The 2021 peak season is going to reshape the standards for freight spend projections drastically. All major carriers have already announced steep increases to residential and commercial packages. Some companies like FedEx have based these new surcharges on shipping volume that has taken off since the pandemic started.
Fortunately, shippers can apply these five strategies to recover peak season expenses.
1. Implement Automated Auditing Processes
Automated auditing is an excellent way to recapture excess peak season freight spend. Automated systems match invoices to loads and identify potential areas of overbilling. In turn, companies that provide such services change a percentage of recapture revenue, eliminating the hassle of paying for auditing in the first place.
2. Diversify Your Carrier Network
While consolidation of carriers sounds excellent on paper, it can leave your company at the mercy of accessorial and higher rates. Diversifying the carrier network gives rise to more competition when tendering loads and help carriers realize that you want the best value for each shipment.
3. Use Predictive Analytics To Plan For Accessorial
Predictive analytics are useful for predicting freight rates. However, they also add value by allowing companies to predict possible rates deviations and added expenses. These are valuable tools in measuring performance and keeping spend under control.
4. Go Contactless With Drop Shipping Order Fulfillment
While contactless appears simple, think about how it could be used to describe a hands-free process of order fulfillment drop shipping. Since your company avoids the hassle of touching the product, it keeps total expenses as low as possible.
5. Rethink Your Labor Management System and Dock Scheduling Software
Extra time in the yard or at the dock will add freight spend through dwell time and detention charges. Ensure your staff to dock ratio is appropriate and realize that delays are going to happen. Plan how your team will respond and what to do when they occur with an upgrade to labor management system and dock scheduling software. This will help to keep things running smoothly and ensure those systems are integrated with the transportation management system (TMS). With all the pressure to reduce costs in full effect, shippers need to start thinking about improving efficiency and recapturing excess freight spend.
