10 Shipper Of Choice Tips To Help Secure Capacity And Carrier Relationships

With competition and demand for fast and dependable transportation management choices expanding at unprecedented rates, shippers must focus on offering excellent services in order to compete. Becoming a preferred shipper will help you gain new customers and keep current ones delighted with your services. 

Here are ten shippers of choice recommendations to assist businesses secure capacity and building relationships with carriers, as well as transportation brokers:

1. Prioritize Dock Experiences For Drivers

With all of the costs involved, excessive dwell time becomes a burden. “Shippers that unload efficiently and promptly without relying on driver engagement assist carriers to avoid poor trailer usage or large trailer inventories,” according to Inbound Logistics. Improving dock efficiency times guarantees that drivers can get in and out quickly, reducing order fulfillment and transit delays. And this will attract carriers, keep them coming back, and improve procurement efficiency.

2. Speed Up The Delivery Process

A company’s reputation as a shipper of choice is earned by ensuring speedy delivery time throughout the whole supply chain. Offering trustworthy delivery windows with precise and on-time truck arrival, communications, and adequate documentation is among the shipper of choice suggestions that will greatly build that reputation.

3. Provide Customized Services And Options

Another shipper of choice suggestion is that a company must differentiate itself from the competition. An excellent method to distinguish yourself as a preferred shipper is to offer specialized shipping, loading, and cargo services that no one else can or will provide. How? That’s a loaded question that necessitates a thorough examination of all existing shipping services, freight brokerage value-added talking points, and other factors. Regardless, incorporating involvement into all contacts can result in a significant improvement and raise eligibility to become a shipper of choice.

4. Provide Options For Driver Shipping Route

Consider the several methods to get from point A to point B; when a company can provide a number of options, drivers are more likely to respond positively. The best examples of preferred shippers offer services throughout many trucking routes. Putting control in the hands of drivers, such as viewing road conditions and all available routes, will boost the attractiveness of your freight, establishing this as a leader in the shipper of choice advice firms must be aware of.

5. Always Put The Needs Of The Carrier First

Meeting consumers’ expectations and needs swiftly, effectively, and affordably is also important when using a shipper of choice tips. The most important and vital transportation carriers will always gravitate toward shippers who have their best interests at heart and make them known. The same is true for customer service, which means that companies that prioritize client interests, such as a willingness to pay more for faster delivery, will likely encounter fewer tender rejections due to proactive carrier management.

6. Be Versatile By Offering A Range Of Contracts

Trucking contract options are available from carriers and shippers. With such a concentration, they can provide in-demand services for both short-term and long-term contracts. Shippers and carriers profit from aligned market volatility and freight contract expectations by remaining flexible. In other words, all businesses may better protect their assets and margins.

7. Accept Automatic And Digitalization

All businesses must keep up with the times if they want to be considered a preferred shipper. Digital processes, AI learning, and automated technologies, as a mix of multiple shippers of choice tips, are the key to the future and must be welcomed. Because automation decreases the chance of error, carriers can be confident that preferred shippers adhere to industry-leading best practices, such as freight management analytics, to accelerate management decisions.

8. Provide Trucking Carriers With Different Shipping Modes

Having the ability to supply multi-modal shipping techniques can help freight carriers become more desirable. Provide as many options as possible to attract freight carriers and keep them returning.

9. Keep Open Lines Of Communication

Carriers are more loyal when they feel at ease working with a shipper of their choosing who values their priorities and comments. Open communication and openness throughout the supply chain can help to promote enterprise shopper loyalty. As a result, enterprise shippers are more inclined to work with carriers to avoid misunderstandings and streamline freight delivery.

10. React To Data Issues, Deviations, And Problems

The final advice on this list of the shipper of choice suggestions is straightforward risk management. Even with the finest planning and preparation, problems will happen, and when they do, corporate shippers must never be afraid to confront them and address the issue using data-driven transportation management insights.

If you’re interested in learning more about shipping with Get Loaded and Rolling, now is the best time to get started. Sign up with Get Loaded and Rolling today.