Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi I'm Mike Regan with TranzAct's Two Minute Warning for the week of May 9th. Folks if
you want to conduct a world-class sourcing event then consider these tips.
In last week's Two Minute Warning we talked about three takeaways that we learned
from NASSTRAC's recent annual conference. Now one of those takeaways
dealt with the condition of the freight market. And whether or not the economy is
in recession may be debatable, but when you hear the chief economist for the
American Trucking Association, Bob Costello, say that with respect to the
freight markets were definitely in a recession, you have to stand up and take
note. And that led to some really interesting conversations. We had
conversations with senior executives from LTL and truckload carriers and we
learned that they're seeing a very high level of bid activity. And the reason for
that is really easy to understand: when the markets are soft and you've got a
buyer's market, expect to see shippers and third parties get into the market in
an effort to reduce their rates. But more interesting than the conversation with the
trucking executives was what we learned when we talked to some shippers that
have recently concluded their LTL sourcing events. One of my friends said
"Mike, in concluding this", she said "I didn't want to tell the audience but it was
just about as painful as delivering kids." Now the reason for that is because the
rules of the game have changed over the past couple of years and that's why we
want to give you some couple of tips if you want to conduct a great LTL sourcing
event. First, you need to make sure that the quality of your data is outstanding. In
talking with one shippers she said "Mike we do this every two years but what
really struck me was the carriers came back to us wanting more accurate data." And
the reason for that folks is because in the LTL environment density and
dimensional base pricing create a different set of variables and you need
good data to be able to share with your carriers. Now the second point that we
want to talk about is to take a look at the carriers you're inviting to bid.
I talked with one shipper and he indicated that when they went to market
they wanted to make it real easy for their divisions so they primarily
focused on incumbents. Wrong move. We want you to include you incumbents but we
want to make sure that when you go out to bid you also include carriers that
have networks that makes sense for the kind of freight that you ship to the
places you ship. Now the third thing we want to do--
third thing, most important--pick up the phone and call or send us an email. It's
not going to cost you a dime to ask us questions. And after I got done sharing
our experiences with this one very large shipper, she indicated, I wish I had
talked to you sooner. Now folks let that be your objective: talk to us sooner
rather than later.
Now with each and every Two Minute Warning, we're here to remind you: we're on your team,
we're here to help, and we're passionate,
passionate about seeing you be successful. Thanks for your time.