Transportation: Vendor Inbound Freight

* Simplify freight classifications. Of the three cost factors including weight and distance, inaccurate classifications will have the greatest impact on your costs. Negotiate single-class contracts based on your shipment history whenever possible.

For example, a major toy company was describing items as “toys” on its carrier’s bills of lading. The carrier assigned a class of 125 at a base cost of $650. By using a more specific description of “Dart Games” at class 85, the cost for freight dropped by $226/load. At 10 loads/week, this company saved more than $100,000 per year by making this one change.