How to optimise the transport cost of your purchases

How to optimise transport costs on wholesale purchases (domestic and TIR)

For any wholesaler, the profit margin starts to be decided at the moment of purchase. Bringing in stock from suppliers' factories, whether domestically or through international transits (TIR, the international road transport system), means managing a variable logistics cost that directly affects the product's acquisition price.

Volatile rates, a shortage of vehicles in high-demand seasons and the need to coordinate both full loads and part loads efficiently all call for agile tools, so that inbound transport doesn't eat up profitability before the goods have even reached the warehouse. In this scenario, online freight exchanges are the key tool for adjusting costs and securing supply.

Optimising costs when bringing in stock

Instead of relying on fixed rates or the limited portfolio of traditional agencies, freight exchanges help mitigate market fluctuations on purchasing routes thanks to two operational pillars:

• • • Securing return loads: When you post a collection requirement in the supplier's area, the load is shown to hauliers who have made a delivery near that point and need to get back to base. To avoid running empty, they offer very competitive rates that drastically reduce the wholesaler's acquisition cost.
    • Efficient consolidation of split purchases: When a purchase doesn't need a full lorry, these platforms let you find hauliers already on the route with free space in their trailers. By sharing the journey with other goods, you pay only for the space taken up by your pallets, optimising the unit logistics cost of the stock purchased.

The benchmark tools for the open market

When purchase transport is managed through agencies on the spot market, available capacity is concentrated on three major platforms:

1. TimoCom

The essential platform for international transport (TIR). Its huge user base in Central and Eastern Europe makes it the first choice for securing transport of imported goods at competitive return-load prices.

2. Wtransnet

The leading exchange for domestic traffic and southern Europe (France, Italy and Portugal). It stands out for the auditing and vetting of its member companies, which drastically reduces operational risk when collecting goods already paid for from domestic suppliers.

3. Teleroute

Well established on the routes linking northern Europe and the Benelux area with the Iberian Peninsula. An agile alternative for comparing rates and finding hauliers looking for a return load towards our market.

Red Paralela's solution

At Red Paralela, thanks to our large volume of operations, we decided years ago to create our own freight exchange.

Our private platform works under very strict parameters to guarantee maximum security and efficiency in supply:

• • • Verified hauliers: We only work with professionals we have approved, who use their own lorries and are forbidden from subcontracting loads.
    • Sealed-bid allocation: Hauliers submit blind bids for each domestic or international collection we post, and we decide which of them gets each load after evaluating the proposals.

This model gives us full control over stock traceability from the supplier's warehouse, guaranteeing the most competitive market price on every journey and complete certainty that the goods will reach their destination under the agreed conditions.