Could New LTL Freight Optimization Tools Compound Savings?

Managing less-than-truckload (LTL) contracts is complex, so you may not have the time or resources for optimization. If you outsource assistance, you can discover hidden value and recover lost revenue. The best value services for optimizing LTL shipping contracts can compound savings by eliminating the roadblocks creating bottlenecks in your cash flow. 

The Challenges and Costs of Managing LTL Contracts Rising costs pose a persistent challenge for transportation and logistics professionals. While negotiating base rates can help, it is not a foolproof strategy -- many inadvertently leave money on the table due to accessorial charges and fuel surcharges.

To maximize savings, they must analyze the fine print to eliminate unfavorable terms and uncover hidden cost savings.  Other common challenges include poor communication and insufficient consolidation, which complicate route planning, trailer space utilization and shipment tracking. Even the inherent variability in transit time for LTL freight shipping poses a problem.

The more complex the network, the greater the chances for delays and missed pickups. All these complications introduce the risk of noncompliance, which could result in substantial fines and prolonged delays. However, even if freight specialists manage to comply with all regulations, they are likely still operating with unoptimized workflows. 

New technology-enabled services and cloud-based software solutions are emerging that can help them address these issues. They are designed to optimize LTL shipping contracts, going beyond basic TMS functions to deliver compound savings. They can analyze your shipping profile, streamline tracking and help you find hidden cost savings. 

The Best Tools for Optimizing LTL Shipping Contracts To help you navigate this landscape, it's important to understand the best value services for optimizing LTL shipping contracts. These providers' transportation management software (TMS) and shipping software solutions deliver value and compound savings throughout the LTL life cycle. 

1. Broussard Logistics

The carrier pricing experts at Broussard Logistics have been helping customers like you with contract optimization since 1978.

Typically, they see a cost reduction between 10% to 30%, saving 18.2% on average. Over its 40 years in the industry, it has found that 80% of pricing contracts are unoptimized, meaning it is statistically probable you are leaving money on the table.  This transportation management company has saved customers millions of dollars and thousands of hours.

In one case, its LTL contract optimization service helped a motorcycle parts distributor reduce annual LTL carrier spending by 30% on a total expenditure of £13.5 million. As you can see, these are among the best value services for optimizing LTL shipping contracts. Its Newblims TMS is an add-on to its LTL contract optimization service.

It streamlines logistics, enhances internal communications and maximizes profitability. Since it is cloud-based, it delivers real-time insights regardless of your location. Even better, you can implement it in as few as 30 days. 

Its no-obligation assessment can identify potential savings in your shipping contracts, allowing you to see if its solutions make sense for your business. Typically, the evaluation takes just seven business days. Since its fees are based on what it saves your business, it won't charge you if it doesn't save you money. 

2. SMC3

The truckload data and solutions provider SMC3 has been in operation since 1935, so it has firsthand experience navigating various pain points.

Thousands of businesses across North America -- including hundreds of logistics service providers -- rely on it for transportation and shipping optimization.  Its software solutions handle price negotiations, bid management, freight bill auditing and transit time optimization while offering end-to-end shipment visibility. For instance, RateWare XL provides fast rate calculations for accurate invoicing, while CzarLite offers pricing benchmarking for enhanced contract negotiations.

In total, it has over 10 products. Its software is cloud-based, so it can easily handle millions of transactions daily. It can adapt as you grow or scale back, aligning with your dynamic business needs.

Also, regardless of your location, you and your vendors can access it when you need it.  Integration is simple. You can access its architecture via a web service application programming interface that integrates seamlessly with any platform.

The application and database are optimized for scalability, allowing them to handle increased traffic. Even better, the framework has failsafes -- redundant core systems across computing layers and multiple SOC2-compliant data centers -- to maximize uptime and security.

3. AFS Logistics

Third-party logistics company AFS Logistics oversees £39 billion in transportation spend. It manages £11 billion in freight audit and payment annually for over 1,800 clients in 35 countries.

According to its experts, up to 25% of carrier freight bills fail to meet agreed-upon parameters during audits, leading to average savings between 2.5% and 3.6%. For LTL freight shipping, it oversees over £1.2 billion in revenue for both smaller shippers and Fortune 100 companies. On average, they save around £183 million per year -- around 10% of their LTL freight spend -- using its solutions.

It can assist with contract negotiation, spend reduction and carrier compliance. This is why the average client tenure is almost 12 years.  In one case, it helped a global electrical distributor reduce shipping costs by £1.2 million through negotiations and audits.

It also recovered £200,000 in LTL claims after just one year of working with AFS. In another case, after implementing a TMS, an agricultural supply store reduced parcel shipping costs by 22% and LTL shipping costs by 7%.  It accomplishes this through its freight audit and payment platform, cloud-native enterprise rating system, TMS solution and hybrid data warehouse.

It leverages analytics and benchmarking to identify opportunities for savings. Since each member of the 45-person freight audit and payment team is cross-trained, you can rely on them for additional assistance. 

4. Descartes

The 3G product suite from Descartes is a single, centralized TMS solution with expansive capabilities. It can assist with transportation management, order fulfillment and carrier management.

Its integration resource hub and app marketplace can help you adapt to market and demand changes. Whether you need to integrate existing enterprise resource planning software or prefer a built-in tool, you will have the support you need.  The TMS features contract management, dynamic carrier sourcing, invoicing, multimodal shipping execution, real-time reporting and workflow automation.

It has built-in organizational hierarchies and web portals for customers, carriers and vendors, making it an effective enterprise-grade solution. Its 3G Software has many other LTL freight management capabilities. You can use it to find carriers, compare rates, manage contracts, track shipments and generate labels.

It features dozens of ready-to-run integrations that seamlessly integrate with your TMS and shipping software suite.  Nearly 1,000 companies trust this business with their transportation and shipping needs. Its Pacejet software helped one North American distribution partner decrease shipping costs by £200,000 annually, achieving 20% to 30% cost savings for parcel deliveries.

Its decision to combine LTL with parcel zone skipping -- which optimized end-to-end shipping costs -- was made possible with the solution's insights. Selecting Your LTL Freight Shipping Optimization Tool Strategic LTL freight shipping management goes beyond simply seeking the lowest price.

This complex, data-driven process should involve analysis, negotiation, monitoring, auditing and continuous optimization.  These four technology-forward providers have the expertise, client focus and innovative mindset you are looking for. Each one has a suite of tools that have delivered quantifiable value for others, proving their worth.

However, to ensure you continue to maximize revenue and reduce spend, you should make your choice carefully. 

Transport & Logistics - Driving The Industry Forward