This week Inbound Logistics magazine distributed an article called “10 Tips for Maximizing Your Freight Broker Relationship.” If you saw the article, it almost reads like a checklist for Logistics Plus® freight services. Here are the recommended ten tips from the article along with information on how Logistics Plus stacks up:
Find a reliable partner with market knowledge. As our many testimonials prove, Logistics Plus is about as reliable a freight management partner as you will find. Additionally, we have nearly 20 years of experience managing freight for reputable companies such as GE, PPG, and many others. We have tools that allow us to secure market competitive rates, and we have relationships with thousands of reputable freight carriers.
Check for the right fit. We are the right fit for just about any size company. We work with Fortune 500 corporations, and we manage shipping for small businesses. Typically the businesses that find us to be the right fit are the ones that require that extra “plus” attention. In fact, we have a reputation for taking on big freight projects that other logistics companies turn down (e.g., we recently shipped over 3 million solar panels to southern California for a large solar panel manufacturer). We do the little things like schedule pickups, provide storage services, monitor deliveries, track shipments, and more.
Are they where you need them to be? Logistics Plus has a network of people and resources located in offices across North American and around the world. So it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a customer needed service somewhere that we could not provide it.
Financial standing. We are a privately-owned company, but you can rest assured knowing that we have made the Inc. 5000 list on three different occasions for being one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Additionally, our founder has earned an Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst & Young, and many others, which would not be possible if our company was not financially strong.
Look for sourcing expertise. We work with all of the top national and regional LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers in the U.S., and we have service agreements in place with thousands of additional truckload and specialized carriers. Additionally, we have logistics experts who monitor and use all of the top load boards in the industry. If you need affordable capacity or unique equipment – we can find it!
Ensure strong relationships. As mentioned in tip #5, we have all of the carrier relationships a reliable freight management partner should have. We also have in-house resources and assets through our National Truck Load (NTL) division in cases where more dedicated resources are needed. We also work as a 4PL partner with many large corporations which helps reinforce our buying leverage and keeps us in tune with trends in both supply and demand.
Check for visibility. Whether your shipments are domestic, cross-border, or international – Logistics Plus has the expertise and technology to monitor shipments and keep the most important information visible to you. Our eShipPlus™ keeps our North American customers apprised of their freight shipments, while our LP WorldPlus™ systems keep our global customers in the loop on their international cargo.
Research details and hidden costs. Freight quotes through Logistics Plus are detailed and transparent, as is our invoicing You’ll never be surprised with hidden costs when you work with us.
Ensure resilience. Asset-only brokers often cannot be as flexible as those who source assets. Shippers should look for a company that remains as lean as possible. That’s exactly what Logistics Plus is – lean and flexible: we can confidently cover almost anything, anywhere in the world.
Check compliance track record. The Inbound Logistics article finishes off by recommending that shippers be sure the broker they choose is fanatical about compliance issues. When it comes to carrier compliance – and other trade compliance matters – no one could be more fanatical than Logistics Plus. We even provide regular training on this very subject to other companies and organizations.
There you have it. If you like the 10 tips for maximizing your freight broker relationship as recommended by Inbound Logistics magazine, then you’ll love working with Logistics Plus for all of your freight management needs. If you’re ready to give us a try, simply click the button below to get a QUICK QUOTE on your next shipment to get started (or call us at 1-866-564-7587)!
Is your company (or members of your association, chamber, or trade group) involved in the import or export of products or materials? If the answer is yes, then you should consider a Logistics Plus® Compliance Training Program to get a better understanding of the regulations and procedures that must be followed when shipping globally. The Logistics Plus Global Trade Compliance Team is experienced and licensed to help companies with all aspects of international trade. Our training programs are tailored for your industry, and include the following important topics:
Export Regulations & Compliance
How to Create an Effective Export Management Compliance Program (EMCP)
Export Letters of Credit
Understanding NAFTA and other U.S. Free Trade Agreements
Incoterms® 2010 and Creating Export Quotations
Import Entry Process and Security Filings
Duty Drawback and Customs Valuation
And much more!
Visit our website to Learn More about our Global Trade Compliance programs. If you’re ready to schedule on-site or online training for your company or organization, or if you’d simply like more information, please contact Adam Mook, our compliance department manager. Even if you’re not interested in a full-blown training program, our experts can provide valuable services to help you simplify the complexity of trade regulations and create procedures to keep your company in compliance.
We’ve provided training for numerous companies, business development offices, and associations. We know that our training and our passion for excellence could save companies thousands of dollars and major headaches on their imports and exports! (Don’t believe us? Just read the following Bureau of Industry and Security “Don’t Let This Happen to You” document).
Logistics Plus is an expert at handling big cargo and big projects, and managing those projects across the entire supply chain. We have managed some pretty interesting projects “from cradle-to-grave,” including transporting locomotives to Indonesia, shipping wind-turbines across Europe, moving tugboats into the Middle East, and helping set up the largest solar energy farm in the world!
The video below shows some very cool footage of an ongoing project we are involved with transporting 566-ton gas tanks from China to Brazil. If you look closely, you’ll see that we have less than 1 inch on either side of the compressed blocks to insert this heavy load into the foundation while the load is suspended from 2 vessel cranes in tandem, and while the foundation itself is afloat and bobbing about. Also if you look closely, the guy running around in the yellow hardhat managing the project is our very own Frederik Geirnaert, Logistics Plus project manager in China. Frederik also shot all of the footage, including some very cool time-lapse sequences.
If your company has unique or complex supply chain challenges, look no further than Logistics Plus®! We specialize in handling all of the “stuff” the other guys won’t handle, and doing all of the “extra little things” the other guys won’t do. That’s how we put the “plus” in Logistics Plus! Contact us for more information.
You have a business to run. You don’t have time to find equipment, review carrier safety records, negotiate competitive rates, get quotes from multiple carrier websites, call multiple freight brokers, deal with delivery issues, and all of the other headaches that come with freight management. And now you don’t have to. When you work with Logistics Plus Inc., we do the heavy-lifting so you can save money and time, reduce your risk, and enjoy the peace-of-mind knowing you’re working with an experienced, reputable freight management company.
To help you save time and money, we now have a one-stop-shop Quick Quote Form at www.logisticsplus.com/quotes. You can use this form to get quick quotes on less-than-truckload (LTL) and volume shipments, full and partial truckload shipments, expedited and time-sensitive shipments, exhibit shipments to trade shows, and international air or ocean shipments.
When you select the “LTL or Volume” option, the form asks for some basic information that Logistics Plus needs to provide you with a quick quote. Most of the top LTL freight carriers are part of the Logistics Plus® network, including A. Duie Pyle, AAA Cooper, Con-way Freight, Dayton Freight, Estes Express, FedEx Freight, Holland, New England Motor Freight, New Penn, Pitt Ohio, Reddaway, Roadrunner Transport, Southeastern, UPS Freight, YRC Freight, and many more. Of course, if you are a current Logistics Plus customer with an eShipPlus™ TMS account, you can still login for more detailed information (or go here to create a new user account today).
When you select the “Truckload” option, you’ll get access to over 5,000 dry van, flatbed, and refrigerated carriers that are all part of the Logistics Plus network; and we have access to thousands more through major load boards. Let us go to work sourcing a reliable and cost-effective carrier for your next truckload shipment so that you can focus on other parts of your important business.
Select the “Expedited” option and we’ll find a top-rated expedited carrier to reliably deliver your time-sensitive shipment so that you can enjoy the peace-of-mind assurance that your critical goods will be handled with our trademark “plus” extra care.
If you have an exhibit shipment going to a trade show or special event, select the “Trade Shows” option. We work with the top exhibit transportation carriers, and we can handle both small and large trade show shipments.
Lastly, if you do any importing or exporting of goods, select the “International” option and let our global experts go to work on your behalf. Import or export, air or ocean, standard or expedited – we have the resources to do it all. We have offices and agents around the world to handle your international shipments with care – and we can even help you with global trade compliance duties and regulations (it’s one of our specialties).
In addition to freight management and global logistics services, Logistics Plus® provides a variety of specialized and unique business solutions – just another way we put the “plus” in logistics to help our customers be successful. One of our more unique business solutions is delivered through our National Truck Load (NTL) division in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Serving nearby businesses in Northwest PA, Northeast OH, and Southwest NY, our NTL facility provides industrial painting services, heavy vehicle maintenance, and repair, and customized crating solutions (in addition to routing and dispatching our NTL truckload delivery services).
The facility is big, clean, and is uniquely designed for large, heavy machinery and equipment. At this facility, we have painted everything from railroad train cars to truck trailers, to engines, to wind turbines. One piece of equipment that allows us to make this all happen is our industrial-sized forklift (see inset picture in the bottom left) that can pick up and move equipment weighing up to 65,000 pounds!
When we’re not moving and painting large equipment, we’re providing maintenance services for our own NTL equipment and other customers in the area. Our experienced crew has a reputation for outstanding work, great rates, and superb reliability. And, as mentioned earlier, we also have a section of the building that is dedicated to custom crating services.
The NTL facility is located at 2311 West 15th Street, in Erie, PA 16505. If you’re company or business is located in any of the surrounding “tri-state” areas (e.g., Erie, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, etc.), and if you have big equipment that needs to be painted or maintained, give us a call at 814-833-2771. We promise you’ll receive the Logistics Plus trademark extra attention and care!
This week Inbound Logistics magazine distributed an article called “10 Tips for Maximizing Your Freight Broker Relationship.” If you saw the article, it almost reads like a checklist for Logistics Plus® freight services. Here are the recommended ten tips from the article along with information on how Logistics Plus stacks up:
