Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 1. Freight Data Management

Best in Class shippers have high quality, granular, historical freight data. They capture clean, accurate, complete data on all of their inbound, outbound and inter-branch transfers, across all modes. The most fundamental building blocks are the individual boxes, parcels, envelopes, cartons, drums or pallets.

Capturing this data correctly and completely allows a shipper to address such fundamental issues as the type of container to be used, space occupied, loading plan etc. This data is also critical when conducting an RFP as a means of selecting the appropriate modes and carriers. The data that each shipper maintains must contain certain data elements in order to be useful for analysis and planning purposes. The following data fields are essential.

 Shipment number

 Pick up date

 Origin zip code/postal code

 Origin city

 Origin province or state

 Product description

 Shipment weight (actaul)/Shipment weight (billed)

 Unit of loading (e.g. box, pallet etc.)

 Carrier name

 Mode (e.g. courier, LTL, truckload, carload etc.)

 Type of equipment (e.g. dry van, flat bed etc.)

 Destination zip code/postal code

 Destination City

 Destination province or state

 Delivery date

 Line haul rate

 Fuel surcharge

 Other accessorial charges

Shippers with private fleets must also maintain detailed records on each piece of equipment such as equipment type, dimensions, manufacturer, date purchased, miles driven, maintenance schedule, etc. In addition, there is a requirement to track such items as loaded and empty miles and revenue, direct and overhead costs per trip, fuel costs and driver utilized. This way the fleet can be managed as a profit centre and not just a cost centre. Similarly the location of all vehicles must be tracked so that they be utilized as productively as possible.

The data must be audited on an ongoing basis to make sure that it is accurate and complete. A clerical error (e.g. inserting a weight of 100,000 pounds instead of 100 pounds or leaving a block of fields blank) can throw off a year’s worth of data and lead to an erroneous analysis. Data auditing leads to data cleansing. Erroneous data must be corrected; data for missing fields must be gathered and entered into the data template. The source of the errors must be identified and fixed.

In addition to shipment data, Best in Class shippers also possess files on all of their carrier rate quotes and contracts. These files include all freight rates, accessorial charges, fuel surcharge formulas and terms and conditions. These companies maintain files on all carrier contracts with alerts to signal the expiry data so appropriate action can be taken.

Carrier contact data management is another key element of effective freight management. The file should contain updated information on the current carrier contacts at all levels (e.g. sales, customer service, terminal manager, executive) along with e mail addresses, business addresses and phone numbers. Since people change jobs and companies over time, it is important to keep this file up to date, store it in a secure site and have a back-up copy or copies off-site. Freight data management is the foundation of any transportation operation.

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