Even businesses that operate with their own fleets outsource a portion of their shipments to external carriers. Systematically managing this relationship is crucial in terms of both cost and service quality.
Scope
Carrier master data: Contract terms, service areas, vehicle types, capacity, insurance and permits.
Tariff management: System-defined price tables based on region, distance, weight, volume, and vehicle type; monitoring of contract periods and price increase clauses.
Automatic carrier selection: Determining the most suitable carrier for each shipment based on cost, capacity availability, service level, and past performance.
The freight bidding process: Bidding on the shipment to multiple carriers, comparing the received prices, and making the assignment.
Capacity commitment: Monitoring volume agreements with carriers; measuring whether the committed cargo is actually delivered.
Performance evaluation: A report card based on on-time delivery rate, damage rate, document turnaround time, waiting time, and invoice accuracy.
Carrier portal: Where carriers can view, accept, update the status of, and upload documents for their shipment assignments.
Compliance monitoring: Tracking the validity periods of authorization certificates, insurance, and hazardous materials competency certificates.
A frequently overlooked point: Carrier selection in most businesses is done by habit — "this company always goes to this region." However, when tariffs are defined in the system, the choice becomes a calculation, and it becomes clear that different carriers are more suitable for different shipment types in the same region. This single change produces a single-digit, but significant, cost improvement in most businesses.