Instructional - The SPL Group

You Need Help With Your Shipping Operation

Joel Moskowitz — Tue, 30 May 2023 18:17:35 +0000

You Need Help With Your Shipping Operation

Why going at it alone may not save you enough on your overall shipping costs.

If you are a company that ships products, you are well aware of the complex and time-consuming nature of the process. There are numerous variables and factors to consider, making it challenging for businesses to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of goods while keeping costs under control. This brings us to the age-old question; can I do it all myself? Do I hire a professional?

You hire accountants to file your taxes and attorneys to review your contracts, so why not consider a logistics professional to optimize your shipping?

SPL Group is a logistics company that provides white-glove, concierge-level service to businesses that ship products. With a wide array of services and discounts for Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), Full Truckload (FTL), invoice auditing, and small parcel, SPL Group is ideally situated to optimize your shipping while lowering your costs. We don’t replace your current operations; we enhance them.

Many service providers tout white-glove service, but few can compete with SPL Group’s personalized, high-quality service. Here is how SPL Group sets itself apart from its competitors:

Has account executives and account managers serve as your point of contact (not an outsourced customer service hotline) and are available when you need them (not just 9-5!).
Has close, long-established relationships with all the major carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL, and many others) and a long record of solving issues with them when they inevitably arise.
Has proprietary software that finds you the best rate and the quickest time for your particular parcel.
Offers customized tracking and reporting
Gets you discounts on your freight rates, surcharges, and DIM Weight
No out-of-pocket cost invoice auditing

How does SPL Group do it? With its long-established and extensive relationships with the major carriers, SPL Group is able to negotiate better rates than most businesses can on their own. Its free shipping invoice audit also discovers other areas where discounts are available and carefully reviews your shipping to determine which services are necessary and remove redundancies.

SPL Group has over 8,000 trucking companies in its LTL/FTL network and operates in Mexico, Canada, and the US. Additionally, SPL Group has warehouse facilities on both the East and West coasts in close proximity to the busiest ports in the US, with drayage services available to our facilities or ones of your choosing.

Businesses that ship both domestically and internationally can benefit greatly from the services provided by the SPL Group. While the services and the discounts are great, the hands-on service is what has our clients raving about us. Here’s what some have to say:

“Before we met SPL, we would have to go and compare rates just to make sure our rates were pretty much competitive. With SPL, we don’t have to do that because they’re doing that for us, and we trust the fact that they have our backs.”
“SPL is doing a great job; knowing that they are there gives us a comfort level, and yes, SPL gets us the best rates, so that’s another reason why we are still here.”
“There is no one that can beat SPL Group’s availability and customer care; there was never a time they didn’t come through for me.”
“With LTL, it’s all about communication, availability, and timing. With SPL Group, everything is on point; when you need something to happen, it happens.”

The simple fact is, staying on top of your parcel shipping spend is crucial to controlling costs. The beauty of the service provided by SPL Group is that it comes at no direct cost to you. In the most recent issue of Parcel Industry Magazine, industry professionals advise that you continuously audit your invoices, renegotiate your carrier contracts, and take a fresh look at your parcel data. Having an experienced eye for reading voluminous carrier contracts and auditing parcel invoices, we can gain you an extra double-digit percentage in savings. Accessorial fees and surcharges are another area where our years of experience benefit our clients greatly.

Carriers have been cutting costs. Account reps and customer service lines are overextended. That is just the economic reality of the post-pandemic world we exist in. Challenges with pickups or package tracking can frustrate the most efficient shippers in an ideal situation. Relationships matter. Our clients are able to leverage SPL Group’s longstanding relationships with all the major carriers to get the top-quality, attentive service they deserve.

The post-pandemic world has also put pressure on businesses that ship due to lower volumes and higher prices on goods and services. The major carriers themselves implemented the highest general rate increases (GRI) at the turn of the year. In a competitive world where every penny counts more than ever, finding the right partner to optimize your shipping operation and lower costs has become an urgent necessity.

Can you do this all yourself? And if you can, can you do it better than someone who has been doing this for years and for thousands of companies? Two factors prevent shippers from hiring a company like SPL Group; cost and privacy. As mentioned earlier, there is no out-of-pocket cost to you. If we don’t save you money, we don’t get paid. Business owners are apprehensive about turning over internal documents, including shipping invoices, even for an audit. The uneasiness can come from not wanting to divulge information or simply not wanting to be shown that they could have lowered costs earlier and much steeper than they have been.

SPL Group guarantees your privacy and the privacy of your data. Our proprietary software emphasizes securing client data, and our professional staff treats your information as their own. Finally, SPL Group has invested greatly in our proprietary software that offers features like rate shopping across multiple carriers, tracking, bulk uploads, API capabilities, label printing, data aggregation, and more. Now is the time for SPL Group.

The post You Need Help With Your Shipping Operation first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post You Need Help With Your Shipping Operation appeared first on The SPL Group.

The Manufacturing Pivot

Joel Moskowitz — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:55:26 +0000

The Manufacturing Pivot

Whether the trend began with Covid or in light of geopolitical events, particularly tensions with China, manufacturers are seeking alternative solutions to continue their operations while minimizing risk. Many companies are shifting manufacturing away from China to locations closer to home or to places with friendlier relations. Offshoring to China took off at the beginning of the millennium when China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which offered the advantage of lower costs to produce goods. Nonetheless, the movement away from offshoring to friend-shoring and nearshoring offers several benefits while simultaneously addressing the need to move away from reliance on China.

Nearshoring refers to the process of moving production and manufacturing to a nearby country or region. Friendshoring involves working with trusted partners and suppliers. The objective of both is to reduce supply chain risk. Both strategies can offer significant advantages in terms of cost, efficiency, and management.

Firstly, nearshoring reduces the time and cost associated with transporting goods and materials across long distances. By choosing a nearby country, manufacturers can enjoy faster delivery times, save on transportation costs, and allows for greater flexibility in responding to changes in demand.

Secondly, friend-shoring enables manufacturers to build stronger relationships with their partners and suppliers, reducing the risk of supply chain disruptions caused by political issues and unforeseen events. By working more closely with suppliers and building long-term partnerships, manufacturers can ensure the reliable and consistent production of goods.

China has long been a dominant force in global manufacturing, but recent events, such as the US-China trade war, tensions over Taiwan, human rights, Hong Kong, the response to Covid, and intellectual property rights, have exposed the risk of overreliance on a single country.

By diversifying their supply chains and moving production to nearby countries, manufacturers can reduce their exposure to risks such as tariffs, trade restrictions, and political instability. Apple has led the way by moving the production of some of its products away from China to India and Vietnam. Mexico has already seen an increase in US companies transferring their operations there. These moves are intended to diversify operations and reduce risk and exposure.

Mexico, in particular, has emerged as a popular destination for nearshoring due to its proximity to the US market, existing favorable trade agreements, and a skilled labor force. Other countries in Central and South America are viable options. Brazil, for example, offers an attractive mix of natural resources, skilled labor, and favorable trade agreements.

In addition to the reshoring steps discussed above, manufacturers can also consider other strategies to mitigate risk and ensure the continuity of operations. Digitalization and automation can help reduce reliance on physical supply chains, making it easier to respond to changes in demand and minimize disruption. Advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles have been a game changer in supply chain and logistics planning.

There are still challenges and risks associated with these strategies, particularly in light of the current banking crisis, which is reverberating on a global level. The recent government takeover of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank highlights the risk of overreliance on one financial institution.

To mitigate these risks, manufacturers need to take a strategic approach to managing their banking relationships, diversifying their accounts across multiple institutions and increasing monitoring of risk exposure. By working closely with trusted partners and advisors, companies can ensure they are well-positioned to navigate crises as they arise and operate successfully in a challenging global environment. By expanding their supply chain and banking options, building strong, trusted partnerships, and leveraging digitalization and automation, manufacturers can reduce their exposure to risk and ensure the continuity of operations.

The post The Manufacturing Pivot first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post The Manufacturing Pivot appeared first on The SPL Group.

The Ever Evolving Last-Mile Delivery World

Joel Moskowitz — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 18:32:18 +0000

The Ever Evolving Last-Mile Delivery World

In the late 1970s, one of the most popular shows on TV was a sitcom called “Happy Days.” The show was set in Milwaukee in the 1950s, and the premise, as implied by the title, is a sentimentality for the simpler times of old. The past was portrayed as less complicated. If we take that premise and apply it to today, that things are simply more complicated now; nowhere is that more apparent than in the way we shop.

Not too long ago, people went to a department store, searched for the products they wanted, browsed around the store, and made a purchase. Retailers made lots of money, and customers were happy. Later, mail orders and catalogs added convenience, but it didn’t necessarily disrupt the way consumers bought their products overall. The Internet, Amazon, and the growth of eCommerce did though. The pandemic brought digital commerce to a whole new level. The evolution from mostly brick-and-mortar shopping to buying online was rapid, and the logistics of getting products from the factory to the front porch became complicated and costly. Covid and the demand it caused exposed supply chain inefficiencies but also showed how volume-based logjams can cause businesses to lose customers over inefficient delivery.

The simple fact is that we live in a world where consumers expect orders to arrive within a very specific timeframe. Customers became accustomed to quick and cheap delivery. Any weakness in fulfilling those consumer expectations results in the buyer shopping elsewhere. 59% of consumers will walk away after several bad retail experiences, and 17% after just one bad experience. Last-mile delivery is central to delivering a superior consumer experience. Consumers don’t care if the seller does not have the ability to deliver to their remote rural location, or on the flip side, to their congested urban locale; they will just go elsewhere.

Earlier, retailers chose a carrier, set up a pickup, and then the package was on its way. Now, the turbo-charged increase in volume and customer time expectations have added multiple steps to the supply chain. Whereas before, shippers felt at ease leaving the responsibility for the parcel delivery solely with the carrier, now being comfortable with the partnerships the carriers have within the supply chain is a constant worry.

The most critical, complicated, and expensive part of any delivery is known as the last mile. According to a study conducted by Bringg, a delivery management software company, 89% of shippers are struggling with their last-mile delivery operations. The term last mile was initially coined by the telecommunications industry to describe when a home was being connected to the main cables. Think of a grid. Phone, electric, gas, and cable companies would run their main pipes, wires, or cables along the main thoroughfares of the grid. Then when it came time to set up service in a home, a connection needed to be made from the main cable, which was termed the last mile. This entailed planning and was the most expensive part of connecting service.

Today in supply chain management, the same planning is used for the movement of goods. The last mile in the supply chain, like in telecommunications and utilities, is the most expensive part of the process; in fact, the last mile accounts for over 53% of the total cost of a shipment. Transporting goods via truck, ship, rail, or air is efficient. Large quantities are loaded onto the transport and go from point A to Point B. Once the goods arrive at a high-capacity warehouse or distribution center, they have to get to their final destination. That last leg is much less efficient, accounting for the high cost.

Last-mile delivery has become an ecosystem within a larger ecosystem of logistics and supply chain. This resulted in a number of issues that could only be addressed by innovation. The effect on the environment of the increased truck volume, optimizing delivery, traffic and parking challenges in highly populated urban areas, and parcel tracking over multiple links in the supply chain are a few of them.

Amazon is a good example of an early innovator, because they turn over so much volume they were able to scale a program to be efficient and less expensive. One such program, the Amazon Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program, taps into what is known as the gig economy. The gig economy is a labor market that relies on temporary or part-time contractors rather than full-time employees. The major carriers now have similar programs. The trucks have the Amazon, UPS, or FedEx logos and look just like any of the company-owned trucks, but in reality, they are privately owned. Some of the gig workers are entrepreneurs who own a few trucks and hire workers and make a business out of it. These gig workers added much-needed personnel to cover the higher volume at the lowest possible cost to the carrier. The gig worker benefits from independence and flexibility, while the carriers do not have to hire these drivers for full-time positions, a costlier proposition.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are in wide use to help alleviate the problem of pollution caused by the increase in local trucking. Other environmentally safe alternatives exist. Bicycles often deliver the last leg of the journey. Drones, robots, and in some places, barges are employed for last-mile delivery, reducing the carbon footprint. EVs, scooters, bicycles, etc…serve the dual purpose of being efficient and environmentally friendly.

The evolution of last-mile delivery has made up-to-date parcel tracking more difficult.

The parcel is not only handled by multiple people but more and more of those people are employed by different companies, each with its own tracking and communications software. More effective GPS with live updates on traffic is needed to make last-mile delivery more efficient. Improved communication between carriers and last-mile deliverers is crucial. The accumulation of data from each and every delivery is employed to create greater efficiencies and improved communication. FedEx is now rolling out a grading system that evaluates its delivery contractors. Poor-performing ones will be dropped.

Some last-mile solutions are more analog. Delivery lockers are in wide use in Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. In the US, Amazon pioneered the use of lockers. Recently, FedEx partnered with Walgreens in selected locations where the pharmacy chain accepts drop off and facilitates pickups of the carrier’s packages.

Suddenly, sellers need to be supply chain and logistics experts. When planning a delivery strategy, shippers need to be cognizant of all the steps and various handlers along the parcel’s route. Previously, a business might look at its shipping needs once a year, now with the variables in the supply chain always changing, it’s a constant concern. Even pricing and accessorials which were once predictable and consistent are changing more rapidly. Peak shipping surcharges for example, have taken on a whole new meaning in the eCommerce era.

Some larger companies are expanding their shipping departments to include experts in the field. Most small to medium enterprises can ill afford such luxuries; margins have gotten thinner as a result of the fast and quick delivery expectations of consumers. Choosing the right third-party logistics (3PL) company is crucial not only to save on the costs of shipping but also to guarantee that deliveries are made on time as promised. SPL Group is a white glove, concierge level 3PL that gets you the best rates on shipping with the highest level of service. Contact SPL to find out more.

The post The Ever Evolving Last-Mile Delivery World first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post The Ever Evolving Last-Mile Delivery World appeared first on The SPL Group.

LTL Explained

Joel Moskowitz — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 20:28:40 +0000

LTL Explained

Shipping, logistics, supply chain management, and a whole slew of other terms have been around forever. The popularity of eCommerce, the Covid related lockdowns, and the subsequent demand for online shopping has made them part of our regular discourse. As our logistics vocabulary has expanded, so has the popularity of services that have also been around for quite some time but weren’t well known before. LTL or Less than a TruckLoad shipping has been an active component of road freight since at least 1980 when the trucking industry was deregulated via the Motor Carrier Act and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. The act, which basically ended a trucking monopoly allowed for competitive pricing and new and innovative ways for products to be shipped. Once such innovation was LTL.

What is LTL?

On a very surface level, LTL seems obvious and simple. You have a shipment of products that is too large to ship with a small parcel carrier but too small to fill a whole tractor trailer. Hiring a full truck for less than a full truckload is too costly. At the same time, trucking companies have deliveries to make but the trailer isn’t always fully booked. Putting the two sides together makes sense on multiple levels the crux of which is; more revenue for the trucking company, and lower costs for the shipper.

But LTL is anything but simple. The LTL market in the USA was $46 billion in 2021. A majority of that market is serviced by large, well known national and international freight companies. They serve large national accounts on a contract basis and smaller accounts on a need-by-need basis.

In fact, FedEx has a division, FedEx Freight, that is the largest LTL concern in the US market and reported $8.2 billion in revenue in 2021. FedEx Freight’s operating profit grew 67% year-over-year in the last quarter of 2021, by far the biggest margin of any FedEx unit. If FedEx Freight was an independent company it would be a multi-billion corporation in its own right.

The Basics

LTL ranges in weight from 100-15,000 lbs and like all of the following criteria varies from carrier to carrier. Typically, an LTL shipment is packed in pallets and the average pallet is 4×4 ft. The pallets are shrinkwrapped. The idea here is to free up the most possible space on the truck. LTL theoretically, could take longer than if it was a single shipment and is likely to be handled more times, especially if the drop-off is to a local distribution center. This is known as the Hub and Spoke Model and many LTL shipments require the added step of pick-up at, or delivery from, a local drop-off site.

Getting Started

Small to medium businesses that ship, face the same issues that large national brands do. While the large national brands have logistics departments and can hire an LTL company on a contract basis, small to medium businesses typically don’t. They also lack the leverage and cash flow that bigger companies possess to negotiate the best rates. So many small to medium businesses book their LTL shipments through a broker. This saves time and in most cases costs less than booking it alone.

A good broker will use Digital Freight Matching software (DFM) which gives you a highly competitive, quick quote from one of the large national LTL companies. Sometimes, it is more cost-efficient to use a regional trucking company for some of the shorter LTL runs. Brokers have access to 80,000 independent interstate trucking operators in addition to the large national companies. Additionally, a good broker will have Transportation Management Software (TMS) that enables the broker to track your shipments throughout the process and update you accordingly.

Finally, as anyone who ships knows, the devil is in the details. The paperwork needs to be as exact as possible otherwise the final bill will look nothing like the estimate. Product description, weight, dimensions, loading dock accessibility, and addresses just to name a few, need to appear on the Bill of Lading correctly. A good broker will ask the right questions to gather the information and fill all the paperwork out properly.

Is LTL For Me?

Figuring out if LTL is for you should be obvious, you’ll know it’s for you as soon as you need it. With all the recent supply chain interruptions and demand increasing, the need for LTL keeps growing. According to the US Census Bureau, eCommerce sales have been rising quarter after quarter since 2013 and a Forrester report predicts U.S. online retail sales to reach $1.6 trillion by 2027. Therefore, replenishing inventory has become more complex in the post-Covid supply chain challenged world. Even small to medium businesses have had to adjust their logistics planning to accommodate a more dynamic, multi-layered, and fast growing business landscape.

Shipping is complicated. It always has been but even more so now. Having accurate information, quality service, and the best pricing is paramount to running your business. To learn more about LTL and to get a competitive quote, speak to one of our experts today.

The post LTL Explained first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post LTL Explained appeared first on The SPL Group.

Supply Chain Whiplash

Joel Moskowitz — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:21:12 +0000

Supply Chain Whiplash

Before Covid became a worldwide pandemic, most people never gave much thought to these two words; supply chain. At the outset of the lockdowns, it seemed that everyone was struggling to find toilet paper, flour, yeast, Lysol wipes, alcohol, and hand sanitizer to name a few.

Eventually, things stabilized and the stores were stocked with those basics we needed. Simple supply and demand theory can explain what happened. There was an unanticipated uptick in demand for certain products and the companies that produce them didn’t have enough stock to keep up with it. Additionally, production was hampered by quarantines and the uncertainty of the crisis at hand.

Fast forward to the present. Covid has evolved. It hasn’t gone away, it keeps coming back in some way, shape or form, yet the drastic measures of early 2021 seem to have gone away, for now. For the most part, lockdowns are infrequent, vaccines are readily available and people are back at work.

Yet we find ourselves once again struggling to find certain products. The news is filled with stories about items that at one point or another are in short supply; baby formula, sriracha sauce, microprocessing chips, and others. If all of this has your head spinning you might be experiencing a case of Supply Chain Whiplash.

One dictionary definition of whiplash is “to affect adversely, as by a sudden change.” Medically, whiplash is a symptom of pain that occurs hours or days after a traumatic event or physical impact. The expression “you don’t know what hit you” might be an apt analogy. We seem to be going from one thing to another, by the time we realize what is going on we can feel overwhelmed. We are experiencing a confluence of supply chain traumas and somehow right now we seemingly have come to the realization that isn’t going away tomorrow.

I am reluctant to invoke the “S” word – shortage because that implies a scarcity of the product and a hindrance to producing more to make up for the shortfall. As someone who lived through the gas lines of the 1970s, this glitch doesn’t even come close.

Back then, the US did not have the oil production it has now, there was an embargo put in place by OPEC who had no intention of increasing production, and even if they were inclined to, the US refineries would not have been able to handle the influx. That was an actual shortage. Unwinding it was not resolved simply by turning on the spigot, it took years.

I prefer a more optimistic view and see what is going on today more as sporadic interruptions. Understandable, explainable, albeit frustrating interruptions. Most of them make sense. In simple terms, Covid threw the whole supply chain off the tracks. Much of it was corrected but certain issues remained.

Products were still stuck in China with not enough ships or containers to get them here. When they got here, dockworkers could have worked 24 hours a day and still wouldn’t have enough trucks to load them on or drivers to take them away.

Other things came into play; China’s zero tolerance policy for Covid shut down Shanghai. Geopolitical events (among other factors) caused disruption to the flow of oil causing an increase in the price of diesel. Warehouse space was filled with items that hadn’t yet been sold leaving little room for new products coming in. Any further disruption to this very precarious situation could cause more interruption. So for example, contamination at a baby formula factory, coupled with everything else we just mentioned caused an “S” word for that very important product. Credit cooperation between government and business for a quick response to help relieve that crisis.

Now it seems everywhere you turn there is a news item reflecting some sort of disruption to the supply chain. At the same time, some experts repeatedly say that these disruptions may continue for a bit and others are more optimistic. This space is meant to disseminate information and is not meant for predictions. What I can urge for now is to be on the lookout for crucial information that can have a huge impact on your own business’ supply chain.

Stay tuned to this column for updates on what is happening to the supply chain. For now, a large real estate company conducted a survey that shows demand for warehouse space at all-time high levels. The largest port in the US, in southern California, is facing a possible labor disruption as early as July 1, 2022 that would have a profound effect on the supply chain. The “S” word keeps showing up in the news.

The major carriers are adapting to the current situation. It’s always best to have The SPL Group help you sort through these complexities. Our white glove service ensures that you are up to date on the latest from all the carriers and if there is money to be saved, we will find it for you. Contact us to see how one of our shipping concierges can help your business with all your shipping/logistics needs.

The post Supply Chain Whiplash first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post Supply Chain Whiplash appeared first on The SPL Group.

Shipper Frustration III

Joel Moskowitz — Tue, 10 May 2022 14:50:27 +0000

We now operate in an eCommerce world where our customers have certain expectations. They have gotten used to things like free or inexpensive shipping. Others perhaps, expect next-day or 2-day delivery on items they purchase online. Either way, your customers demand choice and to stay competitive you need to offer what they want. They have also grown accustomed to knowing where their package is at each step of the journey. Domestically, this is relatively easy as the major carriers offer online tracking. This can be a bit more complicated if you offer cross-border eCommerce, a market that 54% of US shoppers have accessed due to lower prices.

Consumers seek choices on where their parcels are delivered to. While a majority of customers still want their packages delivered to their front door, an increasing number want them delivered to a delivery locker, their workplace, or a retail store. Additionally, consumers have come to expect the return process to be seamless. What is a convenience and major expectation for them is a logistics nightmare for you. It is worth noting though that 58% of eCommerce shoppers want a hassle-free no questions asked return policy.

Consumers know and understand that Covid or geopolitical events have caused disruption to the supply chain. They also know it’s not your fault, but in the eCommerce/Amazon age, brand loyalty is a thing of the past. In order for you to stay competitive, you are forced to master all of these points and then some.

Let’s start with free shipping. An old adage tells us that nothing in life is free. Yet another says that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Think about discount air travel. The base price of the airline ticket you just searched for and found online is super cheap. Want a window or aisle seat? Want to sit closer to the front of the aircraft? Want more legroom? Want to check a bag? Those all bump up the fees. Psychologists call this the reference price. We humans just can’t help ourselves, we want to believe we are getting a good deal. While some of us would prefer things the way they were; pay for a ticket, choose a seat, check in 2 bags and get from point A to point B, that’s unlikely to happen soon because most of us have grown accustomed to getting the reference price and the feeling that we got a deal.

With eCommerce free shipping isn’t free. Still, in order to stay competitive, you need to be able to offer it. You might offer free shipping so long as it is not overnight, 2-day, or priority shipping. If you do charge for any of those options, how much do you pass on to your customer and still stay competitive? If you price your product to incorporate some of the cost of shipping, how much can you build in and still stay competitive? Finally, can consumers get your product at one of the major retailers? If so, are they undercutting you?

Then there is the issue of returns. On the surface, returns seem like an obvious offering. If all you had was a retail location it would be simple, but you sell online and many of your customers are not close by. Do you ship from your own warehouse and therefore accept returns there? Do you ship with a return label just in case? Do you have a warehouse take care of your returns? If so, how do you price that into your business model and stay profitable?

If you don’t have satisfactory answers to some or all of these questions you are not alone. You are a successful business person and have gotten this far weaving through all sorts of new realities. You can handle this! However, you don’t need to become a logistics expert, you just need to be an expert on your own business. Being that expert means knowing when to go outside and get the help you need to be successful, or in your case, MORE successful.

At SPL Group our professionals can negotiate discounts from your carriers on shipping, accessorials, and surcharges. We can review your invoices for billing errors (they happen a lot) and get you refunded. We have relationships with all the major trucking companies and can arrange for large shipments using our LTL (Less than a Truck Load) or FTL (Full Truck Load) services at competitive pricing. Our Warehouse / 3PL (Third Party Logistics) specialists can store your inventory at one of our facilities on either coast, fulfill your eCommerce orders, and handle returns. Contact us today to speak with one of our team.

The post Shipper Frustration III first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post Shipper Frustration III appeared first on The SPL Group.

Shipper Frustration

Joel Moskowitz — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:03:07 +0000

Shipper Frustration? You Are Not Alone!

Shipping is an integral part of your business, yet the ever changing landscape is confusing, perhaps even frustrating. Some of the irritation is very obvious and some you haven’t yet realized affects you. It helps to know you are not alone. It’s even more comforting to know that if you want it, there is a solution to pretty much every one of your grievances.

Here is an open secret; billing from carriers can be confusing. Sometimes really confusing! Here’s another one; additional and sometimes unnecessary spending is hidden in the details of your carrier contract. In the current environment, small and medium businesses are in the unenviable position of competing with large retailers for the best prices on freight delivery and frankly for space on their trucks.

On top of everything else, carriers are not perfect. It is not uncommon for them to make billing errors. In fact, experts will tell you that finding billing errors can be a large part of optimizing your shipping costs and be a source of great savings to your business.

Carriers are not going to keep track of their calculation or input errors for you, so audits should be undertaken on a regular basis. A thorough one will typically uncover savings of one to three percent on everything from late deliveries to erroneous and/or mitigatable surcharges. Carrier invoices are complex, and software options that now exist are costly.

Let’s face it, as the world transitions to more eCommerce, large retailers employ more omni channel offerings, the world is still dealing with supply chain challenges from Covid and geo-political events, shipping has become a more integral and expensive part of your business operation.

With the increased volume of parcel shipments, sellers have had to adjust to the disruption to the freight ecosystem. The carriers are certainly doing their best to acclimate to the new reality but service failures (shipments not arriving on time) are more frequent. Getting pick ups or reaching someone at the freight companies has gotten more difficult.

The freight companies have transitioned to incentivising shippers with discounts for higher volume, though it is still possible for small to medium businesses to negotiate cost reductions. In fact carriers still offer you a price concession on shipping if you ask.

This all begs the following questions:

Am I getting the best discounts on parcel shipping?
Am I getting any or considerable price concessions on accessorials and surcharges?
Am I able to get through to my carrier/s consistently to order a pick up or discuss my invoice?
Is the volume discount I currently receive from my carrier optimized?
Do I ship enough to have a dedicated logistics professional on my payroll?
Do I spend too much time reviewing my invoices?

There are plenty of companies that will negotiate discounts from freight carriers on your behalf and there are a plethora of firms that will audit your invoice to get your money back for misbilling. Only one company will do both while also giving you white glove – concierge level service for all of your small parcel shipping/logistics needs. At SPL Group, we have saved our clients millions of dollars on their shipping costs while providing a level of service unmatched in the industry.

Contact us to learn more about our services and get a free audit on your freight invoices to find out just how much you can save. Shipping is complicated, SPL Group makes it easy.

The post Shipper Frustration first appeared on The SPL Group.

The post Shipper Frustration appeared first on The SPL Group.