How to Become an Attractive Shipper

Delivering goods for shippers is a difficult and expensive task. Moreover, several conditions had conspired to make it even worse. Aside from that, competition here is tight. For years, shippers have been competing with one another fiercely to attract the carriers.  With this tight competition, shippers need to find a creative way that will help them in attracting carriers and retaining them. It would be helpful to them if they can adopt the mentality called ‘Shipper of Choice’.

Here are some steps that will help you in becoming an attractive shipper and attract carriers. 

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• Paying fair prices. One of the things a carrier look for in a shipper to work with is the payment of fair rates. They gauge the shipper’s attractiveness through this along with fuel surcharge and accessorials. It could be helpful to find out how stack u rates are doing in other industry and make comparisons. Aside from paying fair prices, carriers prefer to receive payment on time. 

• Avoiding dwell time. For carriers, they give importance to the productivity of the driver. Upon reaching the facility of the shipper, the driver would want to get in and out of it as soon as possible. With this, the shippers need to ensure that they conduct live loading and unloading efficiently and that the drop trailer is ready for pick-up. Carriers would highly consider you if to have a 22/7 facility.  Some of them would love to pick up a load on a later tie rather than wait for the facility to reopen the next day or the start of the weekdays. 

• Understanding the network. A shipper can help the carrier in maximizing their efficiency. They can do it by looking at the way the way they tender the freight and to which carrier would it be good to match. 

• Embracing the technology. Tools for EDI automation can help the shipper to expedite their load tendering, resolve issues on payment and provide the status update in a manner that is timely. Embracing technology can lead to a process that is more streamlined which make it easier for the carriers and shippers to work together. 

• Offer driver-friendly facilities. For a driver, it is important that they have a great experience in the facility of the shipper. They need to have amenities that will make the drivers more comfortable. 

• Providing additional opportunities. Aside from having capabilities that are over-broad, carriers also offer shipments that are more secure and intermodal. If you can bring the carriers more than just opportunities on OTR that will add value to them, they would likely choose to work with you.

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In shipment industry, shippers need to make creative ways in order for them to be attractive and attract carriers that will partner with that. By having amenities and facilities that will appeal to the carrier drivers and with opportunities to help them, there is a bigger possibility that you will attract the carriers to come and work with you.

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