A recent SMC³ educational workshop covered the inherent value of data and how transportation companies can harness it to drive their digital transformation. Here’s how shippers, carriers, and 3PLs can move toward the data-driven future.

In order to build out best-in-class bidding strategies, both supply and demand side organizations need to invest in the right set of bidding and procurement tools to set them up for long-term success. Using tools like SMC³’s BidSense® enables shippers to engage a broad range of carriers, helping to gauge the offers of existing carriers against other providers to find the best deal amid a rapidly changing market rate.

Common understanding is the real measure of any good transportation contract. Every paragraph, every line, and every word should be chosen in a way that reduces confusion. In this follow-up session, Rocky Rogers and Rob Moseley of Moseley Marcinak Law Group picked up the thread by outlining a handful of additional “must-have” elements from the model agreement and what purpose they serve in an ideal contract.

As a part of the SMC³ LTL 204: US LTL Transportation Law & Regulations hybrid summer course, industry experts shared some of their tips for navigating transportation contracts and making sure your organization is prepared for anything.

Manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers, across industries, are finding their shipping needs have evolved to include new volume, new locations and new risk management solutions. As a result, many are opening up their RFP process to new prospective carrier partners as they look for better ideas and better prices to carry them forward into the post-pandemic world.

For the last year, shippers and carriers in the LTL industry have faced unprecedented challenges. During SMC³’s Basic Fundamentals of LTL Pricing & Costing course, Brian Thompson, chief commercial officer for SMC³, and Eddie Sorg, vice president of yield management for ArcBest, joined current students for a deeper discussion of what these changing dynamics look like and how both carriers and shippers can reimagine their workflows to create more efficient, profitable partnerships.