Using Market Intelligence to Create True Carrier Partnerships

When you own your own market intelligence, it is much easier to approach your carriers in a way that is non-threatening. With the right market intelligence, you can show them that you understand your own needs, are working on your end to reduce costs, and have based any solutions you would like your carrier to help you implement on actual data.

Carriers tend to respond more positively when they know that you are not simply looking to them to give you a good deal, but instead, are treating them as a true partner by asking for their assitance in implementing your proposed solutions. They are generally much more willing to go out of their way to make concessions when they know that you understand your own supply chain, and are seeking to take greater control of it.

Why? Carriers know that when you have a comprehensive understanding of market trends, know your own company's place in the marketplace, and have successfully increased visibility of your supply chain, you probably have a greater understanding of the realities of the challenges they face, too. By taking the "What's in for me?" attitude out of the equation during negotiations, and turning rate talks into more of a "What's in it for us?" type of discussion, nine times out of ten, you can lessen the need for both parties to flex their muscles.

Where can you get the market intelligence that will help you do this? Not to toot our own horn, but our experience with using shipping data analysis to achieve better rates and greater savings is vast. Most of the time, we find that companies simply haven't been able to uncover the savings waiting for them because they haven't yet taken the time to review their shipping histories, and/or haven't been able to dedicate enough resources to performing high-level benchmarking and data analysis.

If you're more interested in building valuable partnerships than in heavy-handed negotiating in 2011, e-mail one of our sales representatives at: sales@bridgenetsolutions.com. If your company qualifies, we may be able to perform an initial analysis of your data for free.