Vendor compliance doesn’t have to be complicated

Every retailer has requirements in place to streamline its shipping and receiving processes. And meeting them is key to a vendor’s success. Failure to comply with assigned delivery times, labeling practices and other shipping procedures can result in financial penalties and damaged relationships. But because compliance means different things for each retailer, vendors can struggle to meet the varying conditions of when, where and how they may deliver goods. That doesn’t mean the two are working against each other, though.

ArcBest has received many questions from customers about the notification issued by UPS Freight on November 1 regarding its less-than-truckload operations. In a transportation marketplace already constrained by available capacity, know that we’re actively monitoring the situation and possible service disruption at UPS Freight.

Transporting high-value freight

Shippers always place high importance on a carrier’s ability to deliver freight without incident, but when the shipment is high-value or sensitive, it’s even more essential. With this type of freight, it’s necessary to work with an experienced carrier that understands things like packaging best practices, the best modes of transportation for a specific type of shipment, and in-transit protection.

Optimizing your company’s reverse logistics system

What happens to your products after the point of sale? Are they easily returned if they’re faulty, recyclable if they’ve reached end-of-life, or able to be repaired? If the answer to these questions isn’t known, or the process to make those events happen isn’t well-defined, your reverse logistics system may not be operating at peak efficiency. Take a look at the benefits of an optimized approach, and get tips for improving your processes.  

Fulfilling online orders and meeting consumer demand

We’ve all done it — researched a product we wanted to buy, read some reviews, selected an item, put it in our cart, and provided our payment information. We may have even paid extra for faster shipping. When we finished, we closed the tab (or the app) and waited for the product to arrive. It’s a simple process that most of us do regularly, but any e-commerce retailer knows that getting a customer to click the “buy” button is only half the work. Now it’s time to fulfill the order and get the product where it needs to be.

Why shippers should consider consolidating freight

Consumer buying behavior has changed. As the convenience of ordering products online continues to increase, expectations for faster deliveries increase, too. Customers are no longer willing to wait weeks to receive deliveries or pay high shipping fees. Instead, the growth of e-commerce has led to customers asking for same-day and next-day delivery at the lowest possible rate. So, how can shippers keep up with this frenzy of ordering and ever-increasing demand, all while keeping customers happy? By consolidating shipments. 

Use geo-fencing technology to protect your freight

Imagine this: You’re shipping two trailers full of electronics with a combined value of $8 million. The carrier you hired loads the freight on a Monday and has strict rules to go directly to the destination for delivery on Tuesday evening. Except the trailers never show. Six months later, they’re still nowhere to be found, and you’re out millions of dollars.

What are accessorial charges?

Accessorial charges are any additional expenses a customer incurs that go beyond the normal procedures when shipping truckload or less-than-truckload (LTL) goods. For example, let’s say you’re moving some restaurant equipment into a strip mall. Because of the complexity of the shipment, which would require the driver to unload the shipment and deliver it inside the building, the carrier will apply an additional fee.

How holiday shopping affects retail supply chain

With a combined consumer spend of over $650 billion in November and December 2016 alone, it’s no surprise that many companies focus on plans to meet the demands of holiday shoppers year-round. The ten busiest shopping days of the year fall in the fourth quarter, which means the work to ensure shelves are stocked has to happen well in advance of the holiday shopping season.

Capacity when and where you need it

You have a line of cold chain items that need to be shipped to the same customer each week — but you don’t have a refrigerated fleet. What do you do? Dedicated transportation is ideal for this situation and others where freight is moved on a consistent route and needs either a committed pool of specialized equipment or has distinct freight handling requirements.