Make it a better shipping experience for you both

B4T Editorial Columnists

Here are some excellent ways to calm your irritated shippers and keep them shipping–with your carrier. They’re based on an extremely informative blog by Dan Gilmore, Editor-in-Chief over at Supply Chain Digest.  

Rising fuel prices are of course creating higher transport costs. And higher transport costs make shipping customers very unhappy. Make ‘em happier by giving them your invoice, and then talking with them about solutions to the spiraling costs of goods and product transportation.  

We can all figure oil prices aren’t going to dip in their per-barrel sticker shock any time soon. (At least, if they do suddenly plummet, most of us don’t want to see it – that means the recession has roared back to all its nine lives.) 

So look at these ideas, see how they work with your carrier’s needs, and then suggest your shippers consider the following: 

1. Can the shipper load your truck more fully? Sure, this might mean fewer trips for your truck, but a better window for you to pick up profitable return freight. 
2. Talk about a Fuel Cost Adjustment instead of a fuel surcharge. Some shippers see red at the very mention of a fuel surcharge, figuring they’re just getting ripped off by yet another company. (Read articles by Tim Brady on his Fuel Cost Adjustment Policy, or F-Cap Solution. Here’s a link  http://cms.guides.com/cms_files/trucker.com/DottedLine_0608.pdf )
3. Ask your shipper to re-consider a ‘just-in-time’ shipping policy. There’s a movement afoot by the mega-corporations to go to just-in-case shipping, so they’ve got a few extra parts and supplies where they need them, weather, disaster or whatever.
4. Does your shipper have individual ship sites, with each setting its own schedule? That duplication of effort can be expensive. Centralizing the transport decisions can save money.
5. Gilmore estimates 98% of companies could change their packaging so as to ship less ‘sailboat fuel’ and more goods or products in the same space: “One cell phone distributor increased units on a pallet by 50% through a new package design effort.” That’s significant.
6. Ask your shipper to re-think the cartons ‘they’ve always used.’ Would another size provide just as much protection for the contents but fit better on a pallet or in a trailer?
7. Does your carrier’s truck regularly go to two or more shippers in the same area within a day or two? Suggest all the area shippers collaborate and have your carrier pick up on the same day. Yes, this takes work to get everyone on the same schedule. But your fuel and maintenance costs should go down, too.
8. If a shipper has to call your carrier on an ‘emergency’ basis more than once or twice annually, something isn’t working internally. Ask your shipper to consider hiring a consultant to figure out where the problem is. Those emergencies not only mean the shipping cost goes up substantially, but you have the headache of figuring out how to cover that expedited load from a good customer. Eliminating this helps freight flow much more smoothly.
9. Can your shipper study the production line a little more closely and make better predictions as to when your carrier’s trucks are needed most?
10. Let your shipper know that you’ll work with him or her if a load needs to be held over for a day in order to fill the truck. Consolidating loads can work better for everyone.