Transportation: Vendor Inbound Freight

Current State

VIF usually is included on the profit-and-loss statement as part of overall inventory costs. This low visibility line item normally is “buried” in the cost of goods. Most catalogers make the mistake of measuring the cost-effectiveness of their inbound program by considering just the freight discount rate, without much regard to rate base, product classification and carrier choices. At the same time, many catalog executives allow suppliers to choose freight carriers and by doing so, to ultimately control their destiny.