Did you miss out on our January newsletter?Included in our last newsletter was our January 20th blog post and "Six Cost-Saving Ideas for Mid-Size Manufacturers," tips from the BridgeNet Solutions team.
BridgeNet Solutions January 2012 Newsletter
Friday, February 3, 2012
BridgeNet Solutions January 2012 Newsletter
Did you miss out on our January newsletter?Included in our last newsletter was our January 20th blog post and "Six Cost-Saving Ideas for Mid-Size Manufacturers," tips from the BridgeNet Solutions team.
BridgeNet Solutions January 2012 Newsletter
Friday, January 27, 2012
Are Green Supply Chains Becoming the Norm?
Early last year, results of a study completed by IFS, an ERP technology provider, revealed that "almost 77 percent of manufactures [...] said they are currently required by their customers to report on their environmental impact and that of their products or require their vendors to do so."More recently, Apple released a "Progress Report" that detailed its supply chain practices, and then distributed it among its suppliers.
Are green supply chains becoming the norm? Perhaps they're not yet the norm, but if more companies like Apple were to release the details of their supply chain processes, one can only assume that more suppliers, partners, and competitors would feel compelled to do the same, and, more importantly, that they would be compelled to run greener supply chains.
Friday, January 20, 2012
A Few Words on Self-Billing from BridgeNet's Niko Michas
Often, the biggest setback companies have when it comes to implementing self-billing is carrier resistance. One thing you can do to combat carrier resistance is automate your billing process.
By automating your billing process, you eliminate the guesswork normally associated with trying to determine the accuracy of your shipping charges. You can uncover the exact charges for all shipments, regardless of mode.
Whether you go through SAP or a third party partner that specializes in creating less costly and more tailored electronic system solutions, your automated system will need to be able to do two things: 1. properly house the shipping data for each and every shipment in your supply chain, and 2. successfully compare your actual shipping charges to those outlined in your carrier agreement and your carrier’s standard rates.
Below are three ways you can leverage the benefits of using an automated billing system to gain more support for self-billing from your carrier:
1. Explain to your carrier that your automated system will help them know exactly when and how much they will be paid because your invoices will be more accurate.
2. Show your carrier how you will be able to pay them in as little as seven days, rather than in 60, 90, or 120 days, as in a normal billing cycle.
3. Prove to your carrier you can lessen their financial burden by eliminating customer service and administrative fees normally associated with auditing.
Self-billing isn’t a new idea, but due to the still questionable state of the current US economy and self-billing’s increasing popularity in Europe, more US-based companies are looking to self-billing not just as an alternative to auditing, but as a way to get faster, bigger returns. Automating your billing system can help persuade your carriers to get on board with your self-billing initiative.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Two New Job Openings at BridgeNet Solutions
Join our team!
BridgeNet is now looking for a qualified SQL developer and experienced project manager. For full job descriptions, visit: http://www.bridgenetsolutions.com/company/Careers.asp.
Friday, January 6, 2012
BridgeNet Solutions December 2011 Newsletter
Did you miss BridgeNet's December 2011 newsletter? Included were our past two blog posts and Managing Partner Mikael Trapper's latest article, "Standards, KPIs, and Carrier Compliance," recently featured in PARCEL. To download Mikael's article in PDF format, click here.BridgeNet Solutions December 2011 Newsletter
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Parcel Industry Trends: 2011 & 2012
As 2011 draws to a close, BridgeNet Solutions continues to work hard to develop plans that generate new savings for its clients. The past year was a memorable one for a number of reasons, including the celebration of BridgeNet's 10th anniversary, but it might also be remembered as a year of significant changes within the shipping industry, and a stepping stone to the changes that are on the horizon.Looking Back
2011 saw carriers trend towards providing the deeper incentive rates their clients have been requesting, offset by waivers of guaranteed service refunds and fewer agreements including fuel surcharge rate caps. We have also seen an increase in the use of quarterly rebates and deferred tier incentives when shippers agree to higher base rates. We've also seen customers with the largest volume of shipments begin catering to the major carriers' weight capacities, and greater incentives being offered in correlation to the carriers' increase in profit margins. Conversely, if you signed any new agreements in 2011, you may have noticed a second set of published rates called "standard rates," which were roughly 6%-30% higher than the carriers' daily rates and which varied by service level. Last but not least, early termination clauses became a popular means of deterring clients from shopping for better rates before contracts expired.
Looking Ahead
As for 2012, as usual, we can expect general rate increases. Express and air rates are projected to go up, as are ground rates. The increases should be mitigated, however slightly, by reductions in the fuel index. Both UPS and FedEx are looking to expand their operations or are already engaged in the process. UPS recently opened dedicated Health Care Sector distribution centers in Burlington, CA, Venlo, NL, and Singapore. FedEx is looking to expand its intra-country capabilities in the European Union.
How will these changes impact you? To keep your company competitive, you might be forced to consider alternative supply chain options, including utilizing regional carriers. More and more companies are utilizing regional carriers either in place of national carriers or as a way to supplement national carriers' services. Barring certain limitations, regional carriers provide lower and more simplified rate structures as well as fewer add-on charges.
No matter what your supply chain savings goals are for 2012, we are confident that BridgeNet can help. For more information on our solutions, including Xonar, Logistics Expense Analysis, and Carrier Exceptions Management, e-mail us at info@bridgenetsolutions.com or call 312-492-7500 and ask to speak with a BridgeNet sales representative. We've been here for you for the past 10 years, and will continue to be of service to our current clients and new clients in 2012.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Standards, KPIs, and Carrier Compliance
Mikael Trapper, managing partner at BridgeNet Solutions, has a new article out in PARCEL. The article, "Standards, KPIs, and Carrier Compliance," makes clear the reasons why key performance indicators (KPIs) will be critical for logistics and supply chain professionals to use in 2012 in order to gain compliance and achieve greater savings. To read the article in full on BridgeNet's website, click here.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Still Using Spreadsheets to Manage Your Supply Chain?
A recent blog post by Michael Koplov on the Warehouse Management Systems Guide website openly discusses the ugly truth about Excel spreadsheets. They're thorns in supply managers' sides, and largely unnecessary.According to Koplov, there are a couple of alternatives to using spreadsheets to analyze supply chain data and track logistics operations. The one he focuses on most is using "a centralized network of software." This is the solution that BridgeNet most often recommends. The main reason we built Xonar, our network spend data analytics and planning solution, was to fill the dire need in our industry for accurate, real-time information to be accessible by logistics professionals at different levels, company-wide, day or night, the world over. Xonar is Web-based software, which means that any authorized person with Internet access can access their company's cleansed shipping data and create easy-to-read reports at any time.
Like Koplov, BridgeNet recognizes that it can be daunting to think about breaking the spreadsheet habit, but in our experience, we've found that people who make the switch to accessing real-time shipping data via a Web-based platform don't often look back. The advantages it gives them make any arguments for using spreadsheets as main tracking, monitoring, and savings tools almost laughable.
If you're ready to make kicking the spreadsheet addiction your company's New Year's resolution, watch our Xonar video for more information on how BridgeNet might be able to help your organization in 2012. Then, e-mail your inquiries to info@bridgenetsolutions.com. We want to hear from you!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Is There an App for That?
Is it time to trade in the traditional mobile devices and supporting technology that you’ve been using in your warehouses and distribution centers (DCs) with smartphones? As smartphones become more widely accepted and able to perform a larger number of functions, you may be able to incorporate them into your current warehouses and DC operations and cut down on 1. the maintenance that is required with traditional mobile warehouse devices, 2. the need for multiple devices with fewer capabilities, and 3. the amount of time your people have to spend transferring information from one device, location, or station to another.What do you think? Can smartphones stand up to the rigorous demands of your warehouse or DC? Are there any functions that you would expect them to be unable to perform? What kind of smartphone applications would be most helpful to you throughout your daily operations?
Friday, November 4, 2011
BridgeNet Solutions October 2011 Newsletter
BridgeNet celebrates its 10th anniversary!Our October newsletter features a review of BridgeNet's progress over the past decade from the perspective of Managing Partner Mikael Trapper. Click here to read the review in its entirety.
Also included in the newsletter is the article by Executive Team Analyst Aaron Samuels on dimensional weight, recently featured in PARCEL.
BridgeNet Solutions October 2011 Newsletter
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Can Ten Pounds of Feathers Weigh More than Ten Pounds of Bricks?
Executive Team Analyst Aaron Samuels seems to think so! Check out his article, which recently appeared in PARCEL.
To help illustrate what Aaron's talking about when it comes to dimensional weight, we've come up with this handy-dandy graphic:
To help illustrate what Aaron's talking about when it comes to dimensional weight, we've come up with this handy-dandy graphic:
Friday, October 7, 2011
Fighting Accessorials & Surcharges Despite Low Volumes
As we move toward the end of 2011, many shippers are marveling that their 2011 shuipping costs were higher than ever even though their shipping volumes didn't increase significantly from 2010. What happened?In all likelihood, you got blindsided by accessorials and surcharges. It is relatively easy to anticipate how the annual rise in carriers' base rates will impact our bottom lines; it is much more difficult to determine what changes in accessorials and surcharges are going to cost us.
In 2011, carriers changed the way dimensional weights were calculated, which also could have had a significant impact on your transportation spend.
Holiday spending isn't anticipated to be high this year, but unfortunately, many shippers are still going to find themselves paying through the nose. Most economists seem to believe that consumer spending next year won't be a whole lot different.
With base rates rising each year, accessorials and surcharges increasing in complexity and resulting in extravagant charges, and shippers having little leverage during rate negotiations due to insignificant increases in volume, there may be no better time to seek out cost-saving solutions.
By auditing your carrier invoices to achieve greater savings, analyzing your detailed shipping history, and using Web-based technology to get full visibility of your supply chain, it is still possible to out-see your carriers. The same basic principles and tools you've used to cut costs in the past can still work. You may have to look at reports and results a little differently, and based on your findings, make more operational changes than you have in the past, but better to act and make those changes now than sit back and wait to see how your shipping spend looks in 2012 before making any major cost-cutting decisions.
Your carriers aren't going to hesitate to give you rates you according to what they believe are your company's shipping characteristics. High-level analysis of your shipping history can help you develop a shipping profile that will reveal your true worth. Knowing your true worth is a gift that'll keep on giving long after the holidays are over.
Friday, September 30, 2011
BridgeNet Solutions September 2011 Newsletter
BridgeNet's September newsletter features a recent article on high-level auditing and reporting from Jerry Lucente, COO and managing partner at BridgeNet Solutions, that was recently published by PARCEL. It also contains our previous blog post on active routing guides and an article by Project Manager Julie Pletzke on some solid ways that clients can use BridgeNet reports to generate transportation savings.BridgeNet Solutions September 2011 Newsletter
Friday, September 23, 2011
Still Don't Have an Active Routing Guide?
If you don't have a routing guide or aren't using or enforcing your company's current routing guide, now is the time to make some big changes. The economy is recovering, and you need to lock in your rates and carrier contracts now, before the market improves. Having an established electronic or online routing guide will enable you gain control of spending and achieve lower rates on your next carrier contract.Three reasons to implement an active routing guide sooner rather than later are:
1. Control. When you establish a routing guide, you gain control of the movement of your company's shipments.
2. Accountability. Once a routing guide is in place, predetermined charges for each shipping lane are in place, too. You can hold the right people accountable for exceeding or driving up these established charges.
3. Cost Reduction. Enforcing your routing guide company-wide will increase the amount spent with your preferred carriers. Giving your preferred carriers more volume will enable them to reduce costs.
To learn more about how to establish an active routing guide, send your inquiries to info@bridgenetsolutions.com.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Breaks for Big Box Retailers Don't Pay Off for the Public
An insightful article came out in Bloomberg Businessweek earlier this month. The article, "Don't Subsidize Big Boxes at Local Shop's Expense," by Stacy Mitchell, author of Big-Box Swindle, talks about how much public money is routinely given to big box retailers across the country. The numbers are staggering. Mitchell reported that small town government officials "spent $1.6 million to lure a Borders bookstore to a local shopping center." Borders, of course, is now defunct. Mitchell also reported that Wal-Mart received tax exemptions to the tune of $7.9 million from 2008-2009--just in New York!Anyway, apparently a new study has been put forth from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments that "indicates that subsidizing retail development produces neither job gains nor new tax revenue."
How and when did it become standard practice to give big box retailers such big breaks? When do you think the practice will stop? Can we in the logistics/supply chain industry do anything about it?
Friday, September 9, 2011
4 Things Smart Benchmarking Can Tell You
Four things you need to know before you enter into carrier rate negotiations are:1. Which shipments are being sent by ground, air, or ocean
2. The volume and weight of each shipment
3. The time each shipment spends in transit
4. The cost of each and every shipment in your supply chain
You can get all of this information through high-level shipping data analysis and benchmarking.
The best way to begin a benchmarking program is by making sure that every member of your team knows what you are benchmarking and why, and shares your overall vision. Next, you need to determine whether you have the ability or resources to compare your company's data to the right number and types of competitors in order to ensure that you will get the most out of your benchmarking efforts. In most cases, companies will find it is more cost-effective to go with a third party. Finally, before you select your third party partner, make sure they will be able to get the job done by using proven benchmarking methods. When benchmarking inititiaves fail, they fail most often due to an inability on the part of analysts to remain focused and unprejudiced when it comes to interpreting and acting on the final data. A proven benchmarking method should help keep you on track and enable you to come up with findings that can be reproduced.
Friday, September 2, 2011
BridgeNet Solutions July and August 2011 Newsletters
In July, our newsletter featured, "Changing Opinions, Upgrading Tactics, and Improving Bottom Lines," an article by Niko Michas that was originally featured in Manufacturing.net. Our blog post, "Has Your Distribution System Become Complacent?" and "Maintaining Your Transportation Advantage," an article by Julie Pletzke, a project manager at BridgeNet, were also featured.
In August, we featured an article by Mikael Trapper, managing parter, entitled, "To Hire or Not to Hire a Logistics Consultant?" as seen in Corp! The August blog post, "Uncovering and Controlling Inbound Expenses," was also included in the August newsletter.
To sign up to receive BridgeNet's monthly newsletters, in which we provide all kinds of tips and tricks to help our clients and partners achieve greater supply chain savings, sign up using the form on our home page.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Michas's Stimulus Plan Gets More Buzz
The buzz continues...
As many of you know by now, BridgeNet's president, Niko Michas, co-authored a very interesting article with managing partner Mikael Trapper earlier this year. The article, "A Stimulus Plan to Encourage U.S. Manufacturing," came out in IndustryWeek this past June, and got immediate attention. Both the BridgeNet team and the staff at IndustryWeek were contacted directly by parties interested in the article, blog posts regarding the article quickly popped up, and, most recently, an article by Robert J. Bowman, editor of SupplyChainBrain.com, came out after the editor had an in-depth conversation with Michas regarding his stimulus plan in July.
Michas and the rest of the BridgeNet team are fully committed to bringing you more out-of-the-box and compelling ideas that we believe will help move our industry forward. As a result of the buzz surrounding the stimulus article, BridgeNet put out a special June newsletter that featured the article in full. If you aren't currently receiving our newsletters, sign up using the form on our home page now. We will send our articles and news straight to your inbox!
To view our June newsletter, click here. To view more newsletters, visit our newsletter archives page.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Uncovering and Controlling Inbound Expenses
The first step to controlling your inbound logistics is to determine the amount that can be controlled.
There are two types of inbound freight that can be controlled. The first type is the freight that is itemized within a vendor’s invoice under “freight charges.” The second type is the freight that a vendor hides within the cost of the merchandise.
The first type is the easiest to control. Your accounts payable department probably codes these itemized charges under a “freight-in” code of some kind. This could and should be easily queried per vendor by your accounting department.
The second type is significantly more difficult to control. In order to find the vendors who are adding freight charges to the cost of merchandise, a company must monitor its inbound shipments. Most global carriers, including parcel, freight forwarders, truck, and LTL carriers, have the ability to provide an automatic, monitored process for anything en route to a company’s specific address or addresses. A manual process can also help determine the freight; however, a manual process would require that your receiving department keep track of everything delivered (including the carrier, weight, DIM weight, etc.)
Once the amount of controllable inbound freight has been determined by cross-referencing your results with your recent freight history, you should have enough leverage to obtain more attractive rates for future volume.
After rates for future shipments have been contracted, you can begin building and then distributing your corporate routing guide. The routing guide should first be distributed to those vendors with freight that is itemized within their invoice. This usually accounts for the majority of all inbound freight. Vendors should be able to simply switch carriers and start shipping using your company’s preferred inbound account number. Some hiccups can be expected during this process, but relatively-speaking, the transition should be an easy one. Send priority routing guides to those vendors that have the largest dollar amount in freight expense.
Vendors whose freight charges are built into cost of goods will be much more difficult to convert. In order to convince them to comply with a corporate routing guide, your purchasing department may need to explain that the goal is to eliminate the freight charges. Taking this stance should help prove to larger vendors that your company is in control of its expenses, which may make them more likely to convert. The participation of these vendors is important because they will add to the total freight volume and thereby help you to obtain even better discounts on your next carrier contract.