If you’re managing your own freight, then you’re using one of two types of processes to manage it – single carrier freight or multiple carrier freight.
Whichever strategy you’re using, they both present challenges. In this article, we’re going to break down why you shouldn’t be using just one, or even multiple freight carriers, and why using a freight broker is a better solution for your freight needs.
What Is A Single Freight Carrier?
A single freight carrier is a single company with freight moving vehicles that can take your freight from point A to point B.
When you’re using multiple freight carriers, this means you’re using more than one carrier to move your freight for you.
The main thing to understand, is that whether you’re using a single carrier, or multiple carriers, you’re carrying the burden of managing freight yourself. And this presents a range of challenges for your business.
The Challenge of Using a Single Freight Carrier
Most Businesses Have More Than One Freight Type.
Most businesses don’t have one type of freight that they need to ship to or from only one location.
They have a range of products that they ship to a range of different locations.
But there isn’t a single freight carrier in Australia who covers the whole of the country for every type of freight or every mode of transport.
And this is the point where you’ll find yourself managing a range of carriers, independently from one another. Across a myriad of technology systems, requiring you to login and keep track of your freight across multiple freight management portals.
This isn’t just frustrating. It also impacts your internal warehouse systems and the people who manage them by creating additional workload through repetitive processes.
Different Carriers Are Specialists in Different Types of Freight
Different carriers have different strengths.
Some freight carriers are really good at parcel delivery, but are expensive for shipping pallets. Some are great at air freight, some specialise in rail.
Some are good city to city, but not cost effective or reliable when you use them for regional freight.
No freight company can serve all your needs exceptionally. So, if you’re using a single freight carrier, you won’t always be getting the best price or customer service for your different freight needs.
And if you aren’t a specialist in freight, how will you know which freight service to use and when?
There’s No Competitive Tension
When you only use one freight carrier for all your freight, you’ll get a scheduled rise in freight costs each and every year.
If they know they’re your only provider, there’s no pressure for them to be held accountable for massive price rises.
There’s No Risk Redundancy
What happens if your freight carrier experiences a cyberattack and their systems go offline? Or they become impacted by skills shortages or natural disasters?
When you work with only one freight carrier, there’s no risk redundancy and no backup plan for when their service is impacted by external forces.
The Challenge of Managing Multiple Freight Carriers
One way to overcome the challenges of using a single freight carrier is to add more carriers to your freight management portfolio.
But this comes with its own set of challenges:
- How do you effectively manage each of these carriers when you can’t see all your freight on one dashboard?
- How much time are you spending checking freight invoices from multiple freight management systems?
- How do you maintain a positive working relationship with more than one freight company?
- How do you scale when you have multiple integrations with multiple carriers?
- How much time are you spending training your warehouse staff to use multiple freight management systems (which also increases the risk of human error)?
There’s a better way to manage your freight requirements. And that’s to work with a freight broker.
The Benefits of Using a Freight Broker
Using a freight broker to manage your freight needs solves all the challenges you face in using a single or multiple freight carrier approach to your supply chain logistics.
Cost Efficiency
Working with a freight broker gives creates multiple cost efficiencies for your freight.
Because a broker has stronger negotiating power, you’ll always get the most competitive freight pricing.
One Freight Management System
Using a freight broker allows you to manage all your freight through one system.
That means one set of training for your warehouse staff and streamlining of all your freight data.
You’ll get one invoice and be able to book and manage your freight all from a single portal.
Freight Industry Knowledge
Freight brokers are dedicated to building strong and lasting relationships within the freight industry.
They are industry specialists, which means they know which carriers are the best for different types of freight and can advise on ways to streamline and make your supply chain more efficient.
Risk Redundancy
Freight brokers give you access to a network of freight carriers.
This means that if one experiences an outage or service interruption due to a cyberattack or for any other reason, your freight can be moved to another carrier quickly and seamlessly.
Key Takeaways
Using a single freight carrier or multiple freight carriers to manage your freight requirements creates many business challenges related to freight costs, risk redundancy and operational efficiencies.
Harnessing the power of a reliable freight broker will reduce risk, streamline your supply chain and help you scale your business.