VIEWPOINT: It’s a numbers game and we can’t win without you

A few years ago we embarked on a bold experiment to greatly enhance our coverage and understanding of the Canadian transportation and logistics market place. We saw shippers struggling with a daunting set of challenges and wanting closer, more collaborative relationships with their service providers as a way to overcome them. We also saw transportation and logistics service providers besieged by their own set of challenges and desiring more constructive dialogue with their customers.

Both sides wanted and needed to reach out to each other but for that dialogue to be constructive it needed to be based on accurate information. And in the Canadian transportation and logistics market that was often sadly lacking, particularly when compared to the amount of data available south of the border.

Rates were rising across all modes but how did rate increases actually compare year to year or from mode to mode and what was the specific magnitude of those increases in each section of the country? There was a trend towards implementing surcharges for things such as detention time or border security programs, but just how widespread were such practices? And, considering the growing understanding of the impact of supply chain performance on a company’s financial performance, how did carriers rate when it came to providing service?

Third-party logistics providers spoke about tailoring products to their clients’ needs but just what were the unique requirements of Canadian shippers? And exactly what kind of measurable benefits could be gained by outsourcing?

And finally, there was clear demand to attract more people to the logistics industry but what made for an attractive financial package when one considered location, company size, sector, and other factors?
Such information in large part was either non-existent in the Canadian market place, hidden away in private data files or contained in sources so dispersed it was difficult to put it all together to create an accurate picture.

This was the void we tried to fill by creating our own research group to gather, analyze and compare any market research that was available and to fill in the many gaps by conducting our research. Our efforts have now grown to the point where we conduct more than eight major research projects every year, many of them in partnership with major industry suppliers, associations and educational institutions, surveying both buyers and providers of transportation services.

As a result we are able to confidently say, for example, that 80% of shippers using truck transport saw their rates increase in 2004 and contrast that with rate increases in every other mode as well as with what happened five years ago. We are also able to pinpoint the magnitude of those increases. For example, 56% of shippers using marine transport saw their rates rise by more than 4% in 2004 while 10% experienced increases higher than 17%. We know that 42% of Canadian companies relying on outsourcing have seen their supply chain costs decline while another 10% have experienced inventory declines, and we have captured the magnitude of those declines. And our research has also been able to capture salary trends for supply chain professionals across the country and provide trending over the past six years.

Being able to answer these and many other critical questions would not have been possible, however, without your help. Survey after survey you have risen to the challenge, taking the time to respond to our surveys in such high numbers that we, our survey partners, and those auditing our surveys, could feel very confident in the results. Our latest research, the Shipper’s Choice Survey, which reports on the service performance of some of Canada’s largest carriers across all modes enjoyed a record response (look for the results in our August issue.) To all of our readers who have taken the time to fill in our surveys year after year. I would like to extend a huge thank you.

I would also like to thank the many associations and educational institutions who have invited me to present the results at their events, providing ready forums to present, discuss and debate the results and the trends they point to. It is exactly this kind of discussion that we believe will help foster better understanding between shippers and their service providers.

What can you expect from us in the future? More of the same but even more tailored to your specific sectors. In a world dominated by information we realize that unless a publication has something special, unique and valuable to say, it has nothing to say.

WORTH REPEATING
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that we set our aim too high and miss our goal, but that we set our aim too low and hit it." — Michelangelo