With some ocean shipping disruptions left in the past and new ones looming, shippers may want to rethink if having a transactional and short-term approach to ocean carrier relationships is a good long-term move.
During the pandemic, there was a disregard of contract terms over spot rate and surcharge protection, and a gridlock at marine terminals coupled with detention and demurrage costs — leaving shippers with a "tremendous amount of PTSD," Bjorn Vang Jensen, executive director of international transport at Cummins said at TPM24 by S&P Global in Long Beach, California on Tuesday.
"So we need to think about — why — without taking [a] victim role, why were we the ones selected as the ones to be treated poorly?" The answer, he said, could depend on the rates shippers’ paid and their past behavior in those relationships.
If possible, shippers should try to secure a face-to face meeting with carriers Jensen said. He once met with a large carrier's account management department with 250 people in the room for a presentation. 80% of people in the room had never seen a customer in the flesh, he added.
"This may sound silly but you know it's fact and the payback on you going, if you can pull it off, and give a presentation. Sell your company. Make them want to do business with you. If you can tell a story the payback is incredible and they will receive you with open arms because very few people call."
When it comes to meeting with carriers, Jensen suggests that bringing the operations team or person can help seal the deal.
"But at this point, you've made it this far. There's a reason you got this far, you're very close to winning. Now we want to see the people that are going to make it happen, not the people who are gonna show you a credit card and buy you dinner," Jensen said.
Lastly, it's important for shippers to deliver on the promises made to the carrier to maintain a respectable working relationship. It's a give-and-take process like any business, Jensen said. If you say you will deliver a certain amount of cargo volumes, keep your promises.
"It's incremental, there will be trials and tribulations, there will be some carriers that will let you down. You will also potentially let some carriers down," Jensen said.
Overall, how a shipper behaves can define the relationship with the carrier for a long time because “the cycles of this business is getting shorter but the memories are getting longer,” Jensen said.
