At the end of 2019 Reveel launched its first-ever 1-Minute Shipping Survey, a short industry survey to collect feedback from our community of shippers. As we step into 2020, we want to know how we can best support and empower companies to take back control of their shipping contracts and cut shipping costs.
With datapoints from shippers all over the country, we see three primary trends emerging that we want to highlight for you.
Shipping Complexity is Increasing
With multiple carriers, new products, changing price points and Amazon’s continued influence in the market, shipping is getting more complicated each year. As highlighted in this year’s Shipping Rate Increase Guide, shippers must be diligent to stay up to speed on changing rates and additional fees to avoid unnecessary and erroneous charges. Partnering with Reveel means you get a second set of expert eyes on your shipping invoices through our Shipping Invoice Audit and a partner in negotiating your shipping contracts.
Trump Tariffs Create Confusion
Many of your expressed frustration and confusion around how Trump Tariffs will impact your business. Earlier this month Former White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said that President Trump’s tariffs “hurt the U.S.” and argued they did not benefit the administration in developing trade deals. Even the Port of Long Beach, one of the nation’s largest, has seen a 19.1% drop in export volume when October 2019 is compared with the same month in 2018. While no one is really sure the long-term effect of these tariffs, we are certain that wholesale and manufacturing companies will need to stay up-to-date and responsive to tariffs in the near future and Reveel is committed to partnering with you to understand the impact to your business.
Data is the Key to Savings
Not surprisingly, the power and value of big data is showing itself in the world of shipping. While emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to revolutionize industries like healthcare, finance and even the way we take pictures on our phones, they are now available to the shipping industry to give us new insights into millions of datapoints. Less than half our respondents reported using outside data to “manage trends, maximize efficiencies, and identify valuable opportunities for savings,” which means more than half of companies are losing out on the significant shipping savings that comes from understanding the data. Keep an eye out this year for news from Reveel about new ways to use these technologies to understand your shipping behaviors and costs (and find savings!)
Since 2006, Reveel has been dedicated to providing Shipping Intelligence® for the smartest business decisions possible. We believe 2020 is going to be our best year yet as we develop new tools and resources to increase our clients’ profitability.
Thanks to each of you who completed our 1-Minute Shipping Survey and a special shout-out to Joshua Leath of Snap-On Tools in Crystal Lake, Illinois, for winning the $500 Amazon gift card we raffled off to participants. Happy shipping shopping Joshua!
The Reveel App uses AI and machine learning to provide an unparalleled look into what’s impacting your bottom line. Through invoice audits, peer benchmarking, and rate modeling/simulations, you can see the health of your operation and assess pricing changes from parcel carriers like FedEx and UPS. Sign up for a free Reveel account today to see how you can leverage automation to synthesize your data, ship more for less, and reduce the time needed to identify issues and action items.
