Carries commonly experience uncontrollable delays during the winter months due to unforeseen weather events on an average of 20-25% of shipments. As a shipper this can create pressure on inventory levels and customer frustration.
Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help shippers navigate the winter months and common weather delays to keep their supply chain fluid.
Constant Communication with Logistics Providers
Continually communicate with the logistics provider when you realize a shipment has been delayed. Many carriers will be accommodating and very sympathetic towards weather delays, and will do everything they can to remedy the situation. Preemptively work with carriers as well to plan out common shipment lanes and alternative routes in the case of issues. This will give the carrier the ability to better position assets for your freight and potentially have a contingency in place to run your lanes even if there is a weather delay.
If there is a strong chance of a large winter storm hitting a specific area, communicate with your logistics partners, potentially you can ship your loads early or late to avoid having drivers departing from your docks right as the winter event hits.
Partners still open ?
Throughout the contingency planning process make sure that your own dock workers will be present if local roads are icy, also make sure that the receiving location is open as well. No one wants to coordinate a trucking or intermodal movement then realize the receiver has closed because of local weather conditions.
Keeping a driver sitting a delivery dock or making a failed delivery attempt will result in higher costs than shipping early or late.
Alternate Lanes
Looking at alternative lanes and modes can provide some relief for winter weather delays. Keep in mind some alternatives will be most costly than your traditional route as this could require carriers to operate a longer route to avoid delays, having a carrier pickup sooner than expected or using a different carrier. Spot rates will almost always rise as a winter storm hits a large metropolitan area and capacity is quickly depleted.
Transportation versus warehousing costs
If you have locations that are commonly affected by winter weather conditions, consider building up inventory levels higher than normal during the winter months. While your inventory holding costs could rise, many times this results in lower overall costs versus running out of inventory or having to deal with large weather delays and associated costs.
Logistics Partner choices
Make sure you are working with logistics partners that are highly communicative and make your freight a priority. Working with great partners will ensure that when a delay happens, alternative solutions are quickly executed and shipping tracking information stays up-to-date. Working with multiple carriers and modes also creates a more resilient supply chain when winter storms hit, as not all your freight will be on one route through a single carrier’s hub. A Mix of intermodal, truck and air can also provide reliability to your freight as well.
Winter weather delays will happen, particularly if you have a location in an area that is prone to winter weather events, and can be incredibly frustrating when compounded with the already busy and tight capacity of the holiday freight market, but by using the tips above, your supply chain will be more reliable and less costly!
We hope these tips have been useful if you are navigating the expensive waters of peak season shipping, while they only scratch the surface they represent the most common mistakes we see shippers making with their peak season freight.
Zmodal is a digital intermodal provider will make your holiday shipments a priority! We provide the latest in digital communication with an easy to use dashboard to manage all your shipments as well as automatic tracking updates and around the clock support. Particularly for small and medium sized businesses Zmodal is the easiest way to access the intermodal network.
Stay tuned for more blogs and updates from Zmodal. If you would like us to help optimize your supply chain with the latest technology let us know.
