Eliminating Extra Costs From Double, Triple Orders

Freight Payment Services, Audit Services, Retail LogisticsMultiple orders moving the same day to the same customer but on different bills of lading add up costs for shippers. The solution is to consolidate them.Robert Walters, President, Freight Management Inc., 714-397-3262In today's fast-moving business world, there are many times when an order cannot be filled completely, which then requires a subsequent shipment. There is also a push among retailers and wholesalers to allow same-day shipments for orders placed just a few hours earlier.The net result of all this has been a sharp rise in multiple orders moving the same day to the same customer but on different bills of lading. This can become very expensive.A few examples would include: FedEx Priority 10/21-6552# Ontario to Salt Lake City $825.92 Loss $123.89 FedEx Priority 10/21-7705# Ontario to Salt Lake City $1,017.88 Loss $152.68 Four shipments via YRC from PA to CA 300#, 700#, 765#, 700# billed separately came to $734. If consolidated onto one bill, savings would be $108 (15%). Another driving force in this development comes from a single company having more than one product line or business unit in the same building.Here again, if a customer orders an item from one business unit and then one from another, the result also creates multiple bills of lading to the same customer the same day. Double the expense!How do we fix this? It would be wonderful if companies had the ability to modify their behavior and do the consolidation on their doc, blending two or more bills of lading onto one "master bill of lading."The carriers would then bill from this document even if several bills of lading are behind it. And the carriers used to permit you to create a masterbill the next day and some even offered to do that for you themselves. But those days are gone!Today the only real solution is to operate a transportation management system that can receive all the orders each day and each hour and automatically consolidate them onto one bill of lading for the carrier. This works even if the carrier does an AM and PM pick up on the same day, since it is a paper marriage of freight and not a physical consolidation.There are many such systems on the market today and we would suggest they be contacted to provide such consolidation. And for the record, we also have such a system available and would be happy to show its functionality and ability to interface with your ERP.Over 45 years ago, Freight Management Inc. (FMI) began a revolution in freight cost management and freight audit services, reducing shipping costs for its customers. We were among the first to provide this service from which we derived our name: Freight Management Incorporated (FMI)—to save businesses time and money on their total freight operations.Today, FMI remains one of the industry's most experienced and knowledgeable providers of logistics management, including freight bill audit and freight payment services. We offer local, national and global solutions that reduce your costs while streamlining operations.FMI is not a traditional third-party logistics company (3PL) or a freight broker. FMI is a full-service logistics company with advanced data management and reporting capabilities. We offer Business Intelligence (BI) reporting as well as customized reporting and services.