Santa’s coming. And it’s gonna cost us.
By Santa I mean the holiday shopping season and all the consumer demand
that comes along with that.
Retailers are already scurrying around trying to fill their shelves for what’s looking
to be a pretty wild few months of holiday spending. And by extension, an even crazier transportation quarter, rounding out an all-around insane year.
Now, big guys like Walmart and Amazon and the like have to get their shelves
stocked just like everybody else. But because of their size, they will pay whatever
it takes to get their stuff shipped.
Meaning, huge premiums to secure the capacity they need.
Because of their deep pockets, these behemoth retailers are setting transportation prices for all the rest of us.
And it’s not gonna be pretty.
For smaller and even midsize companies who need to get their products shipped,
it’s going to be impossible to keep rates down.
Which many clients will see it as a problem with their logistics service provider or broker.
The only recourse is to get your foot into the technology door.
It’s the only way to weather the storm.
Trust me.
When you know what the market will bear ahead of time, you can make the
decisions that make all the difference.
Using loads of data – employing the latest tools to bid smarter and quote better
in the spot market, that’s technology that will definitely leave you less exposed
than the other guy.
With more visibility, you’ll see that the upcoming holiday premium penalty is being
born by everyone. You’ll know the entire transportation market is being penalized.
Focusing energy now on the incredible technologies we all have at our disposal
will eventually insulate you from wild price swings and the steep ups and down
of the market.
And when clients eventually come asking “why aren’t you doing a better job out there?”
You’ll know exactly where its coming from.
The whole market is plain messed up right now.
Jim Pearson is the President & Founder of JTR Logistics.
