How to Save Money on Your Inbound-Freight Program

Consolidate Shipments

After you've negotiated new rates and implemented your inbound freight-management program and routing guides, the next area of cost savings to explore is consolidated shipments. To do that, monitor and review all freight shipments to the same customer base to see if they can be efficiently combined. We've found that in many cases, merchants see more than 10 percent savings from having fewer shipments. They often can turn LTL shipments into truckloads along with and using the right carriers at the right prices. Use exception reports, management reports created to track missed pickups and consolidation opportunities, to help drive good practices and discipline across your vendor base.