White Papers

Becoming a Shipper of Choice White Paper: Becoming a Shipper of Choice What Is a Shipper of Choice? The logistics industry operates in a cyclical nature with periods of tight and excess capacity. When capacity is tight, carriers can be much more selective about which shippers they work with and what loads they accept. Given the chance, carriers are going to choose to take loads from shippers that they have good experiences working with. A shipper of choice is a company that carriers want to work with because of the value the company brings to the partnership. Even when there is an excess of capacity, it's imperative for shippers to maintain strong relationships with carriers as these partnerships will be invaluable once the market returns to tight capacity. What Matters Most to Carriers When Working with Shippers? To gain deeper insight into the steps a company can take to become a shipper of choice, Echo surveyed our carriers to learn more about their relationships with shippers. The results support the widely held belief that it's crucial for shippers to have strong bonds with carriers. In fact, our survey showed that over a third of carriers (36.4%) stopped working with a shipper due to a poor relationship. Although many shippers might assume that high rates are the only reason for a carrier to stop working with them, our survey results showed that two other factors matter more to carriers when they consider terminating a working relationship. These include drivers' experiences while at shippers' docks, such as loading/unloading delays and poor treatment (45%), and issues with invoices being paid on time or in full (29.6%). High rates actually ranked the lowest of these factors at 21.9%. These matters are within the control of the shipper and are areas they should focus on as they work toward becoming a shipper of choice. Reason Percentage Loading / unloading delays 26.5% Rates 21.9% Poor treatment of drivers 18.5% Failure to pay invoices on time 15.3% Failure to pay invoices in full 14.3% Other 3.5% Total 100.00% Survey data gathered from 287 respondants. Here's How Your Company Can Be Recognized as a Shipper of Choice Echo Surveyed Carriers to Learn What Factors Matter Most to Them When Working with Shippers 2

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