How to Cut Transport Costs Without Changing Company Strategy

In this episode of Rozmowy Logistyków, Piotr Skobało and Adam Sobolewski, continuing their series on logistics costs, discuss transport organization. They cover real solutions from their own experience that go beyond simply negotiating rates with carriers.

TRUCK FILL RATE: EVERY PERCENTAGE POINT COSTS REAL MONEY

Raising fleet fill rate from 70% to nearly 80% at one appliance company delivered savings in the millions — because better pallet or container packing translates directly into how many trucks are needed. Watch the profitability threshold, though: at low freight rates (e.g. from Asia at around 1,200-1,300 USD per container), time-consuming "Tetris packing" doesn't pay off, but at high rates (8,000-15,000 USD), raising fill rate from 94% to 99.5% means every twentieth container goes out practically for free — so the payoff of this optimization depends on the current freight price, it isn't fixed.

CONSOLIDATING CARRIERS INSTEAD OF SPREADING OUT

Working with 30-odd carriers for the same simple, repeatable transport (full-truckload, short routes) dilutes volume so much that no partner treats you as a priority, and different pricing structures make it hard to even compare offers. Consolidating from 40 to 20 carriers in one project delivered better rates, less admin, and better service — because a larger volume with fewer partners makes it worthwhile for the carrier to dedicate customer service to you. That's not always the best path, though: working directly with many small carriers, bypassing freight forwarding, can also be effective — it depends on the specific situation.

THE TENDER PROCESS: RFI, TRANSPARENCY, NUMBER OF PARTNERS

A well-built process for sourcing transport starts with a legally non-binding inquiry (checked with a lawyer, so the volumes shown in the tender don't become a commitment), then an RFI (what the carrier is capable of delivering) and an RFQ (specific rates, often in a weight/distance or volume/distance matrix). The number of final chosen partners matters strategically — three or four key carriers give more bargaining power than spreading across ten or twelve.

BROKERS AND TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

For large full-truckload fleets, there are advanced TMS systems (e.g. Poland's Cargonet, or Transporeon); for courier shipments, integrators like Baselinker or Global Courier consolidate many carriers under a single interface — especially valuable for smaller companies without their own analytical resources. A broker doesn't just aggregate volume with other clients for better rates, it also provides tools for shipment tracking and returns management.

FREIGHT AUDIT: WHO CHECKS WHETHER THE COURIER BILLED CORRECTLY

Freight audit services (e.g. Innoship, Fairy) verify whether a carrier correctly billed for shipped parcels — especially relevant in cross-border, where rates vary regionally and even couriers make mistakes (not always in their own favor). Some of these firms work on a success-fee model — they only get paid out of the savings they generate, which makes the service practically risk-free for the client. Manually comparing the price lists of many European couriers is complex enough that using specialists in this narrow field can be more effective than building your own analytical competence from scratch.

RETURN ROUTES AND PLANNING AHEAD

Distribution companies usually optimize fill rate in only one direction (to the customer, hitting 95-98%), ignoring the return route, which often comes back practically empty — total two-way fill rate then drops to around 60%. A solution can be planning a pickup for the next delivery on the way back (cabotage between factories and regional warehouses). The condition for success is planning ahead — an order for "100 trucks to France next week, broken down by day" gives a carrier a much better chance to optimize than daily ad hoc orders.