What to consider when hiring a transportation consultant – Pt 2
Finding a good transportation consultant that can offer good solutions for your needs can be tricky. In part 1 of our two part series we looked at 5 items to consider. We will review the final five in this part.
1. A good transportation consultant has to be wise in many areas. Reducing freight costs can be achieved by reducing the shipper’s costs. . As an example, you have to consider systems to achieve this goal. Transportation consultants can recommend how to save money by being more efficient in clerical roles, improving methodologies for routing, consolidation of loads, container packing and many other areas.
2. Do you know the real costs for fuel charges and fuel surcharges? Good Transportation Consultants do. And their understanding of fuel surcharges can save you money. In fact, it is not unusual for some shippers to pay in excess of 15%, just because they don’t know any better. The railroads have been singled out for pulling the wool over the eyes of many shippers with fuel charges, but they are not the only ones.
3. One way of creating savings is to understand that bigger loads can equal big savings. Transportation consultants understand this, at least the good ones do. By maximizing container loads and pallet building, shippers can optimize space on trucks. More product on each load means that there will be fewer shipments. Few shipments = big savings. Good transportation consultants can show shippers the advantages of this and bring the systems and needed process changes. As an example, a major transportation consulting firm, Transportation Warehouse Optimization saved Procter & Gamble, a long time client, 7% with software called AutoVLB. It is just one of the many reasons Fortune 50 companies continue to retain this transportation consulting firm for their counsel and advice.
4. You never want to hire a consultant that accepts contingent fees. It actually pits the transportation consultant against you and the consultant. Initially, the client may think this is a great idea, but in the long term, it is not. Instead of thinking for the long-term relationship, the transportation consultant has to think about getting short-term savings and while that may result in a good size check for the consultant immediately, it is to the detriment of the client and taints any long-term relationship.
5. Finding a good transportation consultant can only be a benefit for you. They understand your problems and your industry. They can help you save the money and produce a superior ROI.
Test your skills and see how efficient you are at managing costs by loading a truck or a warehouse. Visit www.TransportationOptimization.com. While there, ask for a call with one of the premier transportation consultants in the industry, Thomas Moore and his associates at Transportation | Warehouse Optimization. Working for many companies in the top 50 fortune 500 like Procter & Gamble and BP they understand your unique problems and know how to solve them.
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