Freight Management
Our freight management service is an end-to-end solution where we oversee all aspects of your company’s freight transportation. Acting as your outsourced transportation department, we plan, execute, and monitor shipments across all modes (air, ocean, road, rail) to meet your supply chain needs in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
We start by understanding your freight profile – shipment volumes, key lanes, service requirements, and budget targets. We then develop a tailored freight strategy. This could involve selecting optimal carriers for each lane, determining the best modal mix (e.g., when to use air vs. sea, LTL vs. FTL), and setting up consolidation programs to maximize load utilization and minimize empty space.
Day-to-day, our team manages shipment bookings and schedules pickups with carriers. We prepare all necessary documents (bills of lading, export declarations, customs documents) and ensure each shipment is properly tendered and labeled. We also handle carrier relationships, negotiating contracts and resolving any operational issues like delays or capacity shortages on your behalf.
In transit, we provide tracking and exception management as described in our tracking services. If there are any disruptions (weather events, port delays, etc.), we proactively adjust plans – rerouting or expediting shipments as needed – to maintain the flow of your goods. We keep you informed with regular updates and performance metrics, giving you full transparency into your freight movements.
Additionally, freight management includes continuous evaluation of performance and costs. We conduct freight audits to ensure billing accuracy, generate detailed reports on spend by lane or carrier, and hold periodic business reviews to discuss achievements and areas for improvement. We stay agile and ready to implement changes, such as integrating a new distribution center or responding to a surge in orders, ensuring your freight operations align with your evolving business.
Benefits to Your Business:
- Holistic Optimization: With us managing the full picture of your freight, we can optimize globally rather than in silos. This means better consolidation opportunities, more backhaul utilization, and elimination of inefficiencies – all reducing transportation costs. We might, for example, combine shipments from multiple suppliers into one container or truck, something difficult to coordinate without a unified view.
- Consistent Reliability: You benefit from our established carrier network and industry know-how. During peak seasons or capacity crunches, we leverage our relationships to secure space for your freight. We maintain service level agreements and closely track carrier KPIs, ensuring deliveries meet deadlines and your customers remain satisfied with timely shipments.
- Cost Savings and Visibility: Our freight management often translates into cost savings through volume rate negotiations and smarter routing. We provide transparent visibility into these savings with detailed reports and analytics. You can see exactly where your freight budget is going and how our optimizations are improving cost per shipment, making it easier to control logistics spending.
- Resource & Time Savings: Your team is freed from the daily complexities of coordinating shipments, managing multiple carrier contacts, and troubleshooting transportation issues. We handle those details, allowing your staff to focus on core areas like procurement, production, or sales. It's like gaining a full logistics department without the overhead and administrative burden.
- Strategic Insights: Because we accumulate data and experience across your entire logistics flow, we can advise on strategic decisions – for instance, if opening a forward warehouse would cut delivery times, or if switching from trucking to intermodal on certain lanes would save money with minimal impact on transit. Our partnership goes beyond execution, providing guidance that helps shape a more efficient, future-ready supply chain.