Tips for Streamlining Your Inbound Freight Shipping

If you’re like most business owners, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about ways to improve your company’s relationship with its end customers. But what about your relationship with suppliers and carriers?

Inbound freight management can often get overlooked when companies search for ways to improve their operations. But by working closely with your vendors and shipping partners to enhance your inbound shipping, you can reduce costs and have more control over the shipping process.

Here are four tips to manage your inbound freight shipping more efficiently:

1. Consolidate to truckload shipping when possible

While less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping may be convenient, it can also be more expensive. By consolidating your inbound shipments to full truckloads when possible, you can reduce your freight shipping costs and streamline the deliveries coming into your business. Truckload shipping also requires less handling than LTL loads — meaning less potential for damage to your freight.

2. Select a preferred freight shipping carrier

By establishing relationships with a handful of preferred carriers,you create additional opportunities to consolidate the shipments coming into your business. Depending on your shipping needs, limiting the number of carriers you work with can also help to improve delivery processes and reduce congestion at your loading dock. If you don’t currently have a preferred carrier, finding carriers with low rates and superior service is a good place to start.

3. Establish firm vendor compliance guidelines

Create a list of specific processes for your suppliers to follow when delivering to your facilities. By establishing a detailed set of guidelines, costly mistakes and inefficiencies can be a thing of the past.

4. Use a transportation management system (TMS)

Using a TMS to manage your inbound shipping will greatly enhance your ability to track shipments, control inventory and view important data such as your average shipping costs. Using a TMS also makes it easy to compare rates and services when scheduling a carrier to move your freight.

By streamlining your inbound shipping, you can have greater control over your shipping costs, helping you save valuable dollars for your business. Wondering how else you can save on your freight shipping? Contact Unishippers to speak with a dedicated shipping consultant today.