Rating Critical To LTL Success
Land Air of New England recognized immediate savings by implementing the automated rating in the FACTS 20000 solution. That comes as no surprise to CLI VP Kenneth Weinberg, whose credentials reach back to LTL's glory days before deregulation.
"The key to LTL is rating. It's nothing like truckload. There the rating is simplistic; it's just a function of mileage. LTL is much more complicated, especially today," he explained.
"In the old days, they had guys with eyeshades and books — tariffs in which they looked up the points and the commodity to come up with the proper rate."
In those days, Weinberg recalled, rates had to be published and special deals were limited to commodity rates that could only apply to a class of freight and/or certain points, but never to a specific customer.
Not any more.
"We have added complexity to the eyeshades with all kinds of deals. You can have a customer shipping from New York to Peoria who gets a special rate on this single kind of freight, only for a particular consignee and only for, say, one month. The only thing we haven't done is factor in the weather — this rate when it's raining and this one when it's clear. But that will probably come," he said.
"A lot of companies can't keep track of the deals. Customers get upset because pricing isn't right. That comes back to haunt you. A 50-% correction rate on billing is not unusual. Big operations like Home Depot won't accept errors in their billing. They'll change carriers," Weinberg said.
In fact, it's problems with rating that drive many software sales to LTL carriers, according to Weinberg, who added that Carrier Logistics has built the ability to incorporate and track special deals into its software.
A number of companies incorporate automated rating in LTL software. The resources listed below also provide a rating module or specialize in LTL rating software:
CT Logistics
12487 Plaza Drive
Cleveland, OH, 44130-1084
216-267-2000
216-267-5945 fax
www.freitrater.com
FreightDATA Software
20311 SW Birch Street
Newport Beach, CA 92660
888-378-3282
949-252-8375 fax
Info@sdafreightdata.com
SMC Atlanta
500 Westpark Drive
Suite 300
Post Office Box 2040
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269
800-845-8090
770-486-5800
770-486-7649 fax
www.smc3.com
