight management, however, is a complex process. So, take steps to ensure that prices can be slashed using freight consolidation.
Some Potential Challenges:
Before we discuss those steps, let’s identify some challenges related to freight management and supply chain networks:
- Wide vendor networks
- A network of carriers in play
- Scheduling problems at the dock
- Additional fees for drivers held in the yard
- Higher costs for vendors sending relatively larger products during one time
- Communication problems in the driver, carrier, and vendor network
How Can Freight Consolidation Help:
Shippers who efficiently plan and manage freight consolidation can reap many benefits from it, including:
- Lower prices
- Reduced transit times
- Improved service provision
- Less accessorial changes
- Trusted carrier relationships
- More controlled maintenance of dock timings
- Fewer risk of damage
- Reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions
Steps to consolidate freight shipments efficiently:
Developing an inbound freight consolidation program demands a lot of work, so shippers should follow the following steps to make sure nothing is missed:
- You should adopt vendor compliance policies. These policies entail how a shipper holds vendors and suppliers accountable in case of failures during shipping. These policies outline which carrier to use, when to ship, etc.
- Pick suitable suppliers. Although the inbound routing guide helps optimize any situation, it can only work with suitable suppliers. An extensive supplier network does promise a better competitive advantage, but if suppliers consistently fail to meet deadlines and requirements mentioned in your guidelines, they should be immediately dropped.
- Make a standard, dynamic routing plan and guideline. The freight routing guide should be dynamic and allow for consolidation and deconsolidation. This guide will help you consolidate freight when facing geographic or other barriers. Therefore, specifying shipping procedures during particular circumstances is essential in a comprehensive routing guide.
- Establish penalties beforehand if shippers fail to consolidate freight before shipping. Your company’s compliance towards establishing penalties and following the freight routing guide will determine how much your suppliers follow the guide to the letter.
- Make use of technology to streamline processes. Another aspect of effective freight consolidation is using TMS technology which helps to consolidate or follow other shipping rules.
- Working with a third-party logistics provider to handle freight management is also a wise move. Outsourcing the processes can be effective in avoiding unnecessary expenses.
Take advantage of the newest technologies to integrate systems for consolidated shipping. These integrated systems ensure that data is applied, processes run smoothly, and hindrances don’t occur.
For any freight shipper or carrier, saving costs is an essential requirement, whether wholesale shippers, food delivery companies, or discount stores. They always try to do more themselves and manage these transportation costs. So, when a buyer gets the opportunity of saving $200 plus on a single shipment, it is a no-brainer for him. And if he looks at all his bulk shipments over a month, he could be saving a whole lot more. This is why consolidated freight has gained popularity in the market.
Also Read: Being a part of a truck driver’s average day