Written for: Finance and supply chain leads
Start with structure, not rates
Rate negotiation is the smallest lever. Mode mix, consolidation and clearance timing move landed cost far more, and they are entirely within an importer's control regardless of which forwarder they use. This is the playbook Bromley Logistics works through with clients during a network review.
The nine levers
Applied together, these typically reduce total landed cost by a double-digit percentage across a twelve-month programme.
- Consolidate suppliers into fewer, fuller shipments
- Shift non-urgent volume from air to sea
- Pre-clear to eliminate demurrage
- Use bonded storage to defer duty
- Correct tariff classification
- Claim origin preference where eligible
- Right-size equipment to payload or cube
- Plan inland haulage against berthing
- Review the network annually, not never
Sequencing the levers
Consolidation and pre-clearance usually pay back fastest because they require no capital investment, just a change in process. Mode mix and inventory repositioning take longer to show results but tend to deliver the largest absolute saving once they are embedded.
Measuring the result
Track landed cost per unit, not freight spend. Freight spend can fall while landed cost rises if demurrage, storage or duty overpayment increase elsewhere — which is exactly why Bromley Logistics reports landed cost per unit as the primary measure on every client account.
