301: Driving Your Parcel Performance: Contract Monitoring

You asked, and we are delivering – with another brand new mini-series, featuring the logistics expert, tech innovator and firm Let's Talk Supply Chain favorite… Sifted! We wrapped up our "Tomorrow's Insights Delivered Today" mini-series with Sifted back in September and it was a real success. I got to talk to some new faces, and old friends, and start to really get under the skin of who Sifted is and what they do. So, over the course of our new "Driving Your Parcel Performance" series, we're going to dive even deeper. This time, we'll be putting the spotlight on their Carrier Management Suite and taking a closer look at how it can help you to take a proactive approach to contract management, from ensuring compliance and negotiating rates, to controlling spend and improving relationships. Today in Episode 1, Contract Monitoring, I'm joined by Jeremy Lee, VP of Business Solutions, at Sifted, to take a closer look at Sifted's contract monitoring solution: how it works; avoiding surprise costs; switching from a reactive to a proactive approach; and exactly how Sifted are helping to drive success for shippers.   IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:   [01.42] An introduction to Sifted's brand new product, their carrier management suite. "It's not just a brand new product for us, but it's brand new for the industry – it's really never been done before!" [03.28] A closer look at the development of the suite – why it was a product Sifted was keen to build, what it's designed to do and the feedback from customers so far. "What we really wanted to do, was to take all of the power we have at Sifted, and put it into the hands of the clients." [05.00] An overview of Sifted's contract monitoring solution, part of the carrier management suite. "Shippers move between those tiers quite often and our customers kept asking us where they were in their tiers, what happens if they fall, what happens if they climb?" [07.02] Some of the key challenges when it comes to contract monitoring, what Sifted have seen with their clients, and the impacts of those challenges industry-wide. "We're in unprecedented times – everybody just wants precedented times for Christmas!" [09.06] Exactly how the contract monitoring functionality, within the Sifted carrier management suite, helps to tackle those specific challenges. "You can't control what you can't see, and what you can't measure." [11.24] A deeper dive into exactly what customers can do with Sifted's contract monitoring tool, including alerts before tier or price changes and modeling spend. "Often, when you're negotiating a pricing agreement, reps will use promotional rates or teaser incentives that are set for maybe 12 months, and then they rapidly decrease over time. And as those are decreasing, their general rate increases are going up. It has a compounding impact, so you absolutely have to keep in front of those." [14.19] The positive business impact of shifting your mindset from reactive to proactive, with the help of a tool like Sifted's carrier management suite. "We all want to sell more product and when you have those orders coming in and your carrier says "sorry, we can't take them" – that's a problem." [17.50] The top and bottom line benefits, to shippers, carriers and industry-wide, that come about when businesses start to optimize their contract monitoring, take a proactive approach and feel empowered to make data-driven decisions. "The wider effects to the industry will be streamlining antiquated, or even non-existent processes; eliminating some excess waste… and empowering shippers to do more – and I think, now more than ever, we're all trying to do more with less." [20.40] A taste of how the different solutions within Sifted's Carrier Management Suite work together to create a holistic, bigger picture and ultimately set clients up for success. "This is the first true cradle to grave technology solution for parcel expense management." [21.56] The ideal client for Sifted's contract monitoring solution. "I don't think anybody is too large or too small to benefit from this. If you have a carrier contract with agreed pricing, customized to your business, then monitoring is going to be valuable." [23.26] A case study showing how Sifted's contract monitoring solution helped a parent company to identify an issue with a sub-brand that was not using preferred shipping rules, ultimately saving the business money, providing transparency and allowing the client to optimize their operations. [26.07] Jeremy's final words.   RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:   Head over to Sifted's website now to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with Sifted and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, or you can connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed the show, why not check out our first mini-series in collaboration with Sifted. In episode 286, Ami Bensman took a closer look at the Sifted Score; in episode 288, Kevin Miller talked all about simulation and modeling; in episode 290, Caleb Nelson took us on a deep dive into Sifted's Parcel Audit solution for shippers; and in episode 293, Adam Moulding introduced us to Sifted's Contract Management Suite. Check out our other podcasts HERE.