For most ecommerce and retail brands, carrier contracts are renewed on autopilot.

Peak season ends. A contract carrier presents updated rate cards, revised surcharge tables, and a new agreement. Leadership signs, and the network runs unchanged into the next year.

For Operations Managers, Logistics Managers, Supply Chain Directors, and COOs, this approach quietly limits organic sales growth, cost reduction efforts, and operational resilience.

January is the one point in the year where teams can reassess carrier contracts using historical or present fact, not assumptions.

At this moment, you have:

• A full dataset from peak season
• Clear visibility into operational performance gaps
• Time to act before the next relevant future period of demand

This is when high-performing teams rebuild carrier contracts and their multi carrier shipping strategy using data, not habit.

Why January Is the Right Time to Reset Carrier Contracts

January provides a rare combination of leverage, data, and operational clarity.

1. You Have Real Performance Data, Not Forecasts

Peak season exposes how carriers perform under stress, revealing:

• Lane-level service failures
• Cost drivers hidden in payable and accrued liabilities
• The impact of surcharges on net cash flows generated

This data reflects real operating activities and aligns more closely with accounting principles generally accepted than pro forma assumptions.

2. You’re Early in the Contract and Financial Cycle

Many carrier contracts reset around the calendar year, often before carriers finalize:

• free cash flow reconciliation
• adjusted operating profit
• gaap operating margin disclosures

January sits ahead of earnings season, when carriers prepare investor narratives across earnings calls and the carrier investor relations site. That timing matters.

3. You Can Test Before Volume Returns

Routing and carrier changes made in Q1 can be validated before they impact:

• consolidated net sales
• customer experience
• operating assets tied to fulfillment

From a risk-return standpoint, January is when carrier strategy changes carry the lowest downside.

Identify Potential Carriers for a Scalable Network

A resilient multi carrier strategy starts with the ability to identify potential carriers that align operationally and financially with your business.

This goes far beyond comparing rate cards.

Leaders increasingly assess:

• A carrier’s capital structure
• current and future indebtedness
• Exposure to foreign currency exchange rates
• Stability reflected in the consolidated balance sheet and financial statements

For large or global carriers, reviewing segment operating profit, segment operating margin, and disclosures around acquisition and divestiture activity helps assess long-term risk.

This level of diligence supports sustainable organic sales without adding hidden operational fragility.

Step 1: Treat Carrier Contracts as a Lane Problem, Not a Loyalty Problem

The most common mistake in carrier strategy is brand-level thinking:

• “This carrier is cheaper.”
• “That carrier is faster.”
• “Multiple carriers add complexity.”

None of these statements hold true across all lanes.

What matters is lane-level economics:

• Origin → destination zone
• Weight and dimensional profile
• Service level

This is where multiple carriers outperform single-carrier dependence.

Build Lane-Level Scorecards for Each Contract Carrier

Pull 3–6 months of shipping data, including peak, and present selected financial data for each lane:

• Origin node
• Destination zone
• Carrier and service
• Total shipping cost
• Transit time
• Exceptions

From this, calculate:

• Average cost per shipment
• P90 transit time
• Exception rate

This transforms carrier contracts into measurable operating inputs that connect directly to:

• operating profit
• adjusted operating margin
• operating activities net earnings

Step 2: Where a Multi Carrier Shipping Strategy Actually Pays Off

A multi carrier shipping strategy only works where performance or cost advantages are material.

Look for:

• Lanes with measurable cost deltas supporting cost reduction efforts
• Performance differences that affect customer experience and repeat purchase
• Capacity risks exposed during peak

Over-diversification increases operational drag without improving free cash flow or adjusted net income.

Step 3: Use Peak Data to Renegotiate Carrier Contracts

Strong negotiations start with data, not blended rate requests.

Use lane-level analysis to identify:

• Overpriced lanes
• Underperforming commitments
• Volume trade-offs

Be aware that certain related transactions, portfolio transformation transactions, or carrier restructuring may affect contract flexibility.

Negotiations should target:

• Lane-specific pricing
• Surcharge alignment
• Service commitments tied to net cash flows provided

This shifts carrier contracts from static agreements into operating tools.

Step 4: Redesign Q1 Routing Rules Across Multiple Carriers

Rules-based routing ensures carrier strategy survives day-to-day execution.

Examples:

• If zone 2–4 and <5 lb → Carrier A
• If zone 6–8 and >10 lb → Carrier B
• Metro regions → Regional carrier

Rules must be:

• Documented
• Encoded in systems
• Easy to revise as financial market conditions change

Without this, strategy erodes under operational pressure.

Step 5: Test Changes Before Volume Returns

Q1 testing limits downside risk and protects:

• gaap operating profit
• customer experience
• operational stability

Each test should define:

• Hypothesis
• Scope
• Metrics
• Guardrails

This experimentation mindset allows teams to refine carrier strategy without disrupting core operations.

Step 6: Manage Operational Complexity While Scaling Multiple Carriers

Carrier strategy only works when execution keeps pace.

Ensure:

• SOPs per carrier
• Staff training
• Exception monitoring

Carrier strategy spans:

• Design (economics and performance)
• Execution (people and process)

Ignoring either erodes returns.

Step 7: Make Carrier Contracts a Standing January Ritual

Top teams institutionalize carrier review cycles.

Each January:

• Review peak performance
• Refresh lane economics
• Adjust routing rules

Quarterly:

• Monitor performance
• Adapt to market and operational changes

This cadence allows carrier contracts to evolve alongside business growth.

Bottom Line

January is your leverage point.

It’s the only moment when peak-season data, open carrier contracts, and operational bandwidth align. Use it to rebuild your carrier contracts and multi carrier strategy deliberately, or accept that next year’s costs, service gaps, and firefighting will look exactly like last year’s.

Looking for more hands on help? Contact our team of experts today.