Freight Management Solutions Fill Your Noggin With Current Logistics News.

On Wednesday, April 5th, FedEx announced that they will be consolidating all their opcos (FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services, etc.) under the parent’s leadership umbre...

Here's a question we get asked often: Are freight claims the shipper or receiver's responsibility? Let's explore. Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: April 19, 2013 If you are involved in logistics or related fields, or in an industry that depends upon logistics i...

Today we're going to talk about freight management services. First, what does that mean? Freight management services can cover a wide range of specific offerings. From a third-party provider like Lojistic, freight...

Like so many other industries, apparel and footwear suppliers and retailers are feeling the effects of the global pandemic.  For many, mandatory store closures and in-person shopping restrictions have accelerated the shift from brick-and-mortar sales to online sales. While predictions vary, it’s estimated that online sales will increase by 50% industry wide [lumping together apparel +...

Like so many other industries, beauty, cosmetic, personal care, grooming and health suppliers and retailers are feeling the effects of the global pandemic.  For many, mandatory store closures and in-person shopping restrictions have accelerated the shift from brick-and-mortar sales to online sales. While predictions vary, it’s estimated that online sales will increase by $10B industry...

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: March 15, 2013 In the parcel world, the terms freight invoices and bills of lading are used frequently. But what is the difference? ...

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: May 31, 2013 One of the questions we get a lot is about freight cost accounting — specifically, how to record freight costs in accounting. In this post, we’ll discuss what makes freight accounting different from accounting in other ...

Top 2020 parcel trends are creating smarter shippers and mitigating costs. Trend #1: Rates Will Continue to Rise At the end of every year, UPS and FedEx announce their general price increase for next year. On average, the increase is only around 4.9%. What you don't see in that increase is the surcharges. This year surcharges are going to have a large impact on parcel shi...

Logistics Software and What It Does One of the things about the logistics software is the easy way that we allow people to sign up for audit. One of the things we allow you to do from our website is sign up create an account. You can then connect your carriers. And from that point on we begin ...

Freight Audit Basics First, you should never pay a free bill without a freight audit. Now whether you do that yourself or whether you hire a third party to do that, they should audit every bill. The reason for that is: errors happen. In the case of freight, the errors are usually big dollar amounts. When we analyze an invoice, we have software for those errors. We look at every ...

Supply Chain Consulting Defined Supply chain consulting is a wide range of things, so it varies. This includes understanding how to manage your packaging. It means managing your inbound transportation. Also, this means your own fulfillment, warehousing, and ...

Freight Audit Explained A freight audit looks at all your bills and notes from transportation carriers. Then it makes sure that they're accurate. And by accurate we mean that you have a contract with each of these carriers. Were your charges correct? The invoice suggests that it delivered on a certain date, did it? You may have bought certain things like ...

LTL Basics Have you ever had a bunch of shipping that you needed to do? It was more than would fit inside of a small box, and it's not so much that you could buy an entire truck? LTL fits that middle need. It is a type of shipping that does run full trucks across the country. But the difference is that LTL takes a pallet or a few from you with other customers who also have one or a few...

Freight auditing is an all-encompassing term for a broad mix of service models, modes covered, and pricing structures that are chosen to serve your particular freight shipping situation. No two shippers are completely alike so no two freight audit solutions will work the same for all shippers. Knowing your overall freight shipping spend, what modes you primarily ship, what pricing model you pre...

Hopefully, you’ll never have to worry about what to do when a truck doesn’t show as planned. However, this is part of business, and any freight agent or freight shipper should be prepared for this eventuality while dealing with the demands of freight shipping. Human error can result in trucks arriving late or not at all. Although we must hope the situation is a s...

If you have been thinking about becoming a freight agent or a freight broker agent, you may be wondering how freight agent jobs have been doing since the recession. Luckily, logistics is very much a recession-proof industry: Although logistics activity can be dampened in certain areas and at certain times, there will always be a need to move goods from one place to a...

Freight shippers vary a great deal in what they can offer your organization, and you might find yourself replacing old shippers or looking for new ones for a wide variety of reasons. A freight shipper may have a great record of performance, but may be unable to meet all of your needs as your business grows. On the other hand, it may be necessary to find freight shipp...

The Complex Topic of Air Freight Calculations and Dimensional Weight If you need to calculate freight, especially air freight, you might find it’s a little bit more complex than it appears at first. That’s because you need to calculate freight shipping using something called volumetric weight, dimensional weight, o...

If you are involved in any enterprise that is heavily focused upon logistics, odds are good that you will eventually find yourself selecting a freight forwarder, or perhaps a number of different freight forwarders, to meet your company’s needs. Or, as is often the case, you might be thinking about how to further your career as a freight forwarder after working in a leadership role that has to...

Are you considering becoming a freight broker? Freight brokers are an extremely important part of the logistics landscape around the world. A freight broker has important duties that help to ensure cargo transactions go as planned for everyone involved in the process. Also, freight brokers have the opportunity to learn a great deal about logistics conditions in their area of specialization. Thi...

When it comes to 3rd party logistics, not every company is familiar with the considerations involved. There are many major third party logistics advantages, but capturing them means first finding the right 3rd party logistics company for you. In a field that is growing very fast, getting a handle on the world of 3PL is not necessarily easy. Still, it is worthwhile for you to delve into 3...

It’s reasonable to wonder if third party logistics services are truly worth it for your business. After all, you might have concerns that it will take some time to start up third party logistics for your organization. Third party logistics companies vary in quality and in terms of what they have to offer your bottom line. Plus, trusting third party logistics providers means giving a consultan...

No matter which method you use for package shipping (sea, land or air), each of them is coupled with an inherent and uncertain amount of pollution. However, with an assortment of services and programs in existence today, you can rest easy knowing that you're doing your part to keep the planet healthily. Here are a few that tips to get y...

The tides are turning again for the shipping industry, this time in regards to energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. In the past, there hasn’t been much incentive for any of the world’s major shipping agencies to improve the performance of their ships. Now though, with ship owners being heavily scrutinized on the eco-efficie...

Shipping solutions can sometimes feel like more trouble than they’re worth. We know it, and so do you; but this doesn’t have to be the case for the upstart or the entrepreneur. Since the world has grown into an increasingly digital marketplace, more and more solutions to shipping woes are emerging. The legacy ...

Many businesses are hesitant to complain to the shipping giants responsible for getting their customers’ orders delivered to them on time. They may be aware of the fact that auditing their invoices for mistakes or attempting to renegotiate their carrier contract may save them s...

Risk management has been a constant supply chain topic this year, and it’s no surprise-- cataclysmic events have affected many countries in recent times, like the earthquake that shook Japan and the tsunami in Thailand. Natural disasters happen, and they tend to put companies with part of their supply chain in those nations to the test. For some, these events meant...

As the world continues to evolve with new technology, it also brings forth new challenges to businesses and their supply chains.  Luckily, there are many interesting methods and ideas to help the supply chain become more efficient and cost-effective as well as forward-thinking in terms of it’s impact on the world.  One way to be both helpful and cost-savings is to make sure to think of sust...

News headlines are always full of doom and gloom when concerning the US Postal Service (USPS) and with probably good cause.  The USPS’ revenue has steadily been declining since 2001 with the advent of email and technology.  Even with more optimization and efficiency measures along with layoffs and office closings, the USPS lost nearly $3 billion per quarter in 2011 and even more in 2012 as ...

The supply chain has stayed fairly traditional in most businesses for a long time as many can easily chart how their supply chain moves about.  However, on the digital front, the concept has constantly been evolving as technology and user interfaces continue to change at a rapid pace.  As we discussed in previous blog posts, these digital players are quite notable players in the supply chain,...

Whether you are a business that frequently ships parcels all across the country or an individual shipping small parcels to people in your state, you’re most likely to be using one of two major shipping forces - UPS and FedEx.  They have both controlled and been a part of a long-standing oligarchy in the small parcel delivery services industry with few competitors in their way.  For business...

This blog post isn’t the first we’ve spoken about Amazon and it’s effects on business and carriers.  A few months ago, we explored their acquisition of Kiva, bringing in mechanical robots to help make their supply chains even more efficient.  Coupled with their strong online presence and branding, they are looking to take over both as a consumer’s primary merchant and a potential majo...

There are many factors to constantly check as a supply chain manager or owner, especially in regards to risk management.  These can include natural disasters to international crises, both of which have made headlines in the past year.  One variable that may not be commonly thought of is domestic regulation.  Many may think that regulations are much more steady and less prone to drastic chang...

Although the supply chain industry is fairly traditional, there is constant opportunity for innovation and further education as both the community and the technologies around us continue to change at a rapid rate.  Sometimes, the best education can come from those who have themselves learned from prior experience.  In this blog post, we’ll explore a few different companies that have been ab...

Earlier in June, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals released their annual State of U.S. Logistics report to their members, reporting on the general trends and observations about US logistics and supply chains in general.  Their findings reflect an interesting intersection between improvement along with obstacles and trouble spots still in the way.  See how the overall report...

Innovation is a constant topic of debate within logistics and supply chains as businesses continue to try and find more efficient and innovative ways to ease the workflow and create a tighter, more cooperative environment.  Linked with this challenge is the impact of the way business has changed, going from the physical space of an actual store to the unlimited space of the digital realm.  Fr...

There are some difficulties for companies to compensate both their traditional mentality of what works versus the fast-moving digital technology that evolves and changes on a daily basis.  However, it’s important for all companies to be aware of the evolving technology around them not only to be in the know with what’s current but also what can help your company both reduce shipping costs ...

Digital technology is an integral part of any business, especially in the supply chain.  Fairly obvious inclusions, as we discussed previously, include tablets and smart devices for easier visibility and tracking.  However, one interesting area of digital technology that has been murky for supply chain managers and shipping oriented businesses is the concept of social media.  Is tweeting or ...

Although supply chains may seem like a quiet space and rigid to traditions, there are many different innovations from all sorts of industrial and technological changes that are aimed to improve and optimize supply chains worldwide.  These different advances range from the transportation sector to the cloud, giving a wide range of disciplines a chance to improve supply chains and logistics for ...

We’ve previously discussed risk management in the supply chain and the importance of understanding globalized disasters and the best preparation for it.  In this blog post, we wanted to explore some of the more minute details supply chain managers have their hands full with, not only, the day-to-day operations and efficiency of the supply line but also quicker problems that crop up on a dail...

There are many methods to helping to save money for your company, especially in reducing shipping costs that are very efficient and doable.  However, one well over-looked area that could help many companies out is simply a few clicks away - online shipping tools that are many times free to use.  These tools are available from numerous the carriers themselves to companies like Source Consultin...

What is risk management?  It is the process of looking at potential sources of disruption to your supply chain that can create financial and physical damage.  The next step would involve the business and supply chain leaders evaluating the assessment and fix the weaker points and preemptively doing their best to prevent the risk from happening in the future.  It may be impossible to prepare ...

Although we should always be aiming at the future, what is equally as important is to understand our past history and progression of how a concept has evolved and the lessons we can learn of it.  A historical outlook of supply chains and logistics, however, seems relatively difficult to pinpoint down to key moments.  Luckily, Supply Chain and Observer created an intuitive and clean visual tim...

Technological innovations grows at a quick rate with new announcements and progress happening nearly every single week.  However, integrating new transportation software is difficult at times, especially in industries that have been in business for quite a while and more averse to changes.  The shipping industry seems very straightforward and the technological innovations readily apparent; ho...

Besides helping you get the available discounts, a freight audit services provider can assist you to lower your shipping costs. Though FedEx and UPS are reliable, there are instances when they make erroneous billings because of certain factors. Late deliveries, incorrect accessorial charges and address correction charges are some of the c...

The global economy has increased trade across borders and many businesses have outsourced production to other countries. This has increased the demand for international transport services. While transport safety has improved over the years, goods can still be damaged during transport. Bearing the brunt of this liability is the carrier performing international transports. To avoid liability, a c...

If your company ships a significant amount of small parcel packages, it is a good idea to utilize excellent shipping distribution visibility tools. Ideally, that means real-time shipment status, as well as having location and delivery time information available to customers, suppliers and third-party logistics providers. Some parcel au...

Determining the actual cost of a package not delivered on time can get pretty complicated, since there are so many aspects to this "failure in service." A parcel audit using an experienced parcel auditor can help identify some of these costs. A parcel auditor can help recover the economic loss of a late package. A parcel audit will...

Using a qualified freight auditor to monitor your parcel carrier services can help reduce shipping costs. Logistic reporting can provide a wealth of valuable information that you can use day-in and day-out to improve the efficiency of your business’s distribution practices. For example, reporting from a freight auditor can r...

Keeping track of endless shipping charges can be a nightmare. If you ship thousands or even hundreds of small packages every month, it's time you looked into freight auditing services. Dealing with an avalanche of invoices and mountains of data can make it very challenging to keep your shipping costs under control. If you're buried un...

There are shipping audit services that help reduce shipping costs by verifying whether your delivery is residential or commercial. 91 percent of the 140 million Postal Service delivery points fall into the residential category. Most shipping companies charge a higher rate for delivery to a residence...

The goal of any freight auditing service is to help companies with high shipping volumes reduce shipping costs and streamline their distribution processes. Ideally, the audit firm should provide sufficient shipping rate analytics and logistics auditing technology to optimize your small parcel shipping. Best-in-class freight audit companies will be equipped to provide expert shipping contract ne...

Freight auditing services have become critically important since FedEx and UPS errors are present in virtually every invoice. They are often the result of late deliveries, invalid residential delivery charges, and/or incorrect address correction charges. Sometimes packages are manifested but not s...

If your company does a high volume of shipping and you're being squeezed by your steely-eye comptroller to cut shipping costs, read on. What you need to be a hero is a serious shipping comparison tool. One of these, the ...

I was dumbfounded last week to learn a prospective client, spending millions of dollars each year on shipping, was unaware that UPS and FedEx ground services are guaranteed…just like air and international shipments.  “Yeah, we perform our own internal shipping audit...