307: Driving Your Parcel Performance: Virtual Sandbox

It's the fourth and final episode of our Driving Your Parcel Performance mini-series, in collaboration with Sifted! Last week in episode three, I was joined by Elle Brown for an episode called "Check Engine Light!" We talked all about measuring your contract health; contract compliance; strengthening carrier relationships; and the growing trend in ensuring customer success. And today in episode four, the final episode in the series, we'll be jumping into Sifted's virtual sandbox! I'm joined by Cameron Clark, Product and Logistics Engineer at Sifted, to talk all about contract modeling; its role in providing internal visibility, as well as external carrier management; and empowering businesses to negotiate with confidence in a very challenging environment.   IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:   [01.32] How Sifted's virtual sandbox complements the other tools within the carrier management suite, to help support shippers in their contract negotiations, aid understanding and simplify the process. [03.05] The relationship between shippers and carriers, and the challenges in the current environment from a negotiation standpoint. "It's an interesting dynamic out there right now… you've got to really understand where you're coming from, what kind of shipping profile you have and be able to maximise that for what the carrier's are doing… it's no longer an us versus them, it's really become a partnership." [05.02] How simulation and modeling can give customers a leg up when it comes to difficult contract negotiations in a carriers market. "Modelling is the first step. It's going to show you, in a simplified way: 'here's where your spend is, here's where you can make the biggest impact, here's where you can make improvements' – and really give you that roadmap." [06.50] How data can help shippers to understand the carriers perspective, make themselves more desirable as a client, have more successful conversations and ultimately give them the confidence to make better decisions. [10.40] As both a logistics and product engineer, how Cameron uses his passion and expertise to work with clients to help them engineer and execute strategies. "I get to take all of that information and all of the requests I get and say 'we need a software solution for this.'" [12.13] The many negotiable parts within any one contract, and how Sifted can help shippers model changes. "We have an entire engine built to say… 'you have this discount today, but we really think you should be aiming for this discount' and to help guide you through that process." [15.35] A closer look at how the virtual sandbox works. "It's geared towards doing everything in bitesize chunks, rather than being thrown 150 different variables all at once… you can see those dollar amounts change service by service until you've completed your entire contract." [16.48] How Sifted's virtual sandbox can support the challenges of dual sourcing, and how that functionality will expand, based on customer feedback. [17.53] How the virtual sandbox can help with internal buy-in, stakeholder management and team development. "One of the first bits of feedback we got when we started to show this tool was 'this is the best thing I've ever seen to be able to teach my own teams how a contract works!'" [21.16 ] The ideal client for Sifted's virtual sandbox. [22.00] How shippers have been using Sifted's tools to better understand how contract negotiation works, and shine a light on carrier relationships. [25.42] Cameron's final thoughts for the future of the industry. "The market today is more volatile than ever… and if you're still working from Excel spreadsheets and sticky notes, there's a better way! There are tools out there to make your life easier and help you get more effective results." 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 Cameron on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed the show, why not catch up with the rest of our Driving Your Parcel Performance series: episode 301, Contract Monitoring , episode 303, Better Performance and episode 305 Check Engine Light. Don't forget that you can also listen to our Tomorrow's Insights Delivered Today 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 modelling; 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.