Transportation costs might be temporarily low, but as soon as demands start picking up, you know they’re going to spike again. Fortunately, there’s a way to control transportation costs regardless of demand, or fuel costs, and an article last summer in Industry Week on rethinking transportation costs offered up some suggestions that are worth a quick review.

• Know Your Carrier
  Know what keeps your carrier up at night and what you’ll need to do to take a more collaborative approach to solving your collective challenges.
• Trucks, Trains, Ships, and Planes — Which is right for you?
  Consider alternate routes and alternate modes … maybe there are (much) cheaper options if you can be a little flexible on your delivery dates and transit times.
• Let Your Network Be All It Can Be
  Reconsider your manufacturing locations, distribution strategies, off-shoring strategies, and customers. Do you have the right number, the right locations, the right strategies, and the right customers?
• Find the Answers
  Consider all of your network data, all of your network possibilities, build some optimization models, run some simulations, and discover your true potential.