News
Coronavirus & The Ramifications of Port Congestion in the U.S.
Are you prepared for the coming Containergeddon or Portpocalypse? If not, you better audit your...
Developing a Near Perfect LTL RFP
By Paul Benfer, Kinetic Supply-Chain Services Few things in transportation management provide a...
Victory For Trucking Companies
Ruling Seen As Major Victory For Trucking Companies & Transportation Industry It appears that...
Outsourcing Container Drayage Management
Consider the Benefits of Outsourcing Container Drayage Management By Paul Benfer – Managing...
McGowan Joins Kinetic
Makenzie McGowan Joins Kinetic Team By Paul Benfer - Makenzie McGowan recently joined the Kinetic...
Clients Love Our Rates
So Many 5-Star reviews on Google Thanks to all of our customers, carriers, vendors, and ancillary...
Classification Eliminates Item 171
NMFC Commodity Classification Standards Board Eliminates Item 171, The Bump Rule By Paul Benfer,...
TOP 25 TRUCKLOAD, LTL CARRIERS
GROWTH EXPLODES FOR TOP 25 TRUCKLOAD, LTL CARRIERS by William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 18,...
Negotiate Your Carrier Invoice
Negotiate Rules and Audit Your Carrier Invoice Adjustments By Paul Benfer – Managing Partner,...
Improper LTL Carrier Freight Charge
Defend Yourself Against Improper LTL Carrier Freight Charge Adjustments By Paul Benfer, Kinetic...
Investigate Benefits of Dedicated Drayage
Why You Should Investigate the Benefits of Dedicated Container Drayage Service By Paul Benfer,...
Morouned Over the Detroit River
Wall Street Journal Editorial Board - Mexico isn’t paying for that border wall, but Canada has...
Think Third Party for Drayage Management During the Capacity Crunch
This past winter and spring it wasn’t unusual to wait two weeks or more to have your container...
NWSA Approves Clean Truck Program Despite Trucker Opposition
BY MARK EDWARD NERO-Amercian Shipper Managing members of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA),...
NJ Legislators to Vote on Waterfront Commission Exit
BY Mark Edward Nero - American Shipper - A years-long drive by New Jersey lawmakers to pull the...
If You Manufacture Chemicals Outside the U.S., Outsourcing Container Drayage Might Be Right For You
By Paul Benfer - Kinetic Supply-Chain Services - As a chemical manufacturer that imports...
UPS reserves 125 Tesla Semis, the biggest order of the new electric trucks to date
By Lauren Thomas - CNBC - United Parcel Service just became Tesla's biggest Semi-truck customer to...
Anheuser-Busch Orders 40 Tesla Trucks
By Jennifer Smith, Wall Street Journal - Forget the Clydesdales. Anheuser-Busch has reserved 40...
Dockworkers Walk Out of Labor Talks
By Jennifer Smith - Wall Street Journal - Labor negotiations between employers and unionized...
Tesla, Elon Musk Unveil Electric Semi-Truck
By Seth Clevenger, Transport Topics - Tesla Inc. unveiled its long-anticipated, all-electric Class...
How to benchmark freight brokers
How to Benchmark Supply-Chain Costs: Transportation Costs Affect Your Bottom Line
Ask people in your industry who they use and why.
This is one area that competitors are usually more than willing to discuss. Most new and small companies go through a painful learning curve while trying to successfully manage their supply-chains. Ask your competition what their percentage of supply-chain costs are versus sales. That is an excellent way to determine what you should expect to pay.
Investigate web-based transportation management systems (TMS).
Don’t rely on one carrier to handle all of your supply-chain needs.
Be open to new ideas.
Save and develop your shipment database from day one.
Build a database of your shipments. You can do this by requesting a monthly service report in excel from your carrier(s) or third party. Just about every major carrier requires specific shipment data from you before they offer pricing.
Know your carrier’s limitations of liability in regard to loss and damage.
All carriers move freight at reduced levels of liability, especially if the shipment moves on a spot quote. Most coverage on spot quotes is limited to $1 per pound. If your shipment is worth more than the coverage, the carrier will only pay up to the limit of liability specified in the quote or in their rules tariff.
If you will be shipping LTL, know your freight class.
Ask a carrier or third-party logistics provider to provide you with the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) number for your product. Most freight is now classified based on density.
Talk to an industry professional.
Many companies have little or no supply-chain experience. Often they give the task of managing transportation to the person in charge of shipping. That person usually makes many mistakes on the way to becoming competent. Why not shorten that learning curve by talking to someone who has worked in the industry for many years? Why do you think most established organizations have hired professionals who have advanced degrees in supply-chain and logistics?
Every dollar saved in supply-chain costs goes directly to your bottom line.
Freight costs can eat up a significant percentage of your profit dollar, both in pure and administrative costs. Sending out broadcast emails for quotes can initially be effective in helping to benchmark truckload and large volume shipment costs, but not using that information to build a database to draw from will actually add costs in the long run. It is better to develop a database and use the technology available to save money on both the administrative and actual costs of transportation.
Get a Free Quote -or- Ask a Question
Or Call Toll Free
Toll Free: (866) 572-7552
Direct: (732) 888-5461
Fax: (732) 888-9806