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Ask any ocean procurement team what drives their carrier decisions and you will hear a familiar answer. Price. It has become the anchor in a world of shifting schedules, capacity constraints and constant internal pressure to secure savings.
But the truth is harder to ignore. In today’s market, choosing a carrier based on price alone is one of the fastest ways to lose control of your supply chain.
Rates do not reveal who will miss a sailing. Rates do not show who consistently rolls cargo when capacity tightens. Rates do not reflect emissions performance or compliance risks. And rates certainly do not show whether a carrier’s promised transit time matches what actually happens at sea.
Price tells a story, but it is only half the story. The other half is where shippers are losing time, money and reliability without even realising it.
The hidden risks behind a “good” rate
Many shippers have learned this the hard way. A competitively priced offer looks strong on paper, yet the real cost shows up later as delays, disruptions or operational workarounds.
A few questions expose the blind spot very quickly.
- How consistent is the carrier’s schedule reliability compared to peers.
- Does the carrier maintain capacity commitments during high-demand periods.
- What is the actual transit time delivered versus the one published.
- How does their emissions performance compare across similar lanes.
- Does this carrier deliver stable service on the specific corridor you rely on most.
Most procurement teams cannot answer these questions with confidence. Not because they lack expertise, but because they lack data they can trust.
This is why price-based decisions often fall short. The missing context is where risk lives.
Why this blind spot is growing, not shrinking
The pressure on global supply chains has not eased. Markets move faster, geopolitical events redirect routing patterns and carriers adjust networks rapidly. What was true last quarter can be outdated this quarter.
Three shifts are widening the gap between price and performance.
Schedule reliability is still unpredictable
Even with improvements since the pandemic, reliability remains below pre-2020 levels. Delays create downstream impacts on warehouse operations, inventory planning and production schedules.
Capacity constraints move faster than tenders
A carrier that offered attractive rates in January might face capacity pressure in March. Without visibility into those fluctuations, procurement teams make decisions with yesterday’s information.
Price alone cannot signal any of these shifts. Procurement needs a more complete view.
Why relying on experience is no longer enough
Experience still matters. Relationships still matter. But even the most seasoned procurement leaders acknowledge that habit can create bias. Many organizations continue awarding volumes to carriers they have worked with for years simply because they are familiar.
Yet some of the most competitive carriers on reliability or emissions may never be considered because they are not on the shortlist.
Several shippers shared similar challenges.
One described their current process as “subjective and prone to recency bias.”
Another mentioned the difficulty of comparing carrier-reported reliability against their own operational experience. Others pointed to the lack of visibility caused by fragmented systems and inconsistent metrics.
These challenges do not reflect poor procurement. They reflect an environment that has outgrown traditional evaluation methods.
The real cost of not seeing the full picture
When price becomes the only lens, procurement teams miss the signals that matter most.
- A carrier with a lower rate but weak reliability can quietly drain millions through delays.
- A slightly more expensive carrier with strong emissions performance may support sustainability targets and reduce long-term compliance risk.
- A carrier with stable capacity could protect supply during peak seasons, even if their quote is not the lowest.
These impacts are rarely visible at tender time. They become visible when things break.
Procurement is expected to prevent these issues, yet many teams do not have the data to see them coming.
Why 2025 will be a defining year for performance-based procurement
The freight market is shifting toward transparency. Shippers are asking harder questions. Finance teams expect stronger justification for supplier choices. Sustainability reporting is tightening. And logistics teams want carriers who perform, not just those who quote well.
Leading organizations are already adapting.
They are:
- comparing carriers side by side on reliability, emissions and capacity
- prioritizing metrics that align with their supply chain strategy
- standardizing how they assess performance across regions
- building supplier discussions around objective data rather than opinion
Price will always be important. But it can no longer be the only filter.
The path forward
Most procurement teams want the same thing. A fair, consistent, data-backed way to evaluate carriers. A structure that reduces bias and removes guesswork. A foundation that supports better tenders and stronger partnerships.
A modern carrier scorecard is becoming the simplest starting point. Not because it replaces judgment, but because it makes judgment stronger. It connects the pieces that price alone cannot reveal.
If your team is preparing for 2026 tenders or reevaluating suppliers, now is the moment to expand the view. The more complete the picture, the better the decisions.
Price tells half the story. Performance tells the rest.
Anticipate. Align. Deliver.
Learn how procurement teams are using multi-metric carrier performance insights to support better decisions and build stronger supplier strategies.
