Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) | Market, Trends, Growth | Suppliers Analysis

Strategic Sourcing Guide to Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) Procurement

Overview

A changing ecosystem within the Transport market also affects the procurement process, cost dynamics and supplier attractiveness for the buyers of Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL). Large global suppliers are entering into JVs and M&As with vendors that can provide them a solid footing for regional play.

Managing the logistics risks and building a resilient supply chain has taken the centerstage among corporate priorities. Companies are investing heavily to be able to detect disruptions in time and respond in a manner which does not put the core operations at risk. All suppliers within the ecosystem are expected to play their part and embrace the processes, tools and technologies that their customers have implemented to build a resilient supply chain.

Suppliers are increasingly adopting a demand-driven planning of their assets and resources to reduce costs and optimize operational efficiency. Part of the cost savings are passed on to buyers, but this also creates supply chain risks for them that need to be managed jointly with the supplier.

Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) Procurement Best Practices

It has become imperative for category managers to remain as agile as possible in terms of their procurement practices. However, it is not always easy to quickly spot and implement alternative practices in a category like Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL). To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Buyers prefer to engage with service providers that offer robust technological systems and leverage Internet-based systems to reduce cost and simplify visibility across the supply chain. Buyers should also assess the integration capabilities of software platforms offered by service providers to ensure that there are no additional costs incurred for software implementation.

It is important that buyers assess the operating model of service providers to determine the best-fit case for their organizations. Buyers need to determine if services offered by the providers are comprehensive and involve adequate resource support and a well-defined customizable execution plan.

Buyers should enter in long-term partnerships and collaborative relationships with service providers to benefit from economies of scale and reduced cost. Long-term contracts are established to avoid renewal costs and avoid time spent on renegotiation.

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Risks in Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement

Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement. Some examples include:

Contract-related risks where unfavorable credit terms may severly penalize buyers for delayed payments or entitle the supplier to demand pre-payments or shorten the payment terms are not very common in the category but they do exist in certain situations where buyers' liquidity or financial health is in question
The category is highly impacted by the global economic factors. Economic downturn and political upheaval, particularly in major international markets such as the US and China, results in huge uncertainties. Uncertainty in customer demand owing to changes in freight and shipping market from general economic fluctuations and decline in international freight demand negatively impact the category
Suppliers may face a situation where they are unable to honor a contract in its entirety due to shortage of resources, finances or capabilities. While contractual terms safeguard buyers from the non-performance, their operations could still face massive disruptions due to suppliers' non-performance

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Who should read this report

The report is intended to serve as a one-stop reference guide for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement strategy and offers a perfect blend of category basics with deep-dive category data and insights. Therefore, it is ideal for category beginners looking for “Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL): Procurement Report 101” as well as for category experts actively tracking the global Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement market.

You may have just initiated your research to design a winning Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement strategy, or you may be a category expert looking for strategic insights and updated data.Either ways, the report has your requirements covered.

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Key questions on Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement answered by this report

Procurement decisions can prove to be costly in the absence of careful deliberation and evaluation of every available option. In fact, more than 90% of the decision makers we work with acknowledge that timely availability of up-to-date category intelligence can help them make better purchasing decisions. More than 80% of them believe that in-house category intelligence needs to be updated periodically to achieve full benefits. If you have read so far, we are quite sure you agree!!

The Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement report helps take more informed decisions by placing all the critical information and advice at the fingertips of a decision maker. It also specifically answers some of the key questions that we have been routinely asked during our industry outreach initiatives:

What is the spend potential in the Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) market?
What is the correct price to pay for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL)? What are the key trends and factors that influence current and future pricing?
Which selection criteria are the most important for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) Suppliers Market?
Who are the top Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) suppliers? What are their cost structures?
Which negotiation levers can reduce Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement cost ?
What are supplier margins in Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) market?
What are the best practices for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement and what are the potential risks?

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Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) Category Insights: What is inside

The Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) market report offers a complete picture of the supply market and analyzes the category from the perspective of both buyers and suppliers. Analysis of the category trends, procurement best practices, negotiation levers and overall category management strategy advisory are interspersed with in-depth data and commentary on spend outlook, pricing ecosystem and supplier landscape drilled down to a region-level coverage.

Data

A key highlight of this report is the in-depth outlook created on Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement spend and pricing trends. The report further delves deep into the aspects of cost structure, total cost of ownership and supplier margins for Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL). A dedicated section to supplier profiles and evaluation helps decision makers cast a wider procurement net and identify gaps in existing relationships.

Insights

Along with specific category and supplier intelligence, the publication also includes curated insights on Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) market trends, price influencers and inherent risks. These insights help the decision makers prepare for market shaping trends in advance and create alternative strategies for changes in the market conditions.

Advisory

Additionally, the report also advises on the best practices and strategies to manage the Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) category efficiently. Negotiation levers and opportunities are explained in detail along with quantification of their potential. Benchmark KPIs for supplier and buyer performance management are also aggregated to better organize the category objectives. Other themes of advisory include ideal procurement organization structure, enablers to achieve KPIs or category objectives and ideal SLAs to have with suppliers.

Category Ecosystem

Buyer and supplier ecosystem
Competitiveness index
Buyer and supplier power
Threat of new entrants and substitutes

Global and Regional Sourcing Insights

Category spend
Spend growth
Dynamics
Opportunities

Pricing and Cost Analysis

Pricing outlook and data
Drivers of pricing
Cost structure and inputs cost
Total cost of ownership
Pricing models and margins

Cost Saving Opportunities & Negotiation Strategies

Buyer and supplier side levers
Quantified cost saving opportunities
Negotiation strategies and quantified outcome

Procurement Best Practices, Strategy and Enablers

Procurement excellence
Sustainability and innovation
KPIs and category enablers
Risk management and outsourcing

Vendor Analysis

RFx essentials and selection criteria
SLAs
Supplier evaluation metrics
Detailed supplier profiles

Our research is complex, but our reports are easy to digest. Quantitative analysis and exhaustive commentary is placed in an easy to read format that gives you an in-depth knowledge on the category without spending hours to figure out “what does it mean for my company?”

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Category Research Framework

SpendEdge presents a detailed picture of Less-Than-Truckload Freight (LTL) procurement solutions by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The analysts have presented the various facets of the market with a particular focus on identifying the key category influencers. The data thus presented is comprehensive, reliable, and the result of extensive research, both primary and secondary.