The success or failure of any freight shipment is hinged on many aspects that are beyond a company’s control. While a transport company may do everything in its power to ensure a positive delivery, several factors can affect the shipment’s success, even after checks and quality assurances have been made. International political tensions can affect gas and oil prices, which can (and does) affect the customer’s wallet. Snowstorms can cause significant carrier delays and bottlenecks along the supply chain, and even workforce conflicts can interrupt deliveries, such as Canada Post’s December 2018 strike that effectively killed their all-important before-Christmas-guarantee arrival dates. Other disruption risks include:

New national and international regulations
Terrorism
IT blackouts or cyber attacks
Employee turnover

With the forces of nature constantly at play, how can transportation and logistics companies anticipate these potential delays when (not if) they happen while still offering the customer a solid and consistent service?

Data analysis might be the key.

Determining the Right Freight Partners

Unless your company is equipped with a crystal ball, there’s only so much you can anticipate. However, utilizing historical data to decide which carrier companies proved to be the most efficient in less-than-ideal situations will help you determine who to partner with in similar future events. Freight audit software allows you to take a more in-depth look at your carrier’s activities by analyzing the collected data that provides insightful metrics about your partners. Easily compare your revenue versus freight expenses to find out which carriers provided the greatest profit margins in similar scenarios.

When the Weather Gets Tough, Decisions Don’t Have to

Whether you’re shipping by air, rail, ship, or truck, Mother Nature will always have the final say. Even short deployments can be waylaid by black ice, squalls, and storms any time of year. Weather can affect your deliveries all along the supply chain in many obvious and indirect ways:

Fewer trucks available leading to capacity limitations
No more guaranteed arrival dates
A loss in customer loyalty and trust

If these situations occur, freight audit software lets you rearrange your freight flows better. The benefits of Orca’s software is that you’re given complete visibility and the data to make quick decisions, such as sourcing consolidation or multi-modal opportunities, accessing third-party temporary suppliers (for inbound shipments), and utilizing your resources to maximize your return on logistics spending. Building a plan for worst-case-scenarios is much easier when you have access to all necessary data and financials to make informed, calculated decisions, e.g. cost comparisons of standby carrier companies.

Orca Freight Audit Software offers more than 100% accurate invoice processing. It’s designed to empower your company to run as efficiently as possible by giving you accessible and easy-to-analyze data. Having this full visible audit trail on hand will bring you to swift resolutions at times where chaos-control is crucial.

To learn more about our software, contact us today!

Anticipating Worst-Case Scenarios Using Freight Audit Software