their freight operations to the realities of the 2026 logistics environment.
1. Become a Shipper of Choice
When capacity tightens and carriers gain the leverage to reassess their customers and freight, the strength of your relationships with logistics providers becomes critical. Those relationships often determine whether shipments move smoothly at stable rates — or face rejections, delays, and higher costs.
Distributors may consider negotiating contracted rates and service agreements that are mutually benefi cial and provide stability instead of relying on the spot market or least-cost carrier of the day. Consistency, no matter the volume, allows carriers to build effi ciencies alongside a distributor’s operation, which helps them commit to capacity and a fair rate.
2. Packaging as Profi t Protection
Motor freight carriers (especially in the LTL sector) are aggressively denying claims for insuffi cient packaging, citing National Motor Freight Classifi cation (NMFC) guidelines. Moving beyond corrugated boxes and corner guards (FTL packaging) for high-value items can help distributors ensure they don’t have to send a replacement or credit away their profi t to get a customer to keep a damaged unit. Using wood crates and Tip-N-Tell indicators, which activate when a package is mishandled during transit, can provide evidence for claims but also signal to dock workers that the shipment is being monitored, increasing handling care.
3. Leverage Technology and Visibility Tools
One of the biggest opportunities for foodservice equipment and supplies shippers lies in visibility and predictive tracking tools. These tools provide operators leverage when customer locations have handling requirements and carriers face delays or capacity shifts. Possession of these tools enables proactive customer communication and contingency planning.
Improved visibility can also ease the complexity of equipment deliveries to the customer. Distributors are often delivering to busy downtown streets with liftgate and handling requirements all while trying to hit a narrow window of when an installer will be present. There are readily available tools that can help identify accessorial needs at delivery and monitor timeliness of shipments.
4. Master Freight Data
In 2026, accurate weights, dimensions, and descriptions are critical. The recent changes to LTL NMFC freight classifi cation systems emphasize density and dimensional accuracy. Shippers who provide precise data up front reduce the risk of reclassifi cation, costly adjustments, and carrier disputes. Even small errors on a bill of lading can result in fees or penalties that eat into margins, especially on large, irregularly shaped restaurant equipment.
In addition to profi t protection, ownership of clean freight data affords the ability to explore the potential for profi t expansion through consolidation and mode-shifting. Without clean data, optimization of freight is manual and is historically focused. With clean data, optimization can be automated and performed in real-time with a transportation management system or visibility tool.
Reliability as the New Discount The supply chain constraints of 2026 aren’t just
temporary bottlenecks; they represent a permanent shift toward a more professionalized transportation sector. Dealers who continue to chase the lowest cost freight rate will fi nd their margins eroded by fees, damages, and project delays. In this environment, the distributor who turns
logistics from a headache into a competitive advantage is the one who wins the contract.
About the Author Kevin Brink is the vice president of LTL solutions for Kuehne+Nagel, a FEDA business services member that provides sea freight, airfreight, road, and rail logistics in more than 100 countries. Learn more at https://
us.kuehne-nagel.com/en/. Brink can be reached at
Kevin.Brink@
Kuehne-Nagel.com.
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