How have retailers, manufacturers and distributors who successfully control their global transportation costs made themselves Smarter, Stronger, Faster, Better?
They have supercharged their global logistics departments to quickly adapt to change through using an affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-based transportation management system – MercuryGate TMS.
Critical to the success of any logistics team is the ability to;
Negotiate and Procure the Optimal Rate
Transportation costs savings begin with procuring the best available rate for every load, no matter the lane and mode. Negotiate long term contracts with volume commitments with your carriers while maintaining the flexibility to find spot rates when the circumstances call for them. Public and private bid boards are both available so you’re sure to be always using the best available carrier at the best available rate.
Of course, the “best rate” isn’t always the lowest rate. There are other factors to be considered. Information is readily available about your carrier’s on-time, safety and environmental records from outside sources as well as your own historical records held within the TMS. The TMS will constantly collect carrier performance data and offer it back to you in a form that helps you always select the “best” available carrier.
Simultaneously Optimize Inbound and Outbound Transportation
Consolidating shipments into loads, making use of pooling scenarios, finding backhauls, and configuring efficient multi-stop route plans reduces driver miles and squeezes maximum savings from the transportation spend. Regardless of whether the focus is on inbound or outbound freight, or both, the MercuryGate TMS with Mojo delivers optimal results.
Select the Optimal Mode, Carrier and Rate
When planning loads, keeping your options available will help you find savings where you never expected. Using a true omni-modal TMS opens opportunities to take advantage of multiple service levels and mode shifts that reduce costs. Carrier information can be stored locally or accessed remotely using web services. To the user, all those rates and schedules are available from a single, easy-to-use interface. Planning multimodal, multi-leg loads is easy because the MercuryGate TMS does the heavy lifting.
Achieve Control Tower Visibility & Decision Support
“Where’s my stuff?” That question can come from a customer or internally. Either way, the answer has to be quick and complete. The MercuryGate TMS offers an easy-to-use interface and the ability to use the reference number that’s available to locate items down to the SKU level. If the item is packed in a carton, on a pallet, in a container, on a vessel in transit, you can quickly report accurate information about the current status and expected arrival time.
Better yet, what if you could be alerted to an issue before someone has a chance to notice and ask? Because the TMS is monitoring the movement of your freight day and night, notifications can be sent via email or text when issues arise. When someone asks about it, you can reply, “Relax. It’s already taken care of.”
When simply spotting an issue isn’t enough, adjustments can be made to the delivery plan to meet the new objectives. The MercuryGate TMS offers the ability to explore available options based on current carrier and schedule data. Collaborate with your partners in real time to find an acceptable alternative and to put the new plan into action.
Conduct Effective Freight Audits and Manage Payments
Your savings will continue even after loads are delivered. Unexpected charges, at the line item level, are automatically identified by the MercuryGate TMS. Invoices that fall within your range of tolerance are automatically passed to Accounts Payable for payment. The others are reviewed and disputed until they are also approved for payment.
Centralize & Standardize to Reduce Costs
Centralized carrier contract procurement, load consolidation, event management and other transportation management functions return huge rewards for many companies. Distributed transportation teams maintain direct control and visibility of their shipments but also leverage the efficiencies that come from centralization and standardization.
Standardizing transportation processes across the company streamlines operations and minimizes rogue spending. The MercuryGate TMS offers a configurable workflow tool to define processes for all users to follow. The resulting process minimizes keystrokes and opportunities for human error. It also insures everyone is following the same process and using the same data to support decisions that minimize transportation costs.
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