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The Logistics of Logistics

Transforming the Shipper, Freight Forwarder Relationship with Sarah Barnes-Humphrey

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Transforming the Shipper, Freight Forwarder Relationship with Sarah Barnes-Humphrey

Sarah Barnes-Humphrey and Joe Lynch discuss transforming the shipper, freight forwarder relationship. As the founder of a company designed to connect shippers and freight forwarders, Sarah understands the dynamics of the shipper, freight forwarder relationship.

About Sarah Barnes-Humphrey

Sarah Barnes-Humphrey is a logistician turned supply chain marketer, passionate about bringing stories to life in an industry that has traditionally been about stats and numbers. As the host of the popular Let’s Talk Supply Chain Podcast (LTSC) blog and The SC, Supply Chain TV on YouTube, Barnes-Humphrey helps tell the stories and bring awareness to brands and hot topics in the industry, which includes her infamous Women in Supply Chain series. Recently named Top 100 most influential women leaders in Supply Chain (global) and Top 100 most influential Women in Canadian Supply Chain, Barnes-Humphrey has spent the past 20 years in logistics and supply chain and has now co-founded Shipz, a new technology platform encompassing all of her experience and knowledge in the supply chain bringing innovative, collaboration to the shipper and forwarder experience.

Shipz

Shipz is an online transportation booking platform for international freight movements and a supply chain ecosystem. Shipz helps importers and exporters move their products easily and more efficiently to grow their business outside their borders. Many mid-sized companies do import and export, and want to work with forwarders, but they are limited by the current process. Meanwhile, forwarders are equally strained by the amount of “free” work they do, and by being treated like a bank. Shipz is a neutral bid-and-ship platform for mid-market shippers, providing forwarders with a safe space to stay in the ring.

Let’s Talk Supply Chain

Let’s Talk Supply Chain is one of the Top supply chain podcasts and blogs on the market, In both, the podcast and the blog, you will learn about best practices, changes in the industry, and “hot topics” surrounding Supply Chain. Listeners have will hear from amazing thought leaders, women in supply chain, and disruptors in the industry.

Key Takeaways: Transforming the Shipper, Freight Forwarder Relationship

Small and Mid-Market Shippers and Freight Forwarders Struggle with the Quoting Process

  • The relationship between small and mid-market shippers and freight forwarders is often strained.
  • Small and mid-market shippers who are importing and exporting goods typically don't have the resources, volumes, and expertise of larger shippers so they require extra support from freight forwarders. Freight forwarders often find themselves spending additional time on smaller accounts and making less money.
  • Small and mid-market shippers often need a freight quote as part of their sales quote to their customers. Freight forwarders are wary of working hard on quotes that they may never move.
  • Small and mid-market shippers can also be wary and untrusting of freight forwarders because getting a quote is complicated and the quotes contain lots of line items and potential penalties.
  • Additional resentment from freight forwarders occurs when they find themselves submitting a lot of quotes and not winning very much business.

An Online Transportation Platform Specifically Designed for Freight Forwarders and Small to Mid-Market Companies Streamlines the Process and Eases the Tension

  • Shipz offers an online transportation platform that streamlines the quoting, booking, and payment processes while removing many of the factors that were aggravating for shippers and freight forwarders.
  • Shipz provides shippers a benchmarking tool (business intelligence) for estimating shipment pricing based on average cost for that origin/destination. With solid business intelligence at their disposal, shippers have confidence when working with freight forwarders, plus they don't have to pester freight forwarders for estimated pricing.
  • Shippers can also get a quote from multiple freight forwarders quickly and easily. The Shipz system compares the quotes "apples to apples" which saves time and money for both freight forwarders and Shippers.
  •  Freight forwarders using Shipz gain access to serious shippers who don't neccessarily needs lots of quotes for their sales process because they have access to business intelligence pricing tools (price benchmarking based on average priced paid).
  • Freight forwarders using Shipz quote on more business  and win more business because the system provides competitive feedback in a way that doesn't violate anybody's confidential pricing.
  • Lastly, freight forwarders using Shipz get paid fast, because no freight forwarders wants to be a bank.

Learn More About Transforming the Shipper, Freight Forwarder Relationship

Sarah Barnes-Humphrey

Let’s Talk Supply Chain

Shipz

The Logistics of Logistics Podcast