This blog is co-authored by Redwood Logistics and Blue Yonder.

Whether it’s rolling COVID-19 lockdowns in port-heavy provinces or the dozens of ships waiting to offload at the ports in California, there’s not nearly enough capacity to fulfill demand.  

Even as the current driver shortage in the U.S. begins to improve, shippers expect to face the same challenges for the next several months. This includes fluctuating rates that can spike at any moment. With tightening freight capacity, shippers need more carrier coverage to make an informed decision about the right price to be paid to transport freight. 

In this blog, we’ll discuss the challenges the supply chain faces today, why conventional rating methods no longer fit the bill, and how Blue Yonder’s Dynamic Price Discovery (DPD) and Redwood Logistics’ rating APIs can help shippers during peak demand.  

The Problem with the Status-Quo 

Shipping freight and the costs that come with it are often seen as fixed. And in today’s market with rising demand comes astronomical costs, making it even more difficult for shippers to find an affordable solution. Current capacity constraints and cost inflation are driving supply chain and transportation leaders to leverage other KPI’s. By doing so, leaders can adjust their strategies to allow shippers to get a realistic idea of their network and to prepare for the unexpected.  

Reuters has also identified that much like the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic disruption, the global shipping crisis is looking like it will delay the traffic of goods and fuel inflation well into 2023. As most of the world’s merchandise is shipped by sea; this risks a global inflation that’s proving more trouble than anticipated. If supply chain and transportation leaders don’t consider the rise in demand and affordable carrier solutions, what would that transpire to for the shippers? 

Sticking with the status-quo can hurt shippers in the long run by not: 

  • Leveraging carrier networks. Requesting multiple quotes from multiple carriers is not only a waste of time, but it also doesn’t allow shippers to effectively manage spikes in freight demand. 
  • Planning for disruption. The pandemic revealed numerous holes in the supply chain. During times of peak demand, shippers should not have to spend time and effort collaborating with carriers to ensure capacity is available with short notice and at the right price – while balancing everything else. 
  • Utilizing the latest technology. Without the support of automated systems to retrieve quotes for freight and track spikes in demand, as well as access to real-time updates, shippers can find themselves in a tricky and costly situation. 
  • Improving Visibility: With little insight on the market and availability, shippers can’t cost-effectively plan and coordinate shipments.  

Seek Better Rates with Dynamic Price Discovery 

DPD solves the issues above by providing access to true market rates to shippers in real-time, resulting in connectivity for freight management, reduced shipping costs, and increased profitability for both shippers and freight carriers. 

DPD is integrated within Redwood’s real-time Rating API offering, providing instant truckload rates to any customer directly within their Transportation Management Systems (TMS). Rating API connects customers with Redwood’s prebuilt, robust carrier and private capacity networks, enabling one-click access to hundreds of carriers with a drag and drop functionality that delivers speed, security, and scalability. 

In addition to cost and time savings, joint customers realize numerous benefits from our combined solutions: 

  • Instant connection to real-time market rates, capacity, and carriers. Instead of spending hours requesting multiple quotes across different carriers, DPD automatically retrieves quotes for freight by shipper specifications.  
  • Better and more informed decisions around load tendering. In the scenario where the primary carrier does not meet your request, you will receive additional access to other carriers to reduce hindrances in freight demand.  
  • Automate supply and demand coordination. In addition to providing instant connection to real-time market rates, capacity, and carriers, DPD also includes coverage support if volume exceeds the shipper’s procurement.  

Conclusion

The only way to keep your business moving, make better tendering decisions, and avoid rising rates is to have the necessary tools and information in your back pocket. Dynamic Price Discovery leverages the Blue Yonder Shipper Network to provide near real-time communication and visibility to shipper requests. With the help of Redwood’s Rating API offering, customers will be exposed to bookable rates through their TMS and guaranteed capacity within seconds. To learn more about Redwood’s Rating API tool here. Learn more about Blue Yonder’s DPD solution here.