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Carrier relationships are challenging to foster. We share helpful tips to form a working partnership with small and large shipping carriers that will allow you and your business to benefit in many ways!
Strong relationships contribute to spell out success for any business that is looking to grow! To increase the longevity of your company, constantly improve your relationships with shipping carriers, which play an integral part in your supply chain logistics.
For example, many carriers take pride in providing great customer service. Therefore, they represent you as they fulfill your last-mile delivery to customers. This means your success depends on their success! So, it is important to ensure that you build and maintain positive carrier relationships.
When it comes to negotiating contracts with your carrier, a pre-established relationship will play into the negotiation process. Set a positive tone to your negotiation conversation by developing a strong connection with the carrier account manager long before you negotiate. Who knows? You might be able to lower your overall service rates after implementing these strategies!
Trust us, it will make your life much easier and will also benefit your company in the long run.
First and foremost, build trust with your carriers.
The base of any relationship is trust. By building a trusting relationship, you set your company and your supply chain up for success!
You can build trust with your carriers by keeping them informed, meet any applicable deadlines, and express your gratitude. Essentially, be professional but also gracious! Be proactive with your desire to build relationships with your carriers. Reach out to your carriers more than once a year; send a quick email asking your account manager questions or wishing them happy holidays.
Establish a foundation with clear and constant communication.
As you proceed with your professional relationship with your carrier, you’re constantly informing them the logistics of what needs to be delivered. Go above and beyond of the basics!
- Provide extra information like weather and road closure information if it impacts the road the carrier will take
- Inform carriers of shipping details before they ask for it. For example, let them know how often you’ll ship the same volume of loads if consistent.
- Ask relevant questions to help carriers do their jobs well, like if they have a preferred route or if there’s anything you can do to resolve anything that’s holding them back
- Return emails and phone calls in a timely manner
- Listen to your carriers when they share information and pay attention to the details for future reference
If you follow these ideas, you’re sure to lay a strong foundation with your carriers soon enough.
Honesty and transparency will go a long way in a working carrier relationship.
For a working relationship to be successful, you need to be transparent and honor your commitments with carriers. Even if it’s bad news, it’s better to be honest. It’s also important to keep your promises your carrier and in turn, they’ll keep their promises to you.
- Keep carriers informed of any changes to shipping details, like the load or the route
- Try not to cancel shipments at the last minute but inform the carrier immediately if it’s unavoidable
- Offer carriers a different load if the original is unavailable to avoid cancelling shipment
Full transparency helps build long-lasting relationships with your carriers. It takes time and effort, but it will pay off in the end!
Be a unique partner by providing value to carriers.
Set your company apart from the others by providing carriers with value. If carriers see value in working with you, then they’ll be more likely to provide you with better benefits to keep the relationship.
- Take an interest in the carrier account managers and reach out to them with a personal touch like wishing them happy holidays when it arrives
- Ask if there is anything you can do to help them to remove anything that’s holding them back in business
- Provide performance feedback to carriers to improve their business processes
- Express your gratitude to show your appreciation for their hard work
Personalizing your connection with carriers makes you stand out from other companies. The value you can provide to carriers will improve your working relationship and potentially gain preferential treatment.
Building firm relationships with your carriers is just as important as building relationships with customers. You can’t provide services and meet customer expectations without a solid carrier to rely on. Therefore, it’s important to form strong carrier relationships by establishing trust, having a clear flow of communication, being transparent, and providing value to carriers.
When you approach the time for negotiating contracts, go into the conversation with a positive pre-established relationship to lower rates and learn of potential opportunities. With a strong relationship, you and your carrier can benefit from each other.
