Optimization: The action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource.

 While it may be exaggerating to say the sky is falling on the logistics industry right now, we’re not far off. All across the globe, businesses are scrambling to keep up with customer demand, while their supply chains are still plagued by bottlenecks and shortages. In the background, the effects of rising inflation and oil prices continue to take their toll. If this isn’t a perfect storm yet, just wait.

During these troubled times, it may be tempting to batten down the hatches, ride the storm out, and just try to get to the other side. Unfortunately, there’s no telling when this storm will break, and waiting for the situation to fix itself is a recipe for disaster.

Bold decision makers know: Now is the time to grab the wheel and steer.

Optimization is a mindset that is deeply ingrained here at Zero Down. We continuously strive to provide our clients with the tools they need to ship better. No matter your situation, or the global landscape, there are things you can do right now to make a difference to your bottom line. In today’s logistics marketplace, perfect may be a long way off, but better is only a small step away.

How Does Freight Optimization Work?

Our Freight Optimization service takes that positive mindset and applies it to your unique shipping profile in three ways:

• Freight Pay and Audit:

The first step in our Freight Optimization process is ensuring comprehensive visibility, using our proprietary advanced logistics platform, FreightOptics. We connect directly with your carriers to electronically pull all your freight data into our central business intelligence hub. From there, our system automatically audits your freight invoices to ensure proper cost avoidance, as well as providing consolidated billing, making it quick and easy to accurately pay your bills.

• Contract Negotiation:

Once we have all your data loaded and audited for accuracy, the next step is simple: Get better rates. This is where many businesses fall short though, because they either lack the tools or expertise needed to navigate complicated contract negotiations. Zero Down provides both, through our best-in-class technology suite and decades of experience. We provide the data and knowledge you need to get where you want to go.

• Transportation Management System:

Finally, after we secure those new rates for you, our industry leading TMS makes it easy to fully take advantage of them. Our system instantly lets you pull multiple quotes, find the least cost option that works best for your business needs, print labels and BOL’s, and then track the shipments in real time.

There is no doubt the world is a difficult place right now. Businesses looking to survive have two options: Hunker down and wait for things to get better, or, step up and make a move. ‘Fortis fortuna adiuvat,’ and markets tend to as well. Optimizing your freight spend now may mean the difference between surviving these troubled times, and thriving in them. Take the leap, put in the effort, and set your company up for success for years to come.

You Can Be Better. We Can Help.