Are you overpaying for inbound shipments? Should you switch from LTL to truckload shipments? Are your supply chain and dock loading processes proficient?
Understanding costs in the supply chain is just as important as reducing them. In order to enact profitable change, TMS reports provide insight into trends, inefficiencies, support and monetary KPIs. With actionable data, businesses are enabled to make better, faster decisions for transportation and supply chain optimization.
A transportation cost analysis will help you analyze the efficiency and reduce transportation spend.
Here are 3 reports that are customized for shippers from a transportation management system (TMS). These reports can be compared over time and filtered to show exact locations or facilities so that you can see the ROI of decisions and impact of pain points and/or opportunities.
Light Load Detail and Cost: Light load details vary across customers. Once the weight is defined, then a report is generated showing how much of the designated weight the customer uses and how much-unused space is being paid for.
For example, a flatbed load is defined at 46,000 lbs. Your company consistently ships freight that weighs 36,000 lbs. in this scenario, you’re paying for unutilized trailer space. Seeing this data might encourage you to change shipment patterns, increase lead times, and ask operations why you’re not using all the available space.
Average Length per Haul vs. Cost per Pound: Distance and weight matter when moving goods. The more miles you ship freight, the less cost per pound.
For example, after seeing this report, you might recognize the value of building heavier loads or to add lead time so that a lighter shipment can be moved by partial TL. While reading the report, you can identify any abnormalities in payments and figure out what the driving factors are – usually, these factors are fuel related.
Cost Summary: Cost summary reports contain all the averages of freight prices. Everything from load count, total miles, average miles per load, and average weight per load are included. This report is especially effective for customers looking for ways to make shipments run more cost-effectively.
All the data provided in these reports is generated from a TMS. Without TMS data, you may see the effect of poor transportation performance, but you won’t be able to determine the cause. A TMS enables smart, profitable supply chain change.
TMS data also generates these reports:
- Executive reports contain quarterly business reports, shipment summary, top carrier summary metrics, and core carrier compliance.
- Safety reports include carrier incident tracking and safety trends.
- Distribution reports include service by weight, service by state, and service by zone.
- Ancillary reports include accessorial charge summary, dim detail, and shipment consolidation.
- Tracking reports contain time in transit, delivery performance, and shipment exception detail.
- Accounting reports include invoice status, payment cycle, and audited savings detail.
- Service quality reports contain shipment detail, client report card, claims status, and vendor compliance.
Continue Reading:
- 7 Benefits of Centralized Transportation Management
- The Causes and Effects of Demurrage
- Reduce Cycle Time, Improve Efficiency
