7 Things You Can Do To Consolodate Your Carriers!!

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The Seven Steps To Carrier Consolidation

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When you decide it is in your company’s best interest to change or consolidate carriers, there are seven critical steps you will need to take to make sure that the process comes off without a hitch.   
by Niko Michas, President & CEO,

Whether it’s because you want to shift from a decentralized logistics network to a centralized one, improve your company’s operations to become more cost-efficient on an international level, create profit centers for your chosen carriers that will result in significant rate discounts, or all of the above, when you decide it is in your company’s best interest to change or consolidate carriers, there are seven critical steps you will need to take to make sure that the process comes off without a hitch.   
Step # 1 – Develop a master company list.
To develop a master company list, you must first determine what carriers are being used and then analyze your current carrier agreements. To do this, you will need to work with your company’s logistics team to gather the location information for all of your physical locations, including sales and satellite offices.  Then, you will need to create a subsidiary list of all of your shipping locations that are not “attached” to each of your global carrier’s master agreements. Finally, you should analyze the cost of any and all third party distribution centers that are currently managing your company’s volume in order to uncover any wasteful spending and/or savings opportunities.
Step # 2 – Receive global carrier account numbers.
Once your master company list is complete, you will need to send it to each of your carriers and request a list of every carrier account number associated with the addresses on the master list.  These account numbers will determine what additional data will need to be retrieved. Be prepared to receive all of these account numbers; companies with large, global logistics networks will receive a significant amount of data that will need to be housed, cleansed, and analyzed. Unless you have technology in place that allows you to create accurate summaries and reports for the purpose of analysis, the information you receive will be virtually useless.
Step # 3 – Request carrier package level detail (PLD) for all account numbers worldwide.
After you have received your carrier account numbers and completed your review and analysis of them, you will need to redistribute the list to each of your carrier’s electronic data interchange departments. Ask your carriers to forward you a total of 52 weeks of PLD for each account number on the list. In order to prove the profitability of your company to the carriers, 52 full weeks of historical data will be required. The PLD you receive should include every charge billed and/or paid by your company.
Step # 4 – Perform on-site visits to major shipping locations worldwide.
Making on-site visits to your major shipping locations worldwide will allow you to validate your company’s shipping characteristics. You must validate a minimum of 60 percent of your company’s global parcel shipping processes in order to be able to provide your carrier with enough information to audit your shipping characteristics from their end. The characteristics and worldwide shipping practices information you provide to your carrier must be accurate. Below is a sample list of the types of characteristics that should be recorded during on-site visits:

• Box sizes
• Weights
• Irregular packages
• Type of packaging
• Times of pickups
• Night/weekend pickups
• Type of manifesting/labeling
• How many manifest machines
• Trailer loading (direct/palletized)

Step # 5 – Analyze shipping data and determine volume by lanes.
Use the shipping data you’ve obtained in order to perform analyses that will determine which global carriers have the ability to service specific lanes. Based on your results, you should be able to come up with multiple savings scenarios for each carrier change or consolidation option you may be considering.
Step # 6 – Complete request for pricing (RFP) and send to carriers.
From the beginning of the consolidation process, you should have been working to create a global RFP to be presented to each of your current and potential carriers. After your RFP has been submitted, and in accordance with your RFP timeline, your carrier will have a specific amount of time (usually 30 days) to complete the RFP and develop a global incentive program for your company. Benchmarked service incentives that reflect the minimum discounts you require should be included within the RFP. When you respond to data requests from the carriers, try to do so within 24 hours so that you can hold the carriers to your strict RFP timeline. Keep in mind that, in the end, each carrier bid received will be subject to carrier service enhancements as well as your company’s estimated volume.
Step # 7 – Review final pricing.
Import your carrier bids (pricing) into the database housing your company’s 52 weeks of historical shipping data. Perform analyses that will reveal what your company’s savings will be over a 52-week period. You should be able to create at least three savings scenarios that you will expect to later revise based on actual pricing. When all is said and done, you should be able to confidently change/consolidate carriers according to the hard data you’ve accumulated.
If, while reviewing the seven steps above, you made the realization that your company is not in the position to perform each step cost-effectively and within a reasonable timeframe, you have probably come to the same conclusion that so many companies that have undertaken the carrier consolidation process have before you: You can’t do it alone.
And you don’t have to. A third party solutions provider that has the technology and expertise required to house, cleanse, and analyze your shipping data, perform on-site visits, perform further high-level analyses of your data, and then successfully create an RFP and final presentation scenarios based on final bids, is going to help you achieve carrier consolidation faster and more cost-effectively than you could if your company were to try and take on the project solo. In a still volatile economy, the benefits of using a third party analytics group with expertise in data analytics, rate discussions, and carrier consolidation are going to far outweigh the costs, particularly if the savings you achieve are ongoing, and have a positive, widespread effect on your company for years to come.

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How you can benefit from having a Positive Mental Attitude!!!

If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. ~Vince Lombardi
　
We all know that the economy is bad and things are tough! Many people are out of work and many more are afraid they will loose the job they have. Given this poor economic environment, it is crucial that you keep a positive attitude. The last thing you want to do now is get a negative attitude or become "paralyzed" by fear! Don't be like the woman, who although she was doing well on her job, became so preoccupied with the thought of being laid off that it started to affect her performance. She stopped performing at her best level. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy; her "fear paralysis" did indeed lead to her being laid off.
How do you stay positive and motivated? Simply thinking and saying "I'm going to be positive and have a great attitude" doesn't do it. Motivational quotes, posters, or notes on your computer or desk help, but they alone can't keep you motivated. You have to work at staying positive and motivated ... every day. It's not easy. You have to take deliberate action to have a positive attitude. You can't just think about being positive, you have to act!
10 Action Steps to Keep a Positive Attitude:
1. Don't fall into the "misery loves company" syndrome: If you find yourself participating in a "pity party" at work, politely excuse yourself. These parties are a fantastic drain on your time and energy, and they don't solve any problems.
2. Avoid "poison" people: You know who they are! They are the ones who are always complaining, being negative, or are quick to criticize your ideas. Since you may not want to totally eliminate them from your life, just arrange things so you only have to deal with them in small "doses."
3. Don't watch too much TV: When you're stressed or feeling down, a planned few minutes of watching TV can turn into hours.
4. Spend time with your kids, family, and friends: Instead of spending hours with the TV, rearrange your schedule and give some of that time to family and friends
5. Take a half-hour to an hour a day to motivate yourself: Read motivational books or listen to motivational tapes. I highly recommend the following:
a. What Makes the Great Great by Dennis Kimbro
b. Over the Top by Zig Ziglar
c. The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield & Mark V. Hansen
d. The Power of Focus by Canfield, Hansen, Hewitt
e. Live Your Dreams by Les Brown
f. If It's Going To Be, It's Up To Me by Robert Schuller
g. The Bible
6. Take an hour a day to become an expert: I got this idea from one Jack Canfield's tapes, where he talks about how you can take one hour a day to become an expert in your area or develop other marketable skills. You don't have to exhaust yourself trying to "cram" in new skills or expertise. An hour a day will get you where you want to be quicker than you think.
7. Try new things: Overcome the fear (i.e., fear of failure, rejection, or pain)! When you're learning or doing a new sport or hobby, you don't think about what's bothering you.
8. Exercise: We all know about the physical benefits of exercising, but to me that's just a side benefit. The real payoff of exercise is the mental stress relief. When you're "gasping for air," your thoughts are very simple. Most important, regardless of how badly you may feel when you start exercising, you will always feel better when you're done.
9. Pray: It doesn't matter what your religion is or beliefs are, you need to pray to ask for the help and guidance you need. I know it works!
10. Reward Yourself: Set small goals or steps, and reward yourself on each accomplishment. Don't constantly worry or "burn-out," take time to relax and "smell the roses."
The key is to get your mind off your problems, and give yourself time to re-energize. The single biggest discovery I've made about staying positive is that you have to take action at your worst moments. When you feel so miserable that all you want to do is crawl under a rock, stare at the TV, eat ice cream, or sleep, that is the precise moment you either read (or listen to) something motivational, exercise, or spend time with your kids, family, or friends. There have been times when I had to force myself to exercise or read, and no matter how badly I felt when I started, it helped. Did doing these things solve all my problems immediately? Of course not, but they helped me to maintain the positive attitude I needed to keep trying. Above all else, remember that "this, too, shall pass."

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