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Intermodal 101:Role of a 3PL

Posted 7 years ago

As a refresher, a 3PL is a Third-Party Logistics provider. This means that a 3PL essentially acts as an intermediary between the shipper and the carrier to ensure that freight is transported correctly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. The 3PL will work with the shipper to create the optimum shipping plan using several different means.

The 3PL will coordinate with the shipper and determine if there is a need/opportunity to lock in intermodal pricing where it makes sense to do so.  This could be lanes that have the following characteristics:

  • Require equipment commitments from the rail providers
  • Need to move at predictable pricing, so they can budget the transportation costs.
  • Have static transit requirements that must be met

At the same time, the 3PL will look for lanes may have a higher level of flexibility available to them.  The shipper may be more willing to ride the pricing up and down as it changes throughout the year.  To take advantage of this, the freight should:

  • Have more flexibility to the expected delivery date
  • Be a commodity that may be able to tolerate longer transit times
  • Lane should have consistent equipment availability within 48 hours of request

In the next update, we will discuss the advantage of bringing in a 3PL to assist with shipping.

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Training Tuesday:Sales Traits Part 1

Posted 7 years ago

Do you provide customers with the kind of sales and service they expect? It not, they’ll let you know about it – not directly perhaps, but through indirect messages related to each of the sales traits below.

1.Professionalism: If customers keep you waiting in the outer lobby or look at their watches while you’re talking to them, they’re commenting on your professionalism. If they seem hesitant to discuss their needs with you, or don’t return your calls, you probably have not made a businesslike impression. You have two opportunities to establish your professionalism – in the initial contact and in the way you continue to keep in touch.

2.Analyzing needs: If customers seem bored and restless during presentations because what they hear isn’t relevant to them; customers interrupt you with questions that sound impatient or brusque because they see that you don’t know enough about them to propose appropriate solutions; you lose sales to competitors, even when you’re sure your product performs better, because our competition does a better job of finding out what the customer needed.

3.Talking in benefits: If customers are truly interested in what you’re discussing, they will be attentive, and the conversation will continue after the formal meeting is over. If, on the other hand, they’re nice and polite, and ask good questions, but leave with a simple “Good presentation,” watch out! This is a sign that you probably didn’t do that well.

4.Technical Competence: If you avoid talking about the technical aspects or avoid the customer’s technical people because you’re afraid you’ll be tripped up by their questions, or if you had an easy time getting in the door but a difficult time scheduling further appointments, this is usually a sign that you are lacking in technical competence.

5.Asking for the order. If you don’t move customers towards a buying decision, or ask for their business, the dialogue and interest will fade away. Making a lot of calls, but not many sales, the prospect’s interest fading away, or leaving a sales call without feeling accomplished, are all signs that you may not be asking for the order at the right time.

Next week we’ll discuss some additional sales traits that you should already possess, and the signs you may get that signal a need to improve them.

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LTL 101:Damaged Freight

Posted 7 years ago

LTL 101: Damaged Freight

Damaged freight is an unavoidable part of transporting freight, and while frustrating and challenging, there are things you can do to help mitigate the loss. Check out our tips on dealing with damaged freight below.

1: What do I do when I receive damaged freight?

Sign the delivery receipt as damaged… I repeat, SIGN THE DELIVERY RECEIPT AS DAMAGED!  If the receipt is signed as “clear”, it is almost guaranteed that your freight claim amount will be reduced to a settlement, or worse, denied altogether.

Below are a couple things to remember when signing for damages:

settlement, or worse, denied altogether.

Below are a couple things to remember when signing for damages:

  • Notate all damages – If only one item is notated damaged, more than likely the carrier will only refund that one item
  • Subject to Inspection” is NOT a valid notation – This notation is not enough to hold the carrier liable. When in doubt, notate “Damaged.”
  • If you must, refuse the freight – In cases where the driver will not let you sign or check for damages, refuse the freight.

2: Does the carrier need to be notified?

In short, yes, the carrier needs to be notified. Proper notations on the delivery receipt constitute as notifying the carrier.  If damages are noticed after the delivery, the carrier should be notified ASAP, and MUST be within 15 days of the delivery.  In most cases, any damaged shipment where the carrier was notified later than 15 days after delivery will be immediately denied by the carrier.

3: What do I need to file a damage freight claim?

When filing a freight claim, the more documentation, the better.  However, there are a few key documents that you should include with every freight claim.

  • Completed freight claim form
  • Product invoice/sales invoice
  • Proof of delivery/delivery receipt
  • Original Bill of Lading
  • Carrier freight bill (for freight charges)
  • Repair cost invoice (if applicable)

4: What should I do with the damaged freight?

Through every freight claims process, the freight needs to be available for the carrier, usually for inspection or salvage pickup.  This means the freight needs to be held onto until the freight claim is resolved.  DO NOT throw away the freight, including the packaging as this could result in the carrier denying the freight claim.

Your options are as follows:

  • The consignee can accept the freight and sign the POD as damaged/short and hold the freight until the freight claim is resolved.
  • The consignee can refuse the freight and have it shipped back to the shipper (usually Free Astray) where the shipper will hold the freight until the freight claim is resolved.
  • In some rare cases, carriers will dispose of the freight themselves if given the okay by the customer due to a complete loss of the product.
  • The carrier WILL NOT hold onto the damaged freight during the freight claims process and storage charges will accrue if disposition is not given to the carrier in a timely manner.

 

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Training Tuesday:Fixing Sales Talk Mistakes

Posted 7 years ago

“Open mouth, insert foot.” It’s a saying used to describe what we feel happens when we say something that we should not have said because it could potentially be interpreted as inappropriate, hurtful, embarrassing for either party, or just awkward. In sales, you can occasionally say something and immediately want to take it back.

There are a few reasons this typically happens:

* We’re so excited and nervous to be talking to the customer that we get on a roll and can’t seem to stop ourselves

* We get defensive when we hear an objection – about our company, office, or service, and we rush to give an explanation

* We become uncomfortable or impatient with the silence after we ask a question, and we start speaking without waiting for an answer

* We say something we know didn’t sound right, but instead of stopping to regroup, we stumble on to the next potentially bad comment

The problem with this is that we can never fully take back those words. More importantly, we can’t predict a customer’s reaction to them.

What can you do when you’ve said something you wish you hadn’t?

  1. Offer a sincere apology. Give a genuine “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” followed by specifics of what you said or did.
  2. Use humor. With the right person and context, self-deprecating humor is helpful and almost always works.

Admitting that you did or said something wrong can be powerful in building a new customer relationship. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. Your customer knows that. Sometimes demonstrating the ability to admit your mistakes, and trying to remedy them, makes a customer want to work with you even more. It lets them know that you’ll be honest with them going forward.

We all make mistakes. Very few are fatal. Apologize when you make them. Learn from them and make it your goal to make fewer mistakes and more sales.

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Training Tuesday:Sales Listening

Posted 7 years ago

Sales listening is patient listening. Don’t anxiously wait for an opportunity to jump in and solve all the customer’s problems right away. After I ask a question I shut up and allow my prospect to speak. Sometimes I wait for several minutes. Most salespeople can’t stand a pause in the conversation. Take a deep breath, relax, and listen. Some prospects want to be listened to more than they want their problems solved. People love to talk about themselves, their jobs, and their companies; encourage them to do so.

Transportation salespeople who have been in our industry for a long time should re-visit how they qualify and maintain accounts. It’s easy to start believing that you have all the answers, but you never know what changes may have happened since your last call.

Never waste the prospect’s time. There will come a point when the customer is ready to move past the small talk, and it’s usually quicker than you might think. Everyone is short on time these days and most traffic managers, purchasing managers, and other decision-makers will appreciate you getting to the point. You can do this tactfully without jeopardizing the emerging relationship.

First, give the prospect a reason he or she should answer your questions and ask for permission to proceed. The prospect always expects to answer questions and will give this permission. When you move on to the questions, make sure you are actively listening and not just mentally preparing for the next thing you are going to say.

Take notes! Taking notes can be one of your most powerful sales tools as it will reinforce the reason you made the appointment in the first place: to learn more about the prospect and their company’s needs.

Taking notes also helps you listen. There’s something about holding an empty notepad in front of you that makes you pay better attention to what is being said and makes it more difficult to miss important points.

Taking notes puts you in a position of authority. It encourages the prospect to open up and generally sends strong positive signals to them. It says, “I’m listening to you and I won’t forget.”

Be sure to pay attention to the fine line between asking questions and making the prospect feel that they are being cross-examined. Be natural and at ease to create a comfortable two-way conversation.

Listen, Learn, and Earn.

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LTL 101:Delivery Appointments versus Notifications

Posted 7 years ago

LTL 101: Delivery Appointments versus Notify Before Delivery

Last post continued discussion on the importance of freight classifications when shipping LTL. This week we want to switch gears and discuss the difference between an appointment and a notify before delivery.

Delivery Appointments:

  • Appointments cannot be set until the freight arrives at the destination terminal.
  • Contact must be made with the consignee to deliver.
    • LTL Carriers will always make appointments, we cannot make the appointments for them. However, if they cannot get a hold of the consignee we may assist them.
    • We can’t stress enough how important it is to contact the consignee even if they are not your customer in order to understand their appointment process.
    • It is best practice to then get with the carrier to insure they are not having trouble setting up an appointment and causing further delays.
      • It is not the carrier’s responsibility to understand every consignee’s appointment process.

A great example of the above is Grocery Warehouses: If the carrier needs to book an appointment online or reference PO#s in order to get the freight delivered then we need to put this info as clear and concise as possible on the BOL. This info must be entered on the “special instructions” section under the carrier tab in BTMS.

  • Appointments can sometimes delay transit by 1-2 days with the freight sitting on the dock.
    • Don’t forget that LTL drivers depart from their terminals early in the morning and if an appointment cannot be set prior to their trailers being loaded, your freight will be left behind.
    • Regardless if “THE FREIGHT MUST DELIVER TODAY” the drivers will not go back to the terminal once they have dispatched for the day.
  • A few things to keep in mind with appointments:
    • Specific delivery windows can cause a driver to take an inefficient route which has a domino effect on all shipments for that day.
    • Some consignees may have Drop Trailer schedules set up with certain carriers.
    • Some consignees may have standing appointments set up with certain carriers.

Notify Before Delivery:

  • Your shipment does not have to deliver at a specified time and may arrive any time between the standard LTL hours of 8am and 5pm local time.
  • This is typically used when shipping to residences, storage facilities, or even businesses with limited dock space.
  • Drivers do not call ahead to the shipping location. This is done by a dispatcher or clerk at the destination terminal and sometimes even at the corporate offices of the LTL carrier.
  • This can cause a delay in transit while the freight sits on the dock until the consignee can be notified.
    • Due to the high amount of volume in LTL and depending on the size of the terminal, there could be multiple, even hundreds of shipments that need to be notified for the day.
    • If the consignee cannot be reached on the due date of delivery after multiple attempts, it is highly possible that the freight will be held at the terminal until contact can be made.

Remember: If you’re looking to set up a Delivery Appointment you’ll need to select that particular service. But if you’re just looking for a “head’s up,” then Notify Consignee is the accessorial you’re looking for.

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Training Tuesday:Mastering the Sales Presentation

Posted 7 years ago

Increase your odds of closing more sales by practicing your presentations. After you’ve made sales presentations, they become practice sessions for presentations you’ll give in the future.

Collect the ideas you’d like to suggest or selling points you want to make; then organize them according to your purpose and the needs of your prospect. Give your words greater credibility by backing them up with data or testimonials. Keep your words as simples and direct as possible; use active, not passive language; and vary your tone, volume, and pitch to keep the prospect interested. Illustrate your words with examples and interesting stories to add color to your presentation.

Lastly, get to know everything you can about the transportation business – both SunteckTTS and the competition. When you demonstrate how much you know about your industry you’ll gain the respect of your customers and prospects. When people believe they are dealing with an expert it’s a lot easier to close the sale. Most customers want you to advise them. When they realize that you have a great knowledge of the transportation industry and of available carriers, then they’re happy to let you take control. It’s when a salesperson doesn’t know much about the transportation industry as his or her prospect that people resent a strong sales approach. However, there’s no doubt that traffic and purchasing people are better informed today than they’ve ever been.

The best way to make a compelling sales presentation is by demonstrating that you’re an expert in your business as well as theirs. When you exemplify excellence in your sales presentation, the customer is eager to find out what you can do to offer solutions to their particular transportation problems.

To make the best presentation possible, you must have conviction in the services you’re there to sell. A customer instinctively knows whether you believe in your service. If you do, they in turn will believe in you. Only then can you make a sales presentation that turns into a sale every time.

 

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Intermodal 101:Commitment Pricing

Posted 7 years ago

Intermodal 101: Advantages of Commitment Pricing

Use of the Door to Door, transactional programs from the railroads might seem like the best way to take advantage of pricing that may go down at any given time.  Locking in at a rate for a year’s commitment might not seem like a promising idea when the rates could drop next week.

However, it is important for the shipper to remember, what goes down will eventually come back up.  Rates in intermodal have not fluctuated a lot in recent years, but the trend is to take them higher.  Locking in your rate for the next year will enable a level of certainty for the shipper.

Due to its transactional basis, Door to Door pricing typically does not include capacity commitments between the shipper and the railroad.  Locking in with certain programs will allow all parties to commit to each other.  The Shipper commits a certain number of loads on a scheduled basis, the railroad commits to providing capacity to move those shipments.  With expectations set, it is easier for both parties to perform their part of the commitment.

Budgeting is simplified for the shipper when they know the rate they will be paying to move freight in each lane.  When the shipper is creating the budget for the next fiscal year, if they know they have to move 100 shipments from point A to point B, and the rate for the year will be $1,000 per move, they must budget $100,000.  Doing this against all lanes is the best way for the shipper to accurately calculate their transportation spend for the year.

Finally, the operations within the shipper as a company are simplified.  Each person in payables will know the rate they need to pay, which could allow a level of automation.  The personnel in the order tendering department will know who the order is going to, which allows them to focus on shipments that aren’t committed and locked in.

Understanding the two different approaches will enable the shipper to maximize shipping dollars and get product delivered to the customer.  Typically, though, the shipper is not in the transportation business, so their focus is not on minimizing rates.  Use of a 3PL or even a 4PL will allow the shipper to focus their attentions on their core business and leave the program selections to the experts.

In the next update, we will discuss the advantage of bringing in a 3PL to assist with shipping.

 

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LTL 101:Freight Classification Details

Posted 7 years ago

LTL 101: Freight Classification Details

Remember the National Motor Freight Classification® (NMFC®) is a standard that provides a comparison of commodities moving in interstate, intrastate and foreign commerce. Commodities are grouped into one of 18 classes—from a low of class 50 to a high of class 500—based on an evaluation of four transportation characteristics: density, stow-ability, handling, and liability. Together, these characteristics establish a commodity’s “transportability.”

These characteristics can be defined as follows:

1.Density (Weight, Length, & Height): Density is the space the item occupies in relation to its weight. The density is calculated by dividing the weight of the item in pounds by its volume in cubic feet. Your item’s volume in cubic feet is Length x Width x Height/1,728, where all dimensions are measured in inches. The density of your item = Weight/Volume, where Weight is measured in pounds and Volume is measured in cubic feet.

2.Stow-ability:Most freight stows well in trucks, trains and boats, but some articles are regulated by the government or carrier policies. Some items cannot be loaded together. Hazardous materials are transported in specific manners. Excessive weight, length or protrusions can make freight impossible to load with other freight. The absence of load-bearing surfaces makes freight impossible to stack. A quantifiable stow-ability classification represents the difficulty in loading and carrying these items.

3.Handling:Most freight is loaded with mechanical equipment and poses no handling difficulties, but some freight, due to weight, shape, fragility or hazardous properties, requires special attention. A classification that represents ease or difficulty of loading and carrying the freight is assigned to the items.

4.Liability:Liability is probability of freight theft or damage, or damage to adjacent freight. Perishable cargo or cargo prone to spontaneous combustion or explosion is classified based on liability and assigned a value per pound, which is a fraction of the carrier’s liability. When classification is based on liability, density must also be considered.

Sub-NMFC Codes

Yes, there is more! There are also Sub-NMFC codes which are noted with a dash after the code (i.e. 41024-04). Make sure to confirm that the Sub-NMFC code matches the correct freight class. Carriers sometimes overlook this, but it’s also not uncommon for them to charge you at the higher class; whether it be the class that was listed, or the class corresponding to the Sub-NMFC codes on the BOL. These can often be disputed, but usually require a manufacturer’s specification sheet and a packing list proving the correct class. That’s more work for all parties and can be avoided by simply double-checking to make sure your class and NMFC code match.
Don’t forget we are participants of the National Motor Freight Traffic Association which means we have access to multiple ways of obtaining the correct NMFC number/code for your shipments. If you have any questions or doubts regarding your product’s freight class, please reach out to the LTL Team at ltltms@suntecktts.

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Training Tuesday:Managing Stress

Posted 7 years ago

Training Tuesday: Stress Management to Improve Success

Selling offers more highs and lows than most other professions. Most salespeople suffer through periods of stress that are direct results of their sales jobs, but salespeople who succeed in the long run never let disappointments get the best of them. They know rejection goes with the territory and learn not to take it personally and instead, they view mistakes and failures as lessons that will help them improve. On the other hand, some very promising sales careers have died premature deaths due to stress. Stress sometimes causes sales people to lose confidence and then fill their day with nonessential activities and hide from their customers or prospects. We’re also faced with lots of rejection on our daily search for success. If you dwell on the negatives, they’ll bury you. You have to lighten up and look for ways to lessen the stress caused by your job.

Below are our top 10 tips to reduce stress:

1. Focus. Focus on what’s truly stressful to you about a situation and why – the idea being that understanding the stress lessens it and gives you some control over it.

2. Put stressful situations in perspective.

3. Postpone thinking about problems until an appropriate time. Successful people learn how to compartmentalize their thinking.

4. Take a deep breath. Size up stressful situations and decide which are worth worrying about.

5. Take vacations and occasional time off. 

6. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself.

7. Talk to others about job pressures.

8. Expect the unexpected. Allow time and reserve energy to deal with the inevitable stressful events that occur daily.

9. Do something for yourself.

10. Volunteer or do something in the community that is rewarding to you.

 

Check back next week for more sales training and tips.

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