Beginning in the south and moving north as the winter turns to summer, produce season, (February to July) is the busiest time for growers and shippers. The frantic pace of harvesting and shipping required to keep produce at peak ripeness for customer leads to rate increases and truck shortages across the country. With refrigerated trucks concentrated in the southern produce states, even the northern states experience price hikes and scheduling conflicts due to supply chain effects.The pressure of finding the right shipping companies with so many pending demands can be challenging and lead to mistakes that can damage a business. Use these tips to help you get through the busy produce season, control costs and losses, and create strong shipping relationships that will lead to a more reliable shipping network. 

Attract the Best Carriers: A business that relies on shipping is only as good as its carriers. To attract the best transporters, you need to offer incentives and benefits above your competition. Find ways to maximize driving time, pay fair rates and conduct research to ensure your accessorials and fuel surcharges are in line or even more competitive than your counterparts. Perhaps, most importantly, make sure you pay them promptly.

To further your chances, make sure the carriers know that you value their time and understand their needs. Lag time while loading and unloading should be minimal, and the driver amenities should be top-notch. Having nice bathrooms, vending machines, and equipment to perform small repairs like refilling tires can help you stand out from the competition.

Strengthen Relationships with Providers: Continually searching for the cheapest shipping option might save money in the short term, but it ends up costing your business more than you save. The constant search takes up limited staff resources that could be better spent streamlining and improving your business, and by jumping from provider to provider, you risk suffering from bad service of an unknown provider. Even worse, your company is never able to build those important business relationships that can lead to long-term savings.

If you find a provider that provides excellent coverage and reliable service, there is value in building that relationship. Providing them consistent business can lead to long-term discounts and will give you solid contacts for times when you have tight turnarounds or need a trusted partner for important jobs.

Use Dedicated Providers: If you have consistent shipping needs, perhaps a recurring shipping job, look for dedicated service providers. Working to create a regular schedule or capacity commitment with fixed cost agreements should help your yearly shipping budget. As a bonus, it will significantly reduce the amount of time you spend trying to piece together a variety of shipping solutions to meet your regular commitments.

By having dedicated service agreements for consistent needs, your company will be able to plan costs and profits more accurately. And during the busy produce season, you will have already guaranteed yourself a shipping partner.

Consider Outsourcing Your Search: Shipping during the busy produce season can be stressful. Truck shortages not only lead to price hikes, but they can also impede your ability to ship your goods on time. Spending countless hours searching for the best prices and shipping solutions can take a toll on your staff's ability to focus on building important relationships between carriers and other service providers. Sometimes the best solution is to outsource your provider search. 

Freight Scouts is the non-asset based freight brokerage division of PBD Worldwide. We offer Truckload, LTL and Parcel Shipping solutions. Freight Scouts rests on the strong foundation created by PBD Worldwide over its 40 years in the Third Party Logistics (3PL) industry. Our job is to scout the best freight solutions for our shippers. Contact us to learn how we can help you find the best solutions for your shipping needs.