4 Ways To Improve Inbound Vendor Management

Inbound supply chain management can oftentimes suffer and this is due mostly because it is so elaborate and requires a lot of attention. Lack of control and poor visibility many times leaves shippers at a loss for appropriate strategies and tools. In fact, research tells us that a large percentage of shippers are not prepared adequately to manage inbound freight.

Unfortunately, lack of control over inbound freight results in inadequate planning, poor visibility of product flow and increased transportation costs. Deploying an effective inbound vendor management will significantly improve transportation efficiency and thus reduce cycle time which will lead to cost reductions.

To avert some of these obstacles, shippers can benefit from the following 4 suggestions to improve inbound vendor management:

1) A Vendor Compliance Program: Creating a vendor compliance program lets shippers find a good measurement method that reports inbound freight performance, which proves to be the most effective for consistency and dependability in vendor management.

2) Direct Shipment Control: E-commerce orders are usually shipped straight from a vendor, which elevates delivery quality issues for a company. Since the vendor’s delivery quality represents the shipper’s brand, the shipper must take control over the delivery times and quality.

3) An Expert Partner: Hiring a third party logistics provider (such as Millennium Logistics Management) with years of knowledge and experience will engage in a custom inbound freight strategy designed to enhance performance and reduce costs.

4) Transportation Management System Software: Using a Transportation Management System (TMS) Software with detailed reporting capabilities for visibility provides a combined margin between vendors, shippers and suppliers where reliable data and performance analytics run through a single system and are shared by those with overlapping supply chains. TMS software helps automate manual tracking processes and paperwork, which makes collaboration much more efficient.

Ultimately, by assessing your company’s inbound strategy you create an opportunity for better planning, which allows a shipper gain control over shipments and costs that will lead to extraordinary operational improvements and increased profitability.

Millennium Logistics Management provides top-of-the-line inbound vendor management services and has mastered the ability to provide you with the best routing at the best cost. Contact them today!