Check Call: Call the shippers

September 26, 2023

Welcome to Check Call, our corner of the internet for all things 3PL, freight broker and supply chain. Check Call the podcast comes out every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Catch up on previous episodes here. If this was forwarded to you, sign up for Check Call the newsletter here.

In this edition: Shippers needs not met by 3PLs, UAW strike expands, and subscription boxes take hold.

(Image: makeameme)

Got a great relationship with shippers? They are completely happy with the offering from their 3PL? Maybe not so much. A new white paper from Tive and FreightWaves found that shippers aren’t that happy with shipment visibility from their logistics service providers. More specifically, only one in five respondents to the survey agreed that their 3PL offered sufficient visibility.

That raises the question, what does real-time shipment visibility mean to shippers? The study found, “A large majority of respondents (84%) think ‘real-time shipment visibility’ means getting real-time alerts and status updates. Though slightly less popular, two other answers won a majority of respondents: location tracking (69%) and high-quality analytics/optimization data (60%).”

The biggest red flag came in the form of communication satisfaction. Only 4% of respondents said they are “very satisfied” with the communication they receive from their logistics service provider. The biggest thing shippers focused on in regard to improving communication was proactivity and technology.

Gone should be the days when a shipper never finds out about a problem or silence is seen as “not bothering the shipper.” Communication is absolutely key to keeping shippers happy. Otherwise the hundreds of inbound cold calls from competitors are likely to be taken.

(Image: Tenor)

The United Auto Workers union strike expanded Friday afternoon for Stellantis and GM as two of the Big Three car manufacturers failed to make substantial progress on union negotiations. Ford has been removed from strike expansions as it has made substantial progress in talks; however no agreement has been made. Should the talks go south, that could change.

The strike is now getting heightened attention from President Joe Biden as he makes a trip to Detroit to stand in solidarity with the union, a first for any sitting president.

CNBC calculates that “GM losses would be $380 million through a 10-day strike, according to AEG. That compares to estimates of $325 million for Ford and $285 million impact on Stellantis.”

The union is resolute in its demand for a 40% wage increase over four years, to match the raises of top executives at the Big Three. If the strike continues, the effects will be felt for months — not just on freight volumes, but on local economies.

SONAR Ticker: OTVI.IND, OTRI.IND

Market Check. Outbound tender rejections in Indianapolis have returned to normal to close out the third quarter. The Outbound Tender Reject Index (OTRI) in Indianapolis is just over 4%, which is on par with the national average at around 3.87%. While outbound tender rejections have taken a dive, outbound volumes have gone the other way, rising 3.77% week over week. There isn’t a sign of significant capacity changes in Indianapolis. However, if rejections continue a downward trend, capacity should begin to loosen.

(Photo: memegenerator.net)

Who’s with whom? Across the pond, Europa Worldwide group, a 3PL, has formed a partnership with Craft Gin Club. This partnership has allowed the brand to meet the immense demand for subscription boxes. Now as a big fan of gin, I’m immediately bummed that the boxes cannot be shipped overseas, but I can hold out hope for one to start here in the States.

Back to the logistics. A Grocery Trader article says: “As consumers’ growing demand for unique and craft-focused drinks continues to transform the industry, ecommerce brands like Craft Gin Club do not need to shoulder the burden of complex logistics management. Europa’s 715,000 sq. ft Corby facility supports Craft Gin, which, following £11 million investment, now also houses a high-tech automated picking system.”

Direct-to-consumer is a massive market to tap into. Key partnerships and top-of-the-line tech will be a requirement in the not-so-distant future.