Saving on Freight - It's not always just about the rate

Often, shipping managers are quick to pick the lowest priced carrier for an LTL shipment. While price is certainly a big factor, there are some other things that should be considered in addition. Factors such as transit time, carrier safety records and on-time performace are key elements in making sure that you pick the right carrier for a given shipment. Frequency with which shipments are damaged by each carrier should also be given priority in the decision making process. Data points should be collected by prudent shipping managers so that a more complete picture can be painted, such as number of shipments given to each carrier used, number of late deliveries by carrier, number of damage claims per carrier and more. Upon analyzing this data, you may find that the carrier you're primarily using may offer a lower rate (sometimes by only a few dollars), but costs you much more than the industty average in damage claims, insurance, missed pickups or late delivieries. Finally, using a freight management system, such as GlobalForwarding.com's industry leading sofware, can make managing all of these things much easier. A good TMS can eliminate much of the manual work and recordkeeping associated with managing LTL shipments. It can also make increase the visiblity of your shipments, and help to paint a complete picture of your domestic supply chain.