If you’re a brand that’s selling, you’re a brand that’s shipping. And if you’ve been around awhile, it’s more likely than not that you’re using one of the large legacy carriers for delivery. And why not? They’ve been around forever and you’re probably thinking it’s easier to stay with them than explore other options. They get the job done (most of the time) and offer deep volume discounts (some of the time). But while this model has existed for a really long time, many brands are realizing that what was once easy and cost-effective, isn’t working any more.
You may have thought about changing carriers or diversifying your carrier mix and thought ‘it’s complicated, it’s disruptive and not worth the pain’. But I’d say it’s really not as hard as you think. And the reasons for making the switch are real and truly game-changing. Here’s why:
Reason 1: Your brand shouldn’t be in someone else’s control
You’re likely still feeling the sting of 2020 & 2021 Peak seasons where carriers outright refused to accept certain client volume. Couple that with continuous price gouging from carriers that charge Peak rates year round and any trust the relationship once had, is gone. Their whims decide your fate with consumers who won’t forget failures and may find other brands to shop from.
Reason 2: Regional carriers actually want your volume
Over the last few years, we’ve seen shippers get commoditized. The large national carriers cherry pick the volume they want while discarding the rest and practice “race to the top” type pricing increases. This is not how regional carriers operate. Founders, owners, operators, and stakeholders of regional carriers want more and more volume and are eager to earn their place in your delivery network.
Reason 3: Optimization doesn’t have to be hard and is always something to strive for
Companies that do a thousand things often don’t do them all well. At Maergo we recognize that different carriers are good for different delivery profiles: weekend delivery, large package size, exceptional performance in a region, etc. Not only are we your single point of contact cross all the carriers you need for every parcel, but our algorithms use the best of the best in the best way to identify the most reliable middle mile transport (passenger airlines) with the most domestic flight options, and offer the most agility to reroute packages as needed through our dynamic network that’s constantly growing and optimizing.
Carrier diversification equals agility.
And the Maergo model is all about carrier diversification
Diversified by design
Maergo does not own trucks, airplanes or directly hire delivery employees. We thrive on partnerships with carriers to create a strong, resilient, and a diversified network. For almost all the packages we deliver, we have many carriers at-the-ready to participate in the delivery if needed.
When Maergo makes a choice to use trucking partner A, airline partner B and regional carrier C to execute a parcel delivery, the benefits of that diversity, choice and optimization are all passed on to you.
Flexibility
Maergo is uniquely positioned to quickly scale up and down services. This is where legacy carriers move much more slowly (they need to buy & manage trucks, hire drivers, etc). If your volume quickly grows one week, we rejoice, toast to your success, and then quickly arrange for more capacity going forward to keep your operations running smoothly.
As the Maergo network grows and our partner ecosystem increases, we continually get better and better. Unlike some networks that degrade overtime (more volume = more bottlenecks = slower TinT), our model allows for versatility and participation from logistics providers. Much like Uber, DoorDash, and other “network” ecosystems, the more participation we have, the better we get.
Agility
When Force Majeure type events happen, we can respond, divert and avoid. This is possible because we DO NOT rely on a single provider.
We constantly monitor performance of all our carriers and make choices to continuously optimize. For example, if we notice a carrier has below average performance at a specific facility, we will often redirect volume to a different facility within their network until we can get assurances that the original facility is performant again. This is the type of fine tuning Maergo does that a typical “carrier diversification” strategy might not be capable of.
Peak ‘23 is just around the corner. Don’t settle for average anymore. Want to chat? Hit me up at [email protected].