When evaluating service, be wary of fraud, particularly ensuring that carriers “are who they say they are,” he adds. “Knowing your provider is crucial,” Dyer says. “It’s not about relationships— whether you like them or not. This is about whether you’re dealing with an actual known party.”
start relationships over, struggling to build continuity and long-term value. The importance of both shipper and carrier teams working together cannot be overstated. “Whether it’s a driver working with a shipper on a warehouse floor, or the traffic director working with the carrier sales representative, it’s a team game that can only be won when everyone works together,” Burnham says. “Shippers who ask their carriers, ‘How are we doing as a shipper? What can we do to help you do your job?’ can explore ways to strengthen the work being done together that benefits both parties and avoids future issues,” he adds. In short, successful long-term relationships between shippers and carriers depend on both sides getting something positive out of the experience. “Everyone has to win,” Dyer says. “You can’t approach carrier relationships as a zero-sum game, or you’ll lose out.” “How you treat your carriers is the determining factor in how well your relationships work,” he adds. “Some shippers might drop a carrier in a nanosecond to save a few cents, or because some other carrier offers an incentive to switch. Over time, shippers who treat their carriers poorly develop a bad reputation. That’s something shippers want to avoid.” n
Companies see clear benefits if they are considered a shipper of choice. “In today’s competitive shipping landscape, carriers wield significant power in selecting their business partners,” explains Brian Cupp, director of operations for IntelliTrans. “To become a shipper of choice, businesses must prioritize strong carrier relationships, operational efficiency, and exceptional communication.” Companies striving to be considered shippers of choice should aim to build mutually beneficial relationships based on consistent volume and predictability, efficient operations, fair and transparent communication, prompt payment, flexibility and collaboration, and respect and professionalism, recommends Tom Moore, founder and CEO of ProvisionAi. Other keys to being a shipper of choice include maintaining open dialogue, honoring payment terms, and holding regular business reviews, says Martin Burnham, president of Hercules. He also cites keeping drivers and equipment moving—“static drivers or equipment is dead cost to a carrier,” he says—and having freight ready for pickup to limit driver dwell time and trucks being ordered and not used. In that vein, shippers should be able to provide an accurate picture of their network operating requirements to communicate with carriers and make commitments that they can realistically uphold. “For instance, a shipper has to be able to accurately describe what it’s like for a driver getting on and off property, and for a shipper with multiple facilities, that might vary from one site to another,” says Andy Dyer, CEO of AFS Logistics. “For the facilities in question, how does ingress and egress work? What is loading like? Are appointments required and, if so, how easy is it to set and change appointments?” he says. “If a shipper doesn’t have a complete understanding of all these factors, they might think something is a lot easier than it really is and find they don’t have the sustained stream of capacity to the price committed,” Dyer notes.
CC OO ML LMAIBTOTROA T I O N Securing a long-term strategic
partnership is also an important goal when evaluating core carriers. Shippers should emphasize this over focusing simply on transactional partnerships. For instance, Averitt’s most productive customer relationships are based on years or even decades of collaboration. “That way we really understand their business,” Williams says. In those types of relationships, carriers can provide invaluable strategic insights, including the design of a shipper’s supply chain network. “Shippers want a collaborative approach, and want to find a carrier who will also welcome such an approach,” Williams says. “They are looking for mutually beneficial relationships, which means there’s often some give and take.” When this symbiotic relationship is not there, shippers end up frequently going to market to switch carriers and
Averitt works to win core carrier business by prioritizing on-time deliveries and customer service while offering technology enhancements such as real-time tracking and data analytics.
36 Inbound Logistics • September 2024
Powered by FlippingBook