The future of the freight market is uncertain, but increasing data sources suggest that driver utilization will remain below capacity, reports Supply Chain Quarterly. Meanwhile, the top trends in procurement allude to a need to stay strategic. Even with a surplus of drivers in some markets, today’s shippers still face challenges in finding capacity and knowing which carriers, drivers, and services to use and when. The informed shipper must clearly understand their procurement and logistics plan regardless of market conditions. Part of that includes knowing six core strategies to procure logistics while maintaining cost control, coverage, and timely delivery. 

1. Diversify Your Carrier Base 

Carrier diversity is about expanding your network's reach to include asset- and non-asset-based providers. Such practices are common to sustainable logistics strategies, but onboarding a carrier for the sake of onboarding is absolutely the wrong idea. Instead, the trick is to ensure you choose carriers based on the right merits, including appropriate endorsements and certifications. 

What capabilities do they offer, and can they truly meet your needs? In addition, some carriers may meet some but not all of your needs. In these cases, it might be worth onboarding the carrier to offer partial coverage if the trade-off is worth the effort, such as better rates and service for a given market.

2. Expand Your Freight Forwarding Network 

Freight forwarders are excellent resources for rapid network expansion. Freight forwarders’ whole businesses are transportation, so they’re an ideal partner for rapidly increasing your reach to more capacity without the nightmare of onboarding dozens of individual carriers. Of course, you should also follow the standards for choosing a 3PL provider, including assessing their scalability and service tiers. 

3. Optimize Every Load and Route

Optimization is the ideal result when you need to procure logistics capacity. After all, chaotic procurement means chaotic control over spending, services, and capabilities. However, optimized procurement management applies a few practices to every part of your operation, from production to last-mile delivery. In other words, you need to look for providers to optimize every load and route and consider that in all parts of your procurement process. This will help your brand know when to consider zone-skipping, freight consolidation, or other alternative fulfillment strategies. 

4. Enable Flexible, Real-Time Bidding in Your Procurement and Logistics Plan

Advanced freight technology, such as an integrated load board-like platform, i.e., Parade AI, is crucial to procurement in logistics management. Lead times vary widely between industries, and the cost savings in one lane may be offset by higher demand in others. From the point of raw materials’ transportation through the shipping of finished goods, a scalable and flexible bidding process is essential to manage the flow of products through your supply chain. 

Such processes include sequential tendering, waterfall tendering, and exception-based management system functions. The result is the ability to secure coverage quickly without a full-blown procurement process. Thus, you can effectively turn the manufacturing process into a part of the procurement process by leveraging third parties, i.e., GEODIS, that already have these tools in place. 

5. Integrate Data Analytics to Procure Logistics

Like any production process, your transportation procurement plan must flex under demand. In other words, you need to adjust your coverage based on the changing conditions of your network and customer expectations. This is where a fully integrated tech stack can help you track the right key performance indicators (KPIs) and know when to rebalance your use of specific carriers across various granularities, such as lane, mode, service level, and beyond. Such systems can also connect to truckers’ electronic logging devices (ELDs) to better inform expected deliveries and avoid issues. 

6. Keep an Urgent Mind in Supply Chain Management

Shippers should always be active with their transportation strategies. Yes, there will always be times when the current strategy works well, but they must always be ready to scale their procurement and logistics plan. This very need was on full display as the effects of the pandemic took hold on the global supply chain. This is all about staying diverse and knowing where to watch for issues and when to find the next transportation services provider to help you grow. Above all else, remember that a lack of carrier diversity is a plan for higher rates and an inability to scale your transportation strategy. 

Streamline Your Logistics and Procurement Plan With GEODIS

Despite the best efforts of today’s technologies, your logistics team needs a clear plan to procure logistics and maintain capacity throughout the next disruption. The next disruption is around the corner, and while it may seem minor right now, its risk is omnipresent. Don’t allow your supply chain to fall victim to a lack of preparedness. Instead, follow the above strategies and partner with a global brand that can help you do the above in one step–GEODIS. Connect with a GEODIS team member to get started today.