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The emergence of mega
retail chains has resulted in mega-savings to consumers
but has also created some mega-headaches for shippers
and receivers. From the shipper's perspective these
headaches take the form of increased paperwork, specific
shipping and delivery windows, cancel dates and waiting
time. And this is just when everything goes as planned!
When anything happens, regardless of what it is, the poor shipper's headache
becomes a full-blown mega-migraine in the form of demurrage
charges (waiting time), cancelled delivery opportunities,
additional freight costs, strained buyer/seller relationships
and if that's not enough there are fines, fines and
more fines.
Through our LQS (Longbow Quality Systems) program, Longbow has developed a shipping
initiative in partnership with Speedy Transport Ltd. that we are happy to offer
to all our clients doing business with Wal-Mart and Costco. This new service
is called "Sure-Ship" and is available immediately. It requires that the
client be a little more organized up-front, but it eliminates all of the down
line hassles on the back end.
In Stage #1 we co-ordinate with your shipping department, gathering all details in an easy-to-use shared spreadsheet. With this information we schedule a pick-up date and time which allows for the necessary transit time. Your shipment is then delivered to Speedy Transport, an official qualified local carrier to both Wal-Mart and Costco.
In Stage #2 a delivery appointment is booked to coincide with other suppliers whose delivery window is similar to yours. Because they deliver hundreds of shipments weekly to these mega retailers, their systems are super-tuned to minimize the risk of missed or late deliveries, which result in non-compliance issues. They also process these deliveries faster than other carriers, minimizing waiting times. The Sure-Ship program has cut waiting times, in some cases by as much as 75%.
A major benefit to you, should there be any demurrage charges, is that they are split between all suppliers delivering into that window.
Moving forward Longbow will be extending the Sure-Ship program to include any major retailer that requires complicated delivery procedures. Through LQS we will continue to bring you benchmark service such as this from Speedy Transport.
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