Biggest Freight Shipping Challenges: Price

04/15/2015 — Matt Nagel

In a recent survey conducted by PartnerShip, we asked the question: “What are your biggest challenges when shipping freight?” About 30% of surveyed shippers indicated price as their greatest challenge. This doesn't come as a surprise as freight shipping can often take a large chunk out of a company’s bottom line if not done right. Below are some tips for keeping your freight costs in check and we’ll also refer back to some older blog posts, as this is a topic that we make a point to cover extensively in our content.

  1. Choose the correct partners – Working with a Third Party Logistics company (3PL) is one of the most common and easy ways to keep your freight costs in check. Through their buying clout, 3PL partners can, in many cases, secure better pricing with carriers than a single business normally could on their own. 3PLs will not only save you money, but the best 3PLs will also save you time by auditing your invoices, providing top-of-the-line technology and tools, and by making a point to keep you informed of freight industry tips and trends. Choosing the correct carrier partners, whether on your own or through a 3PL, will also save you money in the long run as carriers operate more efficiently in different geographic areas and offer different specializations for your freight.
  2. Pay attention to your inbound shipping – Often, when shippers think about their shipments, they will only take into account their outbound operations. Most companies that have outbound freight will more often than not have shipments coming into their facility from vendors and suppliers. These shipments are often billed to the consignee even though the consignee has no control over how the shipment is shipped or handled by the carrier. Even if your company isn't seeing a direct invoice for these shipments, there's no such thing as "free shipping" and the charges are probably being hidden elsewhere. We know this is an important factor to your overall shipping costs and have many inbound shipping resources available.
  3. Avoid commonly made mistakes when shipping your freight – We recently developed an entire white paper on this subject and it’s designed to help you shy away from and correct the most costly mistakes that we, as a 3PL partner, come across. From inaccuracies in your Bill of Lading (BOL) to improperly handling your claims, there are wrong turns in the complicated world of freight shipping that can cost you big.
The feedback we received in the survey mentioned above was extremely valuable and we’re working to address your freight shipping concerns and challenges through our content, customer service, and freight shipping tools. Be sure to subscribe to the PartnerShip Connection Blog if you haven’t already by providing your email in the section to the right. And, to be extra-sure you are saving as much as possible on your freight, feel free to request a free shipping analysis of your freight operations.

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