As a shipper, you’ve got your deliveries all planned to arrive at the right places at the right times. You’ve chosen the right carrier which meets your service and cost requirements from your list of approved carriers within your Transportation Management System (TMS). Everything is moving smoothly on your end, but what happens if the truck doesn’t show up?

The carrier you’ve chosen that is responsible for your shipment has an enormous responsibility. How that company moves your freight not only means the difference between a satisfied customer or an unhappy one but also between effective distribution of your products or careless, wasteful handling of them.

Carriers are dependent on their drivers to move goods effectively and efficiently. But the drivers can be delayed for a variety of reasons, such as the driver suddenly encounters heavy traffic, the truck breaks down, a sudden weather event occurs, or a highway is unexpectedly closed. A wide variety of uncontrollable events can happen to delay any truck.

Often a truck will arrive at a dock without making an appointment and there aren’t any workers there to help unload. There may not even be a dock available and the truck will have to sit and idle for hours waiting for a slot to open up.

Yes, carriers have a lot of juggling they must do to ensure trucks arrive where and when they are supposed to. Any time freight doesn’t move precisely as expected, shippers will be looking to their carriers for an explanation and a quick resolution.

What is the solution? As a shipper, you should use a TMS to gain visibility up and down the supply chain to uncover bottlenecks and to diminish risks. Look for clues to where weaknesses appear in current operations. Make sure that you keep detailed key performance indicators (KPIs) on carriers to ensure compliance – and carriers should keep KPIs on shippers as well.

Carriers should create strategies to mitigate risks by having backup drivers and trucks that can pick up and deliver orders on a dime. If you don’t have backup drivers or trucks, you can reach out to the spot market to secure capacity. If the order is small enough, you may be able to expedite the shipment via couriers or Uber-like services. To achieve a high level of collaboration, shippers can leverage Carrier Relationship Management tools to track tasks, interactions and KPIs.

Carriers and shippers must do whatever they can to establish a strong working relationship and work side-by-side to solve problems like the truck not showing up on time. Careful planning and open communication keeps each party informed on what is happening and the visibility gained from a TMS system aids in that plan and leads to better customer experiences.

Being a rideshare driver for Uber, Lyft or any other peer-to-peer ridesharing service is very trendy with millennials. What isn’t trendy at the moment is being a truck driver. This is despite the obvious benefits and number of available jobs for adults with their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). A combination of positive consumer outlooks, low unemployment rates and increased e-commerce business are causing a huge driver shortage in the supply chain industry. This is raising truckers’ salaries and putting them back into the “driver’s seat” with employers. But according to Business Insider, the ‘unprecedented’ jump in drivers’ salaries still aren’t enough to end the driver shortage.

Here are 10 reasons being a trucker is better than driving for a rideshare service:

1. Stability – The transportation industry isn’t going anywhere. There will always be a need for products to be shipped from one state to another and trucks are the most efficient way for companies to achieve this goal. This means a constant supply of reliable work for drivers.
2. Training – Many trucking companies are offering paid training for employees who wish to earn their CDLs. Not only is this a way to get some free job training without forking over money for a certificate or college program, but it’s a way to get paid doing it!
3. Growing Salaries – Due to the increased need for truck drivers, salaries are continuing to increase between 8 – 12% each year. Currently, the median annual salary for a truck driver is $40,000. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), a trucker employed by a private fleet such as Walmart can earn upwards of $73,000. Some drivers report earning up to 6 figures!
4. Career Path – Being a truck driver looks great on a resume and can lead to all sorts of other positions. Understanding the transportation industry is a benefit for careers in warehousing, routing, distribution and many others. Drivers can continue to grow as they become seasoned truckers or can take advantage of industry knowledge to move about the supply chain.
5. Asset Free – Unlike with ridesharing companies, drivers don’t have to own their own assets. No personal car or truck is required, meaning that mechanical issues and depreciation never affect the driver. It also means that the driver doesn’t need to pay for gasoline out-of-pocket, making total wages more reliable.
6. No Liability – This goes hand-in-hand with not having to operate personally owned assets. No liability rests with the drivers when there is a mechanical failure, thefts, or accidents. The carrier insures their drivers and assets, leaving the driver the sole responsibility of delivering the goods safely.
7. Sign-on Bonus – Few positions with requiring no experience offer a significant sign on bonus. This is different in the trucking industry due to the pressing need to hire long-term drivers. Bonuses are usually paid out over the course of a year, ensuring that new drivers continue to work for the carrier. These bonuses have grown in recent years, moving from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.

SIGN-ON BONUS RATES, Q-2 2017 VERSUS Q-2 2018 (GRAPH: GORDON KLEMP, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE)

8. No Slow Times – Rideshare drivers can’t rely on steady business each day. On holidays, when there are traffic accidents, or simply because there are no travelers, rideshare drivers cannot rely on steady income. A rideshare driver might spend an hour idle and waiting for their next pickup. With truck driving, there is a set schedule and always plenty of work.
9. No Strange Passengers – Everyone has heard the horror stories of strange or obnoxious passengers that rideshare and taxi drivers have to put up with. Whether it’s a group of drunken friends out for an evening, lost tourists who argue the price of the fare, or someone who simply never shows up, drivers have many stories to tell. With truck driving, routes are predetermined and truckers don’t have to put-up with unknown passengers.
10. Learn About an Exciting Industry – The supply chain and transportation industries are booming! The rise of e-commerce has meant a greater need for optimization and technology. New software is being used on-board trucks and designs for futuristic vehicles are seen on the news almost weekly. From autonomous vehicles, platooning technology where trucks follow each other, and energy efficient electric vehicles, the transportation industry is certainly going through an exciting time!

With all of these benefits, it’s a surprise that more job-seekers aren’t turning to truck driving over ridesharing and other positions. Being a trucker offers great compensation, stability and a path for growth for years to come. At Kuebix, we thank all those drivers who have built their career in the transportation industry!

For 60 years, Veterinary and Poultry Supply, Inc. (VPSI) has been a family owned and operated business headquartered in Goshen, IN with branches throughout the Midwest. The company distributes a wide variety of animal health and nutritional products for poultry, cattle, swine, horses, sheep, goats, deer and even small animals. As their business began to expand regionally, VPSI turned to Kuebix TMS to help manage new carrier relationships and an increased number of orders.

Thad Stuteville, Sales Support & Customer Service at VPSI, has been with the company for 16 years and has seen the company’s growth first-hand with the addition of a Premium Orange Label Calf Milk Replacer. During the implementation of Kuebix TMS, Stuteville was pleased with the support and usability of the platform.

“When we first started with Kuebix I just loved it, it’s so simple to use. If I have any questions I can call and get an answer right away! We have more than one user on the system. When they were on-boarded, I honestly expected to hear a lot back. But they were able to jump right in!” – Thad Stuteville, Sales Support and Customer Service

In the past, VPSI relied on their sales team to hand-deliver the majority of their products to customers. VPSI places a heavy emphasis on customer service and knows the importance of retaining those relationships. Even as the business grows past the sales team’s ability to hand-deliver all orders, VPSI is strengthening its supply chain with the addition of competitive parcel rates from a variety of carriers who value customer experience as much as they do. Kuebix is making it easier for the company to manage these new relationships, free up time for the sales team and ensure customer satisfaction.

“The easiest part of changing our delivery model was working with Kuebix! It was more than I expected from a system. It’s simple.”

Melinda Burton, Branch Manager at VPSI Mentone, is a daily user of Kuebix TMS. As an increased number of orders continue to come in across the Midwest and even further afield, Burton has been able to leverage Kuebix to connect carriers, compare rates and book shipments. It’s meant scaling the business all while completely revolutionizing their logistics processes.
Now, VPSI can manage orders and make deliveries to customers all over. VPSI is growing its new calf milk replacer and continues to offer farm, stable, feed store and other livestock businesses the high level of support they deserve.

Read the full case study here: https://www.kuebix.com/resources/vpsi-strengthens-supply-chain-with-the-help-of-kuebix-tms

Blockchain is all the buzz in many industry communications today. It promises to significantly improve business processes, especially for global businesses, which work across different countries, entities and supply chain partners. Each blockchain enabled supply chain can span hundreds of locations with hundreds of product variables with hundreds of operations involved, making them quite complex.

As complexity grows, visibility and transparency suffer. With manufacturing globalized, multiple suppliers located in various countries and a wide range of transportation modes, transparency goes out the window and it gets harder to know the true cost to serve customers, let alone where and how a product is made.

This is where blockchain will transform the supply chain.

Blockchain will unify digital data by recording each transaction. Blockchain is a distributed, digital ledger that can be used for agreements, contracts, tracking, payment, trade, etc. In an article in Forbes, blockchain is further explained: “Since every transaction is recorded on a block and across multiple copies of the ledger that are distributed over many nodes (computers), it is highly transparent. It’s also highly secure since every block links to the one before it and after it. There is not one central authority over the blockchain, and it’s extremely efficient and scalable. Ultimately, blockchain can increase the efficiency and transparency of supply chains and positively impact everything from warehousing to delivery to payment.”

Let’s look at the three things blockchain brings to the supply chain.

Distributed Ledger – A virtual, distributed and permanent record of hundreds of business transactions between supply chain partners. Because blockchain is decentralized, data is resilient and more uniform, helping to standardize the way companies access and store important information and documents.

Smart Contracts – Blockchain supports the automated execution of terms, conditions and business rules, which make up the smart contract, and can automatically enforce the T&Cs between trading partners. With this capability, the ability to substitute a product for another could not occur because non-compliant transactions are not allowed.

Linking Physical Items – With blockchain, data is entered once and represented the same way across all transactions, such as a product description which will remain the same throughout the whole supply chain. Early adopters are supporting the use of GS1 Standards in blockchain to achieve serialization and ensure the systems interoperability that leads to unified commerce.

Another standard, Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS), has the ability to transmit granular product details and identify individual physical events as products move through the supply chain. In conjunction with blockchain, EPCIS gives transparency to a customer, letting them know exactly where their product was made and what it is made of.

Many businesses are looking into blockchain for their supply chains, but others feel the technology is in its infancy, so they are waiting to see what will happen. It has promise – with the ability to track secure transactions throughout the supply chain, creating a permanent history of a product, from manufacturing to end user.

Hurricane Florence is poised to be one of the most disastrous hurricanes to ever hit the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. It’s currently scheduled to make landfall in South Carolina on Thursday, September 13^th. The National Weather Service upgraded Florence to a Category 4 storm, the second most powerful category of hurricane, on Monday at noon EST.

States north of Florida haven’t been hit by a Category 4 storm since the devastating Hurricane Fran in 1996. Hurricane Sandy, one of the most disastrous hurricanes to hit the east coast, was only a Category 3 when it made impact. Residents are now bracing for a storm that is likely to wipe out power, cause major flooding, and tear-apart even well-built buildings.

Supply chains are expecting major disruption due to Hurricane Florence

Residents of east coast states are stocking up and buckling down ahead of Hurricane Florence. Local governments are handing out sand to use in defense of flooding, residents are flocking to grocery stores to stockpile bottled water and non-perishable foods, and emergency supplies such as backup generators and plywood are flying off of hardware store shelves. Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have already declared a state of emergency due to Hurricane Florence.

Ahead of any major weather event, retailers experience huge surges in sales as everyone stockpiles the goods they may need to weather the storm. This causes unforeseen demand spikes and wide-spread out-of-stocks, meaning that retailers need to scramble to keep up with unexpected sales. Many retailers rely on the spot market to find additional capacity as they rush to fill both store orders and online orders. Long before a storm makes landfall, supply chains are already bracing for their impact.

Once Hurricane Florence hits the east coast, all supply chain activity in the hardest hit areas is likely to come to a complete halt. Roads will be flooded or impassible due to debris, airports will be shut down, and transportation workers will be evacuating with their families. Many trucks are likely to get stranded before arriving at their destinations and communication will be critical.

What can companies do to prepare their supply chains?

Preparedness is the key for supply chains to successfully weather a major hurricane like Florence. Companies transporting goods should leverage technology to retain visibility to shipments, find the best carriers and manage an increased number of orders due to a spike in demand. Shippers should closely monitor federal and state announcements and stop sending to zip codes that have been closed to deliveries. Once the storm passes, companies with strong supply chains can aid in emergency distribution and can help with rebuilding efforts.

E-commerce is steadily becoming a key player in the world of consumer shopping. This means that parcel shipment volumes are increasing to keep up with online order numbers. Instead of heading to a big-box store or the local mall, consumers are shopping online for everything from toothbrushes to TVs. Physical shopping carts are becoming digital and free shipping and returns are becoming standard.

Offering free shipping and returns is changing the game for many e-commerce shippers. Without additional fees to order online, customer experience is improved. Additionally, e-commerce shoppers often purchase a single item and have it delivered to their doorstep. This means more parcel shipments are transported as consumers turn to e-commerce platforms to do their everyday shopping.

According to Pitney Bowes, a global technology company providing commerce solutions that power billions of transactions, “Parcel volume globally grew 17 percent last year to 74.4 billion parcels, up from 63.6 billion in 2016.” This staggering growth is putting pressure on companies to keep up with an increased number of parcel shipments. By the end of 2018, it’s forecasted that there will be a 20% increase seen in the total number of parcels shipped globally.

What does this mean for companies shipping parcel?

E-Commerce companies have dedicated a lot of resources to provide the best customer experience possible through digital transformation efforts. Often, however, final mile logistics are left out of these digital strategies. To overlook how shipping impacts the customer’s experience is a mistake. If a product is delivered late, to the wrong location, or with an inferior service, the customer’s experience with a brand can be tarnished.

Integrating shipping into the customer experience strategy is essential for shippers to set themselves up for success delivering an increased number of parcels. It can be complex for businesses of any size to implement a parcel shipment strategy. Smaller businesses have limited time to review shipping options and don’t have the flexibility to overspend on parcel costs. Larger businesses are presented with the challenge of managing a complex array of parcel shipments leaving multiple facilities with various shipping costs. They are under pressure to lower costs all while delivering superior customer service.

How can e-commerce companies keep up?

E-commerce companies need to use technology to streamline their shipping processes to be able to handle increased parcel shipments. Here are three ways that leveraging technology can improve parcel shipping processes.

•   Compare rates – By leveraging a transportation management system, shippers can compare rates side-by-side. Service types can be evaluated as well. A customer who doesn’t need a product tomorrow might be a good candidate for a less expensive, though slower, parcel delivery option. By staying on top of carriers’ different service options, shippers with increased parcel volume can keep costs down. With API integrations, a shippers e-commerce website can be directly integrated with the TMS, allowing customers to choose the delivery option which best fits their needs.

•   Get Tracking Information – In the digital age, customers expect that they will have full visibility to their orders. Delivery tracking and delivery confirmation are a must. Technology can provide the level of visibility now expected by customers consumers used to tracking from e-commerce giants like Amazon. Customers can then better manage their inbound freight, and internal stakeholders always have the information they need at their fingertips to address customer concerns.

•   Auto-Populate Order Information – More parcels to ship means more paperwork, right? Wrong. With the help of an order integration between an ERP system and a TMS, order information automatically populates and is ready for booking. This means fewer manual errors, less time spent rekeying order line items and happier customers who receive their products as ordered. Integrating purchase orders directly from an ERP system facilitates the rapid creation of shipments and ensures 100% order accuracy.

Online shopping is quickly becoming a norm for consumers, but it means that retailers need to incorporate smart parcel shipment strategies into their user experience plans. With the help of technology, keeping up with an increased parcel shipment volume is not only attainable but can positively impact the bottom line of e-commerce companies!