Land O’Lakes scores spot on Shipper of Choice list through carrier collaboration

Land O’Lakes rose to the top because it emphasizes collaboration between its carrier partners and the company itself. Najjar said the company aims to maintain its existing partners and involves the carriers in pricing discussions on an ongoing basis.

“No matter which way capacity swings, we try to leverage our incumbents,” Najjar said. “We want to minimize carrier turnover and avoid additional disruptions in our supply chain.”

When capacity was tight and shippers were seeing their transportation costs soar last summer, Land O’Lakes Chief Supply Chain Officer Yone Dewberry spoke to the crowd at eft’s 3PL and Supply Chain Summit about the steps Land O’Lakes was taking to weather surging prices.

Those steps included implementing visibility and tracking, running pilots with Uber Freight and Convoy and aiming to partner with private fleets, according to an article by Forbes. The company’s goal was, and continues to be, innovative problem-solving.

Najjar said that Land O’Lakes continues to value the companies that haul its freight and the drivers that show up to its docks, even as the state of the market shifts.

On top of encouraging collaboration, Najjar said Land O’Lakes takes the more traditional steps toward being a shipper of choice, like improving the driver experience at their docks and reducing turn times.

At a time when detention times are climbing once again, that alone makes Land O’Lakes a standout shipper.

This article is published jointly with our partners at Convoy. To view more Future of Freight content, click here.