- Is your company under pressure to reduce overall freight spend without impacting service?
- Does your company seek improved visibility of goods in transit?
- Is your company seeking to reduce the internal manpower required to support logistics, without completely ceding control to a 3PL?
FORTE’s Transportation Optimization service can help address these needs. FORTE begins with a strategic look at current transportation management processes, and maps these to industry best practices. A technology roadmap is then developed to facilitate effective transportation management. FORTE can assist with selecting the technology vendors to partner with, and can oversee software implementation and rollout to the carrier network. FORTE can help optimize transportation through tactics such as mode optimization, continuous moves, back-hauling, and load building. FORTE can analyze freight spend, manage carrier bid processes, and help implement freight bill audit and payment to provide complete “closed loop” transportation spend management. Key service areas include:
- Transportation management process improvement
- Technology assessment
- Selection & implementation of Transportation Management Software (TMS)
- Help implementing best practices such as:
- Routing and scheduling inbound freight
- Electronic carrier communications:
- Tendering/acceptance
- Invoicing/payment
- Track and trace
- Automated carrier bidding
- Routing guide compliance
- Load optimization
- Electronic freight bill audit and payment
- Spend analytics
FORTE’s CONTINUIM methodology and deliverables for Transportation Optimization:
| |
Deliverables |
Process |
| Plan |
- Map current transportation management processes to best practices, including strategic planning, transportation procurement, load optimization, tendering & acceptance, audit & payment, visibility
- Map transportation management technology, current & future state
|
- Project Design Criteria
- Business Process Review
- Description of Operations
- Operational Metrics Projection
- Benchmarking Exercise
- Operational Characteristics Diagram
- Data Management Assessment
- Process Flow Charts
- Transportation Management Technology Roadmap
|
| Design |
- Select transportation management technology vendors
- Optimize transportation
- In-depth spend analytics
- Carrier score-carding
- Community benchmarking
- Mode optimization
- Inbound/outbound optimization
- Routing guide compliance
|
- Supply Chain Application Review
- Return On Investment Model
- Transportation Modeling Collateral
- Transportation Optimization Outputs
|
| Implement |
- Implement transportation management technology
- Manage carrier bid process
- Formalize carrier contracts
- Create electronic rate tables and routing guides
|
- Success Criteria
- Project Plan
- Electronic RFQ
- Scenario Analysis & Recommendations
- Carrier Contracts
- Electronic Rate Tables
- End-of-Project Summary
|
| Optimize |
- Assess project success
- Recommend remedial action as required
- Recommend further process improvement opportunities
- Review of larger business changes and their impact on transportation
|
- Project Follow-Up
- Revised Transportation Technology Roadmap
|
 Read the related article, “Seven ‘Coping Skills’ for High Fuel Prices”
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Distribution
Strategic 
