Procurement planning for 2023 All procurement roads lead to automation When it comes to sourcing and hauling freight, The long-term goal for the industry will be the traditional procurement process of using RFPs widespread automated procurement which, and signing annual contracts for rates can be time in turn, will free up supply chain executives consuming and fragmented. Shippers have found and transportation planners to put their time it nearly impossible to scale the process and don’t and resources into other shipping needs (like have enough visibility into data on factors like expanding carrier relationships and supplier and carrier performance and shipping warehouse networks). lanes—making it all the more difficult to gauge last- minute adjustments to procurement tactics. RFPs Achieving agile procurement in the short term, and bidding will still have a place in the future of however, requires a multifaceted approach that procurement, but the execution will evolve as the allows shippers to effectively deploy different Agile procurement market shifts to more automated approaches. types of procurement when needed. In 2023, is the ability to know when and how to shippers can think of an agile strategy as a layer leverage any type Automating as much of the process as possible cake model—one that consists of real-time, spot, of procurement— is critical—it unlocks flexibility, helping shippers contract and dedicated procurement, where from real-time and better address market disruptions and achieve shippers choose which approach to use based spot to contract the scale and visibility the traditional process has on their business needs, customers’ needs and dedicated— depending on historically lacked. Larger shippers may still opt and the state of the market. Knowing when to business needs for traditional bids in the future, but can also use leverage each, and how to strategically manage and the state of the automated models when necessary (such as the overall mix, is the key to agile procurement. market. needing a new lane) during the contract term. Achieving agile procurement will involve And for smaller shippers or those with inconsistent embracing technology solutions that provide freight volumes, opting for completely automated flexibility, investing in data-driven decision making solutions could help them make the most strategic and focusing on procurement segmentation for and cost-effective procurement decisions. numerous transportation scenarios. 3