Checklist freight spend management

10 questions about Freight Spend Management

There are numerous ways a shipper can reduce freight spend. They can renegotiate contracts, find other carriers, and do a better job of maximizing their truck utilization. But these efforts bring temporary, not permanent, relief. How likely are carriers to agree on endless rate cuts? And freight costs are continuing to rise, pushed upward by factors such as globalized distribution and unpredictable fuel prices. Supply Chain Movement and software vendor Eyefreight have developed this checklist to provide to pinpoint the key drivers of Freight Spend Management.

To anticipate and respond to high customer demand, a modern Transportation Management System (TMS) needs to optimize inventory allocation. By consolidating at the source, several shipments can be combined into one, thereby reducing the number of shipments even before the shipments arrive at the Logistics Service Provider (LSP).

A TMS with inventory allocation enables shippers to monitor shipments down to the package level. The location of any package that is part of an order can be traced; status information about time, quality, and relevant financial aspects all need to be recorded and monitored during transportation execution.

Deviations that occur during transportation execution are not necessarily approved immediately. Especially in the case of cost-related deviations, the shippers’ approval should be required before the Logistics Service Provider can invoice the shipper for extra costs. This is an important aspect of managing freight spend.

Answer the following 10 questions to discover how far your company has Freight Spend under control.