1. Keep a close eye on market trends

When preparing a shipping strategy for your business, it’s important to be as preemptive as possible. Often, companies find themselves reacting to changes that could have been anticipated and prepared for ahead of time. Successful shippers set aside time for research and stay on top of trends in the industry, such as NMFC code adjustments and rate increases that may affect their bottom line.

It’s also useful to carefully watch for overall rate increases of big carriers like UPS, Fedex, Saia and more, which can indicate an increase in general carrier prices in general. Keeping an eye on general LTL shipping industry trends and news can also be valuable.

2. Optimize your LTL shipping budget

All business-minded individuals, especially shippers, realize it’s necessary to find a balance between saving money and delivering the best customer service possible. In preparing a budget, advance planning is key. Though individual shippers don’t have direct control over how much carrier rates increase, they CAN make sure they are connected with the best suppliers, carriers, and forwarders with the most competitive prices.

Using digital shipping platforms can help ensure businesses are taking advantage of route optimizations and competitive carrier pricing. Platforms like this allow shippers to view instant quotes from multiple carriers and compare rates and carriers quickly, all in one page.

Another benefit of using digital LTL shipping logistics is having access to transparent pricing. Customers can actually see the breakdown of all the costs involved in their shipping.  Ultimately, when utilizing a digital shipping platform, shippers save money and end up with a transportation budget that goes much further.

3. Expand your carrier network

Gone are the days of using just one carrier. The most important part of optimizing your shipping budget and ensuring that your supply chains are resilient and adaptable, is expanding your carrier network. This way, you’ll have more options when it comes to service, operation area, carrier specialty, and most importantly, rates. This can be especially valuable to shippers who use different transportation modes (both truckload and LTL) and ship to a wide variety of locations.

Shippers who only focus on one or two carriers ultimately miss out on a variety of shipping options and competitive rates. With carrier diversification, you’ll end up with more choices, more benefits, and more money.  

Extra insight

Digital shipping platforms, like MyCarrier, simplify the shipping process with multiple tools to make your job easier. These platforms help optimize both your time and your budget by offering the best shipping options in the industry, all in one convenient page. They quote, rate, manage and measure your complete LTL shipping experience in one user-friendly, multi-carrier website.

The best part? It’s completely free. Contact us for a demo today!