Supply chain disruptions are unfortunately a reality that businesses will face and have to learn to navigate efficiently. But would you know what to do should you run into any hiccups with your freight and your carrier? If you’ve read our last blog then you’ll already be well aware of some of the more common reasons why freight shipments may be delayed, go missing or turn up damaged. But, here we’re going to cover the steps that you can take to turn a bad situation around quickly.

Step One: Determine The Extent Of The Delay, Damage or Lost Shipment Quickly 🤔

When your freight partner messes up your shipments, the first step you should take is to assess the extent of the issue and how it impacts your operations and company brand.

Key questions to ask:

• What is the new expected delivery timeline?
• What are the financial and operational implications of the delay or failure?
• Figure out if your customers have been impacted, and do you need to have immediate communication with them?

At this stage, clear communication is vital. Asking these questions will give you a better understanding of what has gone wrong and how you and your shipping partner can rectify the issues promptly. Notify your supply chain managers and customer representatives so that way they can manage your customers expectations and adjust your operations if or as needed.

Step Two: Communicate With Your Freight Partner To Find A Resolution 📞

Don’t jump to conclusions and immediately look for alternative freight partners. Mistakes can happen, we’re all human. So, reach out to your shipping partner to see if they have contingency plans in place, many freight experts will have crisis protocols in place like, rerouting shipments, expediting deliveries, or offering alternative transportation solutions.

Key Points To Discuss With Your Shipping Partner:

• An account of what went wrong, why did the error occur?
• What is the recovery plan, how are we going to move forward and get your shipment back on track?
• Are you eligible to any compensations, discounts or rate adjustments because of the disruption caused?
• Moving forward, what is your freight partner going to do in the future to prevent something like this from happening again?

If you’re dissatisfied by any of these answers, then it might just be time to seek a different freight partner for future shipments. The best outcome in these sort of scenarios is for your freight partner to hold their hands up, apologize and be completely transparent in what went wrong and how they plan to rectify the problem.

Step Three: Turn To Back Up Logistics Options 🚚

To ensure your operations and business are not completely derailed by disruptions, a back up plan is essential.

Backup Strategies to Consider:

• Have a few contacts at alternative shipping companies as back up, in case of an emergency situation. It’s best to have a few in case one is at capacity when you call for an urgent solution.
• Use an expedited service when you contact an alternative carrier. This will prioritize your freight and hopefully make up for lost time.

The best supply chain strategies include risk management, so in the case of things going wrong you can pivot operations as quickly as possible.

Step Four: Update Customers On The Situation At Hand 🗣

Customers value open, clear and proactive communication above all else and transparency is key when you’re facing shipping delays or other shipping disasters. Being upfront with your customers about their shipments can maintain a great level of trust, especially if you’ve followed the previous steps too, they’ll see that you’re doing all you can to rectify any mishaps swiftly.

Best Practices for Customer Communication:

• Update your customers with real-time updates and let them know that you’re following all of the correct steps to get their freight back on track.
• Apologize for any inconveniences.
• Explain the full story of what went wrong with their shipment. Your customer will likely appreciate how open and real you have been with them if you share this information.

Step Five: Meet With Your Carrier And Discuss How You Can Move Forward & Avoid This From Happening Again 🤝

Maybe this was a blip from your carrier, and you’ve never experienced this while working with them before. Or maybe you’ve experienced multiple issues with them and the last one was the final straw, hence you searching the web for suggestion on how to handle freight disasters going forward. Or, finally perhaps it’s time for you to break up with your transportation provider completely!

Whatever your situation, once you experience supply chain disruptions because of one reason or another due to your provider, a meeting with them is essential. At this meeting, you might want to discuss again what went wrong and put measures in place to prevent future disruptions. Here are some steps you could follow:

• Track your partners reliability, are there certain peak seasons where you see more problems arising? In short, identify patterns!
• Utilize technology like real time tracking softwares to have thorough visibility over your shipments at all times. Never be caught off guard again!

With the correct procedures in place, you can turn a challenging time into an opportunity and streamline your operations even more.

Conclusion 💭

Supply chain disruptions can have significant consequences on your business, but by having proactive risk management in place and thorough crisis planning, you can keep your business one step ahead of the curve and minimize supply chain disruptions. So, if you’ve been let down by your carrier, we can be your back up! We work closely with all of our customers to ensure they’re always kept in the loop regarding their shipments. If there’s ever any disruptions we hold our hands up and own our mistakes, not many partners do. So if you want to work with a trust worthy and honest transportation provider then look no further and contact us at:

Phone: 888-SHIP-911 or use the link below. We hope to hear from you soon!😊

Want to work with a super reliable freight partner for your specialized or expedited shipments?

Today can be the day you stop struggling with shipping problems.

At PEI, we’re experts in dealing with specialized freight and can handle yours with any custom requirements.