How many times have you had to walk away from hard-won business?

On the flip side of the coin, how much time do you spend chasing your customers down for the cargo they awarded to you?

I remember it like it was yesterday. After years of quoting and relationship building, as a carrier sales executive, I finally won the trust of a massive importer and a multi-million dollar, fixed-rate contract was signed. The customer was happy. My trade team and I were ecstatic. I white-gloved the on-boarding and engaged all the right stakeholders. Then, as the very first containers loaded, I was notified by our origin office that new yield guidelines had just been handed down, and I must now go and obtain a rate increase or the cargo would be declined.

Thankfully, technology has now changed the game.

I am certain that in carrier sales, if I had had the tools that are available today, I would have done things a lot differently and saved myself a lot of time and frustration. In this post, I'll share the top three ways that new technology through NYSHEX will help you save time, delight your customers, and meet your sales budget. 

I spend a lot of time attending webinars, reading industry social media, and speaking with shippers to maintain a pulse on the industry. I've observed three main trends that everyone in the industry seems to be talking about right now. Though it may not seem so, the rudder just might be starting to turn the ship in a much better direction.

According to a Drewry survey conducted in April, as many as 10% of North American exports and 20% of Asian exports were rolled this year, impacting over 83% of shippers. During  that same period, record volatility, and a shrinking market, NYSHEX posted our highest volumes and plummeting default cases.

NYSHEX is a proud sponsor of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC). Their annual meeting brings together some of the brightest shippers, carriers, and other industry stakeholders. Even though this year's event took place virtually last week, the pivotal discussions charting the course for the future of the industry were not impeded. Here are some of my top takeaways from this year's presenters.

From time to time NYSHEX is labeled a “disruptor.” It happened in industry news just this week. A Non-Vessel Operating Commercial Carrier in Oceania lumped us in with a TMS provider and a rate comparison tool which connects cargo owners with NVOCCs, claiming we’re all intent upon “disrupting [NVOCCs’] business.”