It’s that time of year again. B2B procurement teams are wrapping up Q4 budgets and RFPs for shipping raw materials, components, or finished goods from manufacturers to distributors, wholesalers, or directly to retailers.
Whether you're assessing your freight lane expenses or the cost of goods sold, comparing the pricing and capabilities of various logistics options can be daunting. What appears favorable now might become unreliable over time—cutting into margins and damaging your reputation with customers.
Securing competitive pricing is essential, but finding a logistics service provider that offers visibility, flexibility, and scalability to support your business growth is even more crucial. Here’s a quick ramp test to identify a partner who can meet all three criteria—and perform exceptionally well under pressure.
B2B supply chains often include multiple carriers, distribution centers, and delivery channels. A logistics provider that unifies these components into a data-driven fulfillment system can identify savings in areas typically missed during the bidding process.
After all, few teams budget for missed deliveries, billing errors, or lost visibility—yet these problems quietly drain millions each year. In fact, billing errors happen in about 10% of freight invoices, according to the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council. Shippers also lose millions more annually due to delayed freight and penalty fees caused by preventable breakdowns in communication.
Let’s examine the top three challenges B2B shippers are facing in 2025—and how modern fulfillment partners address them.
Without real-time shipment tracking, procurement teams cannot proactively handle disruptions; they can only respond to them. Visibility offers accurate delivery forecasts, enables proactive communication, and increases customer confidence.
The top fulfillment partners provide integrated dashboards that offer full visibility—from dock to delivery. The benefits extend far beyond simple tracking, to include:
Pro Tip: When evaluating providers, focus on those offering integrated APIs and EDI connectivity with your WMS, ERP, and TMS systems. Real-time data flow enables real-time control.
In B2B, order volumes can vary significantly due to seasonality, new contracts, or growth surges. A dependable logistics partner designs its network to expand or contract smoothly — without sacrificing accuracy or service quality.
Top-tier fulfillment providers offer:
Without scalability, costs rise and service quality drops just when reliability is most critical.
Manual data entry and disconnected systems are efficiency killers. When a shipper’s ERP or WMS can’t communicate with a provider’s TMS, response times slow down and reporting accuracy drops.
Modern B2B fulfillment relies on automation through API and EDI integration, which combines transportation, warehousing, and order management into a single source of truth.
Top logistics providers automate:
Automation not only speeds up processes but also ensures accuracy, scalability, and reliability at every stage.
When a leading retail fixture manufacturer aimed to redesign its freight network in Q1 2025, it faced challenges that many procurement leaders today will recognize.
Knight-Swift Warehousing & Fulfillment (KSWF) adopted a tailored B2B logistics strategy focused on integration and ongoing improvement.
By modernizing its data flows and aligning technology with execution, Knight-Swift transformed reactive logistics into a predictable, performance-driven operation.
The partnership built a foundation for continuous, scalable growth—showing that B2B fulfillment success starts with visibility and teamwork.
As you evaluate logistics providers in your next bid cycle, look beyond rates to assess long-term operational value. Ask:
The difference between a vendor and a partner often boils down to three factors: visibility, scalability, and automation.
As 2025 approaches, B2B fulfillment is about more than just moving freight; it’s about building a resilient, data-driven network that boosts profitability and strengthens customer trust.
If your current logistics model relies on outdated systems or disorganized providers, it’s time for an update.
Knight-Swift Warehousing & Fulfillment helps manufacturers and distributors build scalable, technology-driven networks that deliver measurable improvements in efficiency, visibility, and cost control.