Building a Successful Inbound Freight Management Program

Managing Inbound Freight

Kuebix Founder and President Dan Clark discusses in a recent video how a company can better manage their inbound freight by following a detailed process that ensures their product is delivered to the distribution center with the optimal carrier, at the optimal price. Watch Dan Clark's video >>>>

Frequently overlooked and often pushed to the bottom of a shipper’s supply chain agenda, good inbound freight management can help companies improve shipment visibility, save money, and enhance customer service - all of which add to the bottom line and boost profitability.

With outbound freight management, shippers are in control of the operation, managing their own picking orders and delivering to their own customers.

With inbound freight, shippers are dependent on suppliers to pick orders, load and deliver to a distribution center.

This takes collaboration and accountability among participants, and visibility into operations to know what is happening.

A successful inbound program must follow a detailed process for all freight delivered to the distribution center.

The program needs to ensure that freight is delivered by the optimal carrier at the optimal price.

It requires an infrastructure that creates a win-win relationship with suppliers and carriers that leverages available capacity to ensure freight will be delivered on time, claims free to the distribution center.

With real-time alerts and a real-time collaborative infrastructure, shippers can track shipment delivery times and better organize their docks so carriers aren’t left idling in the yard.

A well-planned inbound freight management program uses LTL consolidations to make fuller trucks to reduce the number of deliveries arriving at the same time and utilizes backhaul opportunities to reduce shipping costs and improve efficiencies.

A well-orchestrated inbound freight management process establishes a win-win program with suppliers to keep costs in check.

It helps with managing supplier allowance programs for LTL and TL, streamlines the unloading process, establishes vendor inbound compliance and fosters dynamic capacity-based selections, where whoever has the capacity is the one selected to deliver the orders.

A superior inbound management program must be built on compliance and accountability. It requires a comprehensive routing guide that details the requirements for each stakeholder and each process.

Everyone needs to understand the program and their responsibilities for its success. Enforcing these new compliance policies ensures cost reduction objectives will be met.

This will create an environment that makes it efficient and cost-effective for all stakeholders involved in the process.

Other more detailed inbound logistics management best practices can be found in The Art of the Inbound eBook.

Better management of an inbound logistics program begins with a modular, cloud-based transportation management system like Kuebix TMS, which can lead to greater efficiencies and lower transportation costs. Click here to learn more.

Weis Markets Leverages Kuebix’s Technology and Logistics Experts to Manage Inbound Freight

Kuebix’s SupplierMAX program provides Weis Markets with a recipe for visibility, vendor compliance, and control of inbound operations

Weis Markets began a project with logistics technology provider Kuebix to gain better supply chain visibility and control of its process flow, financials and cost of goods. Prior to the project, the majority of Weis shipments were vendor controlled leading to process inefficiencies and increased costs. Kuebix proposed SupplierMAX, a customizable, technology-based solution to manage Weis’ inbound shipments and partially outsource transportation management to the Kuebix logistics experts.

SupplierMAX improves supplier behavior and increases the efficiency of warehouses and distribution centers by incorporating a series of comprehensive strategies to improve inbound operations. Some of these strategies include building a plan with suppliers to reduce the number of inbound carrier deliveries and associated costs by consolidating less-than-truckload shipments into full truckload. The program also improves supplier behavior by managing Vendor Inbound Compliance procedures (VICS) and Routing Guides. Weis has found tremendous efficiencies with using SupplierMAX and is now able to take action to improve service with suppliers and carriers.

“Kuebix has become the foundation of our Managed Transportation Services program for all inbound shipments. Kuebix has provided Weis the necessary information for all stakeholders to operate at the highest level of efficiency,” said Wayne Bailey, SVP of Supply Chain and Logistics, Weis Markets.

With the Kuebix VICS program in place, Weis has been able to smooth its inbound flow and increase efficiencies through changed practices across the supply chain.

Overall, this project has enabled Weis to convert additional inbound shipments to Weis controlled, reduce its landed cost of goods and break apart costing components.

SupplierMAX has helped Weis Markets seize control of their inbound operations and simplify what has historically been a complex process.

Related eBook

The Art of the Inbound: 11 Ways to Improve Your Inbound Shipping Operations
This ebook provides a guide to benchmark your company against best practices in the transportation and shipping industry and helps to put together a strategic approach to capitalizing on the opportunities to manage the “art of the inbound.” Download Now!

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