Changes in the weather can be unpredictable and they are always unavoidable. Needless to say, severe weather can greatly impact your ability to move your LTL shipments (or really any other types of freight). And while you can't change the weather, there are a few things you can do to lessen the impact of these situations when they arise.
In this blog post, we'll explore the challenges shippers face during inclement weather and strategies to minimize disruption.
Capacity Limitations
While all modes of transportation are finding it tough to reach their final destinations on time, especially in certain geographical areas, shippers will have a more difficult time securing freight capacity to move even their typical freight volumes. The more trucks stuck on the roads, filled with undelivered freight, means fewer trucks available for loading up at your dock doors.
Inbound Delays
These challenges are also going to affect your inbound transportation and shipments. Products coming from areas affected by weather severities could be delayed due to plane delays, facility shutdowns, or power outages, in addition to the already prevalent capacity constraints.
No Guarantees
All shippers have been in a crunch where they had to step up and expedite a shipment or add a guarantee. One of the frustrations with unruly weather is that the carrier can no longer guarantee that your shipment will arrive on time. They can't even guarantee it will arrive within days of when you want it to arrive. So even if with capacity constraints a carrier comes to pick up your shipment, it could be sitting in a terminal halfway to its destination until the lane is clear and the driver can hit the road again.
Quality Service and Competitive Advantage
No matter what the weather looks like, a company's success is based on the customer's happiness, and willingness to continue making future purchases. Well, the customer has to get their purchase, and in a timely manner, to stay happy. The above issues can make that very difficult to accomplish…without a plan.
Planning for the Storm Ahead
While the problematic weather is inevitable, there are still ways you can plan ahead for these setbacks. In these situations, timing is critical when looking at your strategy. Start looking to reorganize and reprioritize your freight flows and customer requirements as needed to adapt to the market.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are there consolidation opportunities that you wouldn't normally have to use?
- Can you restructure your freight to take advantage of multi-modal opportunities to secure more capacity?
- Consider a link between your inbound and outbound. Are there inbound carriers that could sub in to handle some of your outbound loads?
- When facing problems with inbound products, are there other temporary suppliers in unaffected parts of the country that you could utilize?
- Are you utilizing all of your resources? Engage others in your organization to brainstorm solutions with you. Other departments may have input or ideas that you haven't thought of, especially when it comes to customer service.
How Redwood's Logistics Approach Can Help
Having a proactive plan in place can help calm some of the chaos. Of course, there will be hiccups, and customers will inevitably be frustrated with delayed shipments. Make sure your customer service representatives are prepared for these calls. Having management on board to help deal with top-level customers is a smart idea too.
If you work with a respectable third-party logistics company, they should be able to help you minimize weather-related disruptions. Experienced customer service representatives should stay up to date on lane delays and terminal closures. This way, customers can be notified immediately that delays will occur to those specific areas. Giving your customers time to plan ahead, can only ease their dissatisfaction.
Final Thoughts
Here at Redwood, we have over 100 years of freight management experience and have weathered many storms. If you're interested in learning more about our solutions, contact us today.