Reducing freight rates comes from understanding your business, your specific needs and the logistics business as a whole. Parts one and two of that formula won’t challenge most business owners, but the logistics part can lead to head scratching or worse — unnecessary costs.

Fedex has agreed to pay $228 million to settle litigation claiming the company short-changed its drivers on pay and benefits by improperly labeling them as independent contractors. The settlement disclosed on Friday is directly related to a decision against the Memphis, Tennessee based package delivery company in August, when a federal appeals court in Oakland found that Fedex misclassified 2,300 Fedex Ground and Fedex Home Delivery drivers working in California from 2000 to 2007 as independent contractors.  After that ruling,  Fedex immediately sought a judicial review.  Fedex independent contractors have claimed for years that they should be considered employees and not independent contractors.  Under California law the employer / employee relationship is determined largely by the extent of power the employer has over the employee in the performance of their duties.  In the case of the Fedex contractors they were required to work overtime and provide replacement drivers, at their own expense, to fill in for their own sick and vacation time.  Lawyers for the plaintiffs said FedEx shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to the workers, including obtaining and operating Fedex branded trucks, Fedex branded uniforms and Fedex scanners. The attorneys also said the company didn't pay for missed meal and rest periods and overtime compensation. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Oakland ruled that the workers weren't independent contractors because Fedex controlled the manner in which drivers do their jobs, including scheduling, appearance and equipment requirements. The Ninth Circuit's decision reversed earlier court rulings in favor of Fedex in Indiana.   

The Independence Day holiday period has shown cargo is exceptionally vulnerable to theft because of reduced security or, in some cases, no security at all.  According to CargoNet, a division of Verisk Crime Analytics, 30 thefts were reported between July 2 and July 7 last year, and in 2012, 39 thefts were reported for the same period. Here are some tips on how you can beef up security for your goods in the warehouse and in transit.

Most larger businesses can easily afford to manage their own trucks and drivers. As a leader of your company’s logistics function, you know all-too-well that simple pickup and drop off does not add up to a complete 3PL logistics solution.

Skill, connections, leadership, negotiation leverage and extensive industry knowledge represent much of what your business looks for in 3PL logistics companies, but that’s not everything. Actually, none of those great attributes are worth a nickel if you don’t have a successful partnership and great communication.

Manufacturing companies spend a great deal of time looking for ways to beat their competition in new and innovative ways, whether it is through new manufacturing processes, better products or improved supply chain management. Manufacturing industry supply chain management can be difficult as you try to keep costs low and deliver goods and services to the customer in a timely manner. Fortunately, third-party logistics (3PL) providers offer many services that will improve a manufacturers’ supply chain.  

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared a permanent date to recognize transportation in the United States. He declared that from that week forward, it will always fall during the week in May which contains the third Friday (National Defense Transportation Day), with the Maritime Day falling on the day after, Saturday.

3PL companies strive to minimize transport costs and maximize the abilities of meeting their clients’ most demanding logistics needs. When it comes to logistics, the type of products to be transported, the method of transportation and the distance of transportation determines your ability to derive value from working with a third party logistics company. The efficiency of your supply chain is dependent on the level of efficiency of each component in the supply chain. In any company, you should be able to measure performance; the easiest way to determine whether the process is adding value to your company or not. Benchmarks should be set to determine the acceptable limits of performance given certain business environments.

Bad warehouse logistics practices lead to profit losses, whether you have dozens of warehouses at the core of your business or one which barely gets a second thought. In fact, there’s a strong chance that the less important you consider your warehouse, the worse off your current warehouse logistics are—but you should consider this a good thing. After all, inefficiency is an opportunity for more profit, as you figure out ways to cut down on the waste that’s eating your time, money, and resources (and perhaps find a new way to outperform your competitors). Today, we’ll cover five ways for any business to improve its warehouse logistics, and claim the profit hidden in your current flaws.