Follow us
October marks the peak of the produce shipping season in the Midwest, with states like Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska experiencing high crop yields. For shippers, this creates challenges such as capacity shortages, fluctuating rates, and tight timelines. To stay competitive and efficient, it’s essential to understand the challenges and leverage the right transportation management software and tools to navigate them.
Peak seasons often cause freight rates to be unpredictable due to increased demand. Using freight management software allows you to access real-time market data, helping you make informed decisions when securing capacity. By leveraging predictive analytics, you can forecast rate trends and secure more cost-effective freight options. Tools like ProcureOS allow you to quickly compare rates through real-time benchmarking, providing insightful analytics so you're not caught off guard by unexpected rate hikes.
Managing multiple carriers becomes a complex task with crops like corn and soybeans driving up freight demand. A carrier management system helps streamline this process by automating load assignments and carrier communication, reducing manual work. ProcureOS’s automation functionalities simplify carrier management, allowing you to handle the Midwest’s fluctuating capacity with ease.
Carrier shortages can be common, especially in high-output states like Nebraska and Iowa. Additionally, access to temperature-controlled capacity, that keeps produce safe for consumption, can be difficult to source. Adopting a multi-carrier shipping strategy ensures that you aren’t overly reliant on one provider. By diversifying your carrier options, you can stay flexible and avoid delays when individual carriers reach capacity. Should extra capacity be needed Emerge Marketplace has an extensive vetted, including reefer-capable, carrier network ready to haul your produce.
The ability to manage shipments efficiently during the Midwest’s busy season is key. A shipping management system consolidates all of your shipping data into one platform, providing visibility into each step of your shipments. ProcureOS’s centralized dashboard provides access to detailed visualizations of your shipment’s location, live updates on your shipment’s progress, and optimizes your operations to maintain efficiency even as demand surges.
The produce shipping season presents shippers with significant challenges, including fluctuating rates and tight capacity. With the support of a platform like ProcureOS, you’ll have the insights, tools, necessary capacity, and flexibility to navigate the harvest season efficiently, minimizing disruptions to your supply chain.
