How do you know your company is getting the right price in shipping?
In our view, it depends on your objective. If you are domestically shipping massive numbers of the same sort of product with the same kind of packaging – 10,000 TVs for instance – you might want a commodity shipper who wins your business through a competitive bidding process decided by the lowest possible price.
If, on the other hand, your international shipping needs are more complex – a 100-ton metal press that requires disassembly, custom packaging, special documentation and reassembly – then you need to consider other factors in the price. Those factors include custom packaging that secures your product, risk management, special attention to customs regulation and documentation and understanding how shipping processes vary by locale.
“A strong freight and logistics model creates value by saving money when you consider every aspect of the shipment,” says Dan Cser, Agency Owner at ICAT Logistics Detroit. “Too many shippers who need special handling take the short-sighted view that freight and transportation are merely commodities. They shop price and that’s often not enough.
Cser recommends that shippers consider the following questions:
- Are you consistently meeting your customers’ expectations?
- Are you scrambling to fix problems when a shipment goes wrong?
- Are you missing deadlines because of customs or regulatory missteps?
“Companies that rely on product, parts or supply shipments will benefit when their operating strategy includes shipping and transportation expertise and foresight,” says Cser.
Cser says companies like his are creative problem solvers and strategic thinkers, which is helpful for companies whose specialized cargo shipments are quite different from commodity shippers.
A few things to consider:
- Is your current freight and supply approach helping your service levels?
- Are you relying enough on third party expertise and experience to improve delivery, cost, reliability and service?
- What are your competitors doing? How can you provide better service at better prices by fine tuning your strategic approach?
- Do you have real-time and accurate internal information from your colleagues so you can be flexible in your approach?
“The better our clients know themselves, the more we can offer as their freight and logistics partner,” Cser said.
We’re your custom shipping resource. Solutions to our customers’ most challenging issues are derived from decades of success in global logistics. https://www.icatlogisticsdtw.com/