Study: Freight Budgets (CONT’D FROM PAGE 20)
When asked what the biggest barrier to freight pro- curement success was during the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the study’s respondents said that brokers were their primary hurdle, with outdated technology and processes coming in second and third. “The relationship between shippers and brokers has been strained for a long-time,” said Mike Edwards, VP Sales at Sleek Technologies. “They become a necessary evil, especially when contracted carriers pass on loads. Many shippers are now seeking new options to source ca- pacity before it hits the costly spot market. That said, the key is to find compliant, asset-based capacity that match- es the shipper’s specific load attributes. Only then, can the shipper move product on time, at fair market price.” Per the study’s findings, cost control issues (66 per- cent), on-time delivery (65 percent) and high primary rejec- tion rates (46 percent) were cited as the most frequently recurring issues that respondents encountered through- out the pandemic. “Freight brokers will continue to inflate truckload cost and contract carriers will react by rejecting loads until they level-set their rates, which means increased truckload cost for everyone,” said Oleg Yanchyk, CIO and Co-Founder at Sleek Technologies. “As this happens, shippers will strug- gle to find a healthy balance between truckload cost and service which is why they need dynamic tools that uncover fair market price and find the ideal asset-based carrier.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
The study found that 96 percent of shippers have in- vested in new technology or strategies to help boost freight procurement performance as a result of COVID-19, with 95 percent saying their freight procurement opera- tions have either “significantly improved” or “somewhat improved” since the start of the pandemic. “For decades, freight procurement has flown under the C-suite radar, and has been renowned for sticking with the status quo when it comes to process,” said Jai- mie Kowalski, VP Marketing of Sleek Technologies. “And with COVID-19 spurring on massive digital transformation efforts and investment, shippers are finally modernizing antiquated operations and freight procurement teams are reaping the benefits.” Per the research, 66 percent of respondents said that automating freight procurement operations has become a “high priority” for their organization with another 31 per- cent saying that it is a “medium priority.” “It’s amazing to see how many shippers still use static processes to manage their transportation needs and rout- ing guides,” said George Belle, Head of Product Engineer- ing at Sleek Technologies. “As unprecedented challenges become normal, shippers will need to ramp up automation efforts in order to mitigate rising truckload costs, and im- prove upon OTD to make the most of every dollar in their transportation budget.”
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