I traded messages recently with one of my old friends in Asia.  We worked together for many years in global logistics.  And we got to reminiscing about the mess we had with our bookings when the ocean markets were tight.  Every year there was at least one major lane that was underwater with too much demand. We laughed a lot at the crazy things we did to get our freight moving.  

When a trade lane is overbooked and capacity tight, everybody suffers.   But we did make some improvements as a team to manage tight capacity.   Below are some of our ideas and best practices.

The Importance of Building Strong Relationships

One of the key topics we discussed was the importance of building strong relationships with carriers and forwarders.

"I think one of the biggest factors in our success was our ability to build trust and rapport with our partner carriers and forwarders," my friend said. "When we took the time to understand their challenges, we were able to work together more effectively." 

Truly in the best relationships, which always landed  with “special people” on the other side, they would share tips on how they operated and provide insights on how we should adapt to get the best results.   For example, knowing what day of the week a port team of the carrier finalized their plans for allocations for the next week’s sailings.

I agreed with my friend. "Absolutely. And it's not just about the numbers and metrics; it's about building relationships and trust. We've been able to work through some tough issues because of those relationships."

Quarterly Reviews: A Game-Changer

Implementing quarterly reviews with our carriers and forwarders has been a game-changer. It gave us a structured way to discuss performance issues and opportunities for improvement.

And having executive sponsors attend those reviews has really helped to drive home the importance of  partnership. It created a special momentum especially in the first couple years.

Sailing Rollovers and Booking Delays

We also had issues in the past with rollovers and delays, but we were able to minimize them after some focus.  It helped that our origin management partner was catching them as they occurred and working with us to hammer the local carrier offices about leaving our cargo behind!   The carriers did not like getting called out, but they understood. And, subsequently, rollovers got to be a rare event.  It helps to keep that HOT LINE live with your partners!

Another key thing we did well was to build relationships with carrier country managers, the managing directors and also with branch managers. They were instrumental in helping us resolve issues and get things done quickly."   When visiting different countries, we set up face-to-face meetings.  They then insisted on breaking bread together..  As a result, ur teams got to know each other well.

Looking to the Future

You may be asking if the time and effort of building personal relationships really pays off. It does.  And it should be part of your strategy.  

You may be asking if this is all necessary as the technology improves and takes a bigger role.  Yes, the personal side is still critical.  It’s the  secret sauce that too often is forgotten  

WOWL can support your global logistics.  Sign up for a demo!    WOWL.io