TMS Archives - Page 4 of 6

Are You Still Manually Auditing Your Freight Bills?

August 9, 2018/in Blog /by Sammi Guillen

Freight pay and audit can be a very tedious and expensive function. Money is wasted when companies pay outside firms by the invoice while the company may still be left dealing with difficult exceptions directly with the carrier. With the help of technology, the entire process can be streamlined and automated. This makes auditing invoices and handling exceptions highly efficient.

Automation means never accidentally overpaying for freight

Did you know that 15% of carrier invoices are incorrect and, more often than not, those erroneous bills are not in the shipper’s favor? Manually using carriers’ paper or email invoices to validate billed amounts can result in errors or even approvals without proper research. Overcharges can occur when all invoices are generically approved for remittance simply because the effort involved to research discrepancies is too time-consuming.

Automation makes auditing faster

By integrating carrier invoices directly with a TMS, carrier bills can be automatically audited against the approved rate quote for each shipment. If an invoice doesn’t match the agreed upon rate or falls outside an acceptable threshold, a rate exception claim can be created. Rate exception claims should include details of the actual discrepancy to make it easy to dispute. Then, the ERP system can be automatically updated with the new invoice information and payments can be made with confidence. When manual freight pay and audit functions are replaced with automatic ones, shippers only spend time looking at the invoices that are incorrect and always know where the discrepancies lay for easy disputing.

Automation helps to better manage cash flow

Paying invoices too early can reduce cash flow for the company. Kuebix keeps track of the payment terms with carriers and helps ERP systems pay carrier invoices on time, ensuring that invoices are not paid too early. The Kuebix platform automatically alerts the user which invoices to process for payment and on what date, ensuring cash-flow is managed correctly.

Automation provides more accurate financials

With technology, shippers have the ability to add important GL codes to the invoice so that their accounting teams can properly class the financial information for every line item on every shipment. Enabling the smooth exchange of all associated financial data helps the company keep track of specific expenses by various product lines and business functions. By leveraging automation technology, opportunities to squeeze savings from shipping operations can be identified and implemented as well.

Kuebix TMS offers out-of-the box solutions to automate Freight Pay and Audit functions. This means that detailed rate exceptions can be viewed in one place instead of painstakingly researching discrepancies on each mis-matching invoice. By collaborating with Kuebix’s experienced team of implementation experts, a customized carrier invoice auditing integration can be created to fit any company’s specific needs.

How One Consumer Packaged Goods Company Keeps Up with Its Speed of Growth

August 7, 2018/in Blog, Case Study /by Sammi Guillen

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are growing as convenience, drug and discount retailers gain industry presence due to their improved customer experience when compared with traditional brick-and-mortar. Stocking these smaller format stores, combined with the general nature of the merchandise, means that CPG supply chains are both high velocity and prone to demand spikes. Growing CPG companies looking to expand their order volume and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction are turning to technology to gain a competitive advantage.

180 Innovations, a private-label manufacturer offering a full range of health and beauty products, implemented Kuebix TMS to stay ahead of their increased shipment volume while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.

The company specializes in thermometry and produces oral, skin and hair care products. They supply retailers such as Marshalls, Rite-Aid, and CVS, and distribute across North America. Moving their freight management process from paper to one optimized for the digital age was an obvious choice for the manufacturer.

In 2016, the company began seeing a rapid period of growth, necessitating the move away from small parcel shipments via the postal service and toward LTL shipping. With these increased freight needs, 180 Innovations decided to optimize their processes rather than scaling an old system. To do this, the company adopted Kuebix TMS as their transportation management system.

Davor Vucic, an industry veteran with 20 years’ experience at 180 Innovations under his belt, manages the company’s shipping and receiving operations. Now, with Kuebix, he can rate, book and track shipments with ease as well as automatically create BOLs. In addition to the core functionality, Vucic has been able to leverage the power of the TMS to get ahead of his workload.

The ability to easily edit shipments has also been a benefit for 180 Innovations. If something needs to be added onto or removed from an already finished shipment, they can easily do so. Having the flexibility to modify shipments helps to keep product flowing and customers happy.

Kuebix TMS has made 180 Innovations’ transportation operations faster and more efficient. The manufacturer has been able to handle their increasing business without needing to scale their previously manual process. Davor Vucic reports that he is 5 times faster with Kuebix. Saying that “it’s the only way we are able to keep up with the speed of growth 180 Innovations is experiencing.”

To read more about this CPG company’s experience using Kuebix TMS, click here.

Stop the Double-Entry Madness!

July 24, 2018/in Blog, Integration /by Sammi Guillen

When most people think of the supply chain, they picture pallets arranged on trailers or colorful shipping containers being loaded off of ships. However, there are a lot of moving parts to the supply chain even before product starts moving from point A to point B. Getting those pallets and containers to where they need to be takes time and a lot of pre-planning. To keep the supply chain running smoothly, orders need to be received, product needs to be produced to meet demand and transport needs to be arranged for pickup.

These steps require a high degree of attention in order to work successfully. Orders are tracked by PO number, SKU and many other metrics which might encompass anything from dimension to Haz-Mat classification. Many shipping departments studiously key order information from their ERP systems to their carriers’ websites to arrange transport. In some cases, printouts are even being re-keyed into spreadsheets. For anyone who has keyed product or order information back and forth between systems, you know that it can take considerable time and be riddled with manual errors.

Technology is helping shipping departments stop the double-entry madness. By integrating purchase orders directly from their ERP system, logistics professionals can automate the rapid creation of shipments by avoiding the need to re-key a long list of order line items. Integration is also two-way, meaning financial and customer service teams can gain visibility on all transactions as information flows seamlessly back to the ERP system.

By allowing order and product information to populate automatically, the need to re-key information between systems is completely eliminated. This decreases labor costs by saving time manually typing orders while simultaneously increasing order accuracy. Better order accuracy means never shipping the wrong product or quantity because of a simple typo and never having to explain to a customer why human error was to blame for your poor service.

Leveraging technology to automate a previously manual and tedious process is saving countless companies valuable time. Some companies have been slow to integrate their ERP with their TMS for fear of a long, complicated process. However, by seeking a TMS that offers a common integration approach to all ERP systems, shippers can be assured of rapid implementation and ROI. Kuebix TMS offers out-of-the-box ERP integrations. Click here to check out how we integrate with Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite and QuickBooks!

Amazon Prime Day’s Impact on the Supply Chain

July 16, 2018/in Blog, News /by Sammi Guillen

Amazon Prime Day kicks off today at 3:00 PM EST and is one of the biggest e-commerce days of the year, with sales growing over 60 percent year-over-year since 2016. Prime Day features deep discounts for Amazon Prime members and will generate sales to rival those of the holiday season, even during one of the year’s lowest sales periods. Retailers supplying the 560M+ items available every day on Amazon in the USA are upping their game with the help of technology to meet expectations for quick deliveries and excellent service by optimizing their shipments and improving visibility.

Amazon Prime Day is like Black Friday, only in July, and demonstrates how consumers’ adoption of e-commerce shopping is growing at a pace that far exceeds expectations. E-tailers shipping into Amazon fulfillment distribution centers (FDCs) are focusing on improving efficiencies within their supply chains and streamlining operations to keep pace with the increased volume. By leveraging the power of technology, retailers are lowering transportation costs, finding needed capacity, and gaining visibility into operations to ensure customer service expectations are met.

Prime Day comes at a time of year that has been traditionally slow for the supply chain industry. There aren’t any major holidays, and back-to-school hasn’t quite started. However, the popularity of the event coupled with the capacity crisis and driver shortage are causing roadblocks for some retailers who haven’t already optimized their supply chains. To keep up with the heightened order volume, retailers must streamline internal processes, ship products more efficiently and maintain a heightened level of visibility to order line items.

Retailers are turning to technology to improve their internal processes through order integration, rate-comparison and freight pay and audit features. Global logistics communities are uniting carriers and shippers to find optimal routes to share assets and fill empty miles. Powerful optimization tools are consolidating loads and planning the most efficient routes to cut down on transit time as well as costs. All these processes are being made possible by technology and are helping to combat the capacity crunch by making shipping more efficient and utilizing assets to their fullest.

Amazon has set the bar high in terms of order visibility. Companies are now taking advantage of technology to gain visibility into their supply chains, resulting in superior customer service and more efficient operations. The adoption of technology like tracking devices, on-board computers, and cloud-based portals means that retailers can collaborate with carriers to improve performance. Carriers can provide an updated status of their delivery so that retailers know where goods are at all times and when to expect their arrival. If a delay is going to happen, the customer can be alerted, which improves satisfaction.

The industry is braced for “Christmas in July” as the countdown to Prime Day draws to a close. The deep discounts on more than one million items, both Amazon-branded products as well as items from third-party sellers, are guaranteed to have a large impact on the supply chain this year. In order to keep up with increased order volume and inventory turns, shippers are turning to technology to improve their processes and speed up delivery.

A Modern Dating Game: Shippers are Courting Truckers

July 10, 2018/in Blog, Capacity Crunch /by Sammi Guillen

In today’s market, shippers have to “court” carriers if they want to get capacity. They can do this by making sure turn-around times are fast, drivers are well-paid and paid on time and that processes like tendering flow smoothly. Some trucking companies are refusing to service particular markets. Others are refusing to pick up loads for shippers they’ve had trouble with in the past.

What can shippers do to “court” truckers?

Offer better pay and perks to entice drivers – At the Transportation and Logistics Council’s Annual Conference, shippers discussed what they could do to make themselves more competitive in the race to secure capacity for freight. A key suggestion was to compensate truckers with higher wages to bring in more capacity. Other ideas included providing break rooms, bathrooms, free coffee, showers and more – in short, providing things to keep drivers happy while treating them with respect. The goal being that happy drivers will increase the likelihood of repeat capacity.

Improve operations to reduce turn-around times – With electronic logging devices (ELDs) accurately measuring the amount of time a driver is on the road, shippers need to focus on keeping truckers in the driver’s seat. Dock scheduling solutions allow carriers and suppliers to book appointments online and monitor statuses in real time, leveling the flow of activity in and out of the yard to decrease congestion and help truckers get back on the road as soon as possible. Ensuring the appropriate number of personnel are available for loading or unloading also allows drivers to get their trucks turned around faster. When wheels turn, drivers make money. If shippers want capacity, they are obligated to watch the clock and not cause delays for drivers.

Streamline processes to strengthen relationships – By tendering loads with plenty of lead time, shippers can give carriers the time they need to best plan routes and ensure driver availability. Shippers can also offer more flexible requests, such as wider shipping windows. This flexibility helps carriers offer the best lane and service for the job. Making sure that payments are made on-time is also essential for maintaining a strong reputation and good carrier relationships. When shippers improve these processes they make it easier for carriers to “sell” the shipper to their drivers, which increases the likelihood that drivers will want to do business with the shipper again.

In the past, only shippers kept scorecards on their carriers to measure performance. Now, carriers are also keeping track of shippers’ behaviors; things like ease-of-pick up, idling times, wait times, billing/payment accuracies, etc. In order to secure reliable capacity, shippers need to give their carriers the best working experience they can.

Changing all of these behaviors might seem like a daunting task, but with the help of a transportation management system like Kuebix TMS, these changes can be put into place with ease. Kuebix TMS enables shippers to compare rates side-by-side so that the lowest rate can be booked directly with the carrier without the need of a middle-man complicating the process. Kuebix also offers Dock Scheduling, Carrier Relationship Management and other programs and features which improve tracking and visibility to effectively communicate with carriers. By “courting” carriers with these operational and technical improvements, shippers can rely on capacity from carriers who are happy to handle their freight!

Don’t Let Your 4th of July Holiday Fizzle Out

July 2, 2018/in Blog /by Sammi Guillen

Happy Birthday America! The Fourth of July holiday celebrates the birthday of the United States of America, but no one ever stops to think how this holiday gets pulled together. There is food – hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, etc. – and of course, fireworks – that must arrive from suppliers to retail outlets or consumers’ homes at the right time.

The National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend $6.9 billion on food over the 4^th of July holiday. Other results from the NRF survey include:

9 out of 10 adults will celebrate the Fourth of July
31 million will be traveling
27% of people plan to purchase patriotic merchandise
62% of people are planning a cookout or picnic
61+ million cases of domestic beer will be drunk
$325 million will be spent on fireworks in the US

For supply chain managers, the 4^th of July holiday consists of a lot of variables that add complexities to supply chains. These include regional tastes, weather conditions, traffic patterns and local regulations that increase demand variability, making transporting the 4^th of July goods on time to the right location quite hard to coordinate without the use of technology.

With the increase in shipments needed to get 4^th of July merchandise, food and fireworks to retailers’ shelves, the decrease in capacity and lack of truck drivers to carry loads could potentially fizzle out any supply chain. Hopefully you planned early and can be flexible. Using a transportation management system (TMS) that collects data from across the supply chain and generates reports that help management make better, more informed decisions, can help you plan for seasonality within your operations.

A TMS that has thousands of carriers connected in a global network, or that allows you to access the spot market, can help you find the capacity you need, quickly and easily. A TMS that manages inbound freight can speed operations at the dock, helping distributors improve their operations and maximize efficiency.

With technology like Kuebix TMS managing your freight, your 4^th of July with be the best celebration of the year.

Kuebix TMS - Cargo Theft Claims Management

Cargo Thieves’ New Strategy Hitting Shippers Hard

May 29, 2018/in Blog /by Sammi Guillen

Cargo theft continues to be a pain-point for shippers in every industry as metrics from Q1 of 2018 roll in. Though technically the overall total of cargo related thefts has decreased 23% year-over-year in North America (CargoNet), it is presumed that many more cargo thefts are going unreported by shippers. All cargo theft numbers are voluntarily reported, meaning operations and finance teams who are already scrambling to ascertain their losses may be neglecting to report the theft to the proper authorities. Potentially more worryingly, shippers may not be realizing the extent of their missing products because of inadequate claims management.

Thieves targeting trucks in transit are using a new strategy to carry out their crimes. As opposed to stealing entire loads or many pallets of product, thieves are being more selective in what they are taking and only lifting a small amount of product at a time. Besides the obvious benefit of increased speed to avoid detection, thieves may also be leaving shippers unaware that there was a theft at all. Pallets go missing all the time for perfectly legitimate reasons that can be tracked down, but shippers without a system to track their historical claims may not be aware to what extent they have been targeted by thieves.

Food and Beverage remains the commodity with the highest losses, closely followed by Household Items and Electronics. In the first quarter of 2017, the average value of a reported cargo theft was $164,185. In the first quarter of 2018, the average value of reported goods stolen rested at $90,883. On first glance, this seems like a success story for law enforcement, but it could also paint the picture that pre-meditated theft sizes are actually dropping. Without ascertaining the accurate number of cargo thefts, it will be impossible to determine whether the number of individual events is rising correspondingly.

According to SensiGuard, 92% of large-scale incidents occur in unsecured parking areas. Other locations reported include warehouses and secured parking lots. Often, determining the exact location of the incident, if it is even noticed by the driver, is difficult. Drivers often travel hundreds of miles before unloading, and if they do not do a thorough walk-around of their vehicle at each stop, determining the exact location of the theft becomes more and more unlikely. The best way to catch a theft early is for drivers to remain vigilant about checking their trailer’s seal or lock.

3 Steps to Prevent Cargo Theft

Check it – Drivers should thoroughly check their trailers’ seals and locks after leaving their truck even for a short period
Report it – Notify the proper authorities if cargo has been stolen to encourage appropriate action be taken on thieves
Track it – Make sure to track all historical claims to determine the scope and pattern of incidents, whether benign or malicious

Many shippers lack a process to track and manage their claims with carriers when items don’t arrive at their destinations as planned. This causes a lot of confusion and lost revenue if managed incorrectly, especially if those items have actually been stolen and their value can’t be recouped. By leveraging a Claims Management system like Kuebix TMS’s, shippers can tie claim information directly to the shipment to make tracking and research easy. By maintaining historical claim details no claim goes overlooked and patterns and totals can be discovered, making a real impact to a company’s bottom line.

The ERP Integration Highway

May 25, 2018/in Blog, Integration /by Sammi Guillen

Many companies are discovering the benefits of using a TMS to streamline their transportation operations. A well-rounded TMS offers many modular features to support the changing needs of any type of supply chain. One of the most universally beneficial features is the ability to integrate purchase orders automatically from an ERP system directly into the TMS.

Why is integrating POs directly from an ERP so beneficial?

Integrating POs directly from an ERP system facilitates the rapid creation of shipments by avoiding the need to re-key a long list of order line items, ensuring 100% order accuracy.

Since the integration is two-way, shipment data is populated back into the ERP system for record keeping and to provide stakeholders with complete visibility. This enables information down to the SKU level to be leveraged in claims management, meaning the shipper always has the information they need to protect their company’s interests. Shippers can also better understand the true landed cost of goods to make smarter decisions regarding their company’s bottom line when they integrate purchase orders directly from an ERP system.

Use the ERP Integration Highway to get started:

The TMS should leverage a common middleware connector that maps ERP order and item information and automatically creates orders within the technology.
These orders are stored within the TMS in preparation for shipping departments to simply scan or enter the order number into a lookup field to get rates and begin shipping.
Once the order is shipped, the TMS notifies the ERP system and updates the ERP order with shipment details. (Tracking number, cost, carrier, time in transit, GL code, etc…)
Each ERP highway connector includes a configurable trigger function to automatically create orders, status changes or approval processes to tell the TMS to pull the order details. This process allows for a seamless flow of data between the two systems.
Once shipped within the TMS, shipment details are mapped back to the target ERP system for accurate record keeping and visibility for all stakeholders.

Kuebix TMS leverages this methodology to provide shippers a pain-free way to integrate their ERP system directly into the TMS. The ERP Integration Highway is a common integration approach to all ERP systems, meaning the process is smooth and efficient for shippers with any ERP system. To learn more about Kuebix integrations, click here.

Tracking KPIs on Carrier Scorecards to Improve Shipper-Carrier Relationships

May 23, 2018/in Blog, Carrier Scorecards /by Sammi Guillen

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are an effective way to measure the performance of your transportation operations, including the performance of your carriers. With transport costs having a direct impact on the bottom line of the business, KPIs are of the utmost importance for managing cost. Plus, shippers can leverage KPIs to strengthen the relationship with their carriers while harnessing greater control over transportation operations and freight spend.

To start, you will need to identify the metrics that are most important for your logistics operation; specifically, the ones that will help you meet your business goals. If your goals are to reduce costs, then you will need to choose KPIs that measure cost-related activities.

Measurements must be easy to understand and well defined. Measurements used in KPIs are not meant to finger point; instead they are designed to encourage appropriate behavior, so should reward productive activities. A consistent open conversation between carriers and shippers can eliminate any surprises.

There are an unlimited number of KPIs to measure your logistics operation and each company should have unique measurements to reach their corporate objectives. Some of these include:

· On-time arrivals of pickups and deliveries
· Average loading and unloading times
· Percentage of shipments that equal the bill of materials
· Percentage of shipments that arrive in good condition
· Average transportation cost per miles/volume/weight
· Average number of deliveries made per driver/truck/route
· Percentage of shipments using LTL /TL/Parcel
· Load acceptance rate
· Carrier rate benchmarking by lane
· Claims percentage for freight costs
· Truck turnaround time
· Planned time in transit vs. actual
· Length of time between inbound load acceptance and scheduling a pickup appointment

Most importantly, carriers and shippers need to review the numbers, identify opportunities and take corrective actions for any issues that arise. KPIs identify a problem that must be traced back to its root cause to understand how to solve it. The problem could be with the carrier; it could be with the shipper, so the information must be reviewed carefully and analyzed extensively.

Working together, shippers and carriers can collaborate to improve their relationship by using the wide variety of measurements. By leveraging Kuebix TMS’s actionable reports, dashboards and carrier scorecards, shippers gain easy access to their KPIs and can begin this conversation with their partners.

Why a Cloud-Based TMS is Better

May 18, 2018/in Blog, Cloud /by Sammi Guillen

A decade ago, if you wanted a TMS, you had to buy the software and install it within your organization. Today that has changed as more TMSs are moving to the cloud. Transportation management systems (TMS) based in the cloud are being adopted at faster rates than ever before. Industry analyst firm Gartner sees a 15% growth in TMS usage within small- to mid-sized businesses with some vendors reporting more than 20% growth.

So why are cloud-based TMSs growing in popularity?

We can think of 10 good reasons:

Lower Barriers to Entry – Upfront expenditures related to hardware and software are eliminated with a cloud-based TMS allowing businesses of any-size to gain access to the technology. No longer do companies have to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars on installed software. Instead, with a cloud-based TMS, you pay subscription or usage fees.
Enhancements Made Easy – The cloud-based TMS software provider is responsible for upgrades and enhancements to its solution, which includes maintaining the application and ensuring its availability and reliability. Most application upgrades can be easily deployed automatically, eliminating the need for internal IT staff involvement.
Connectivity – Cloud-based computing enables the TMS to connect to a global group of supply chain trading partners. As more and more carriers, shippers and suppliers connect to this network of trading partners, the ability to collaborate and conduct business with more and more companies brings value to the participants. Under a cloud model, the TMS can become a central marketplace where you connect to a variety of supply chain stakeholders.
Flexibility as You Grow – Cloud-based TMS systems offer lots of flexibility, starting with basic features that can be easily upgraded with additional functionality as your business needs change. Start with the ability to rate, book and track shipments, then add other features as needed – from predictive analytics to freight bill audit/payment and more.
Level the Playing Field – Deploying a cloud-based TMS levels the playing field as businesses of any size have access to a larger variety of rates and carriers, allowing your business a greater chance to get better rates.
Software Always Up & Running – Cloud-based TMS vendors deploy their systems across multiple data centers to ensure 24/7/365 operations. So, no matter if there is a widespread power outage or weather-related event, you will have access to the TMS and your data to ensure you can always get your products out the door.
Fastest Route to Implementation – Cloud-based TMS systems are easy to deploy and easy to use with typical start-up within minutes or a few hours. Some systems offer online how-to videos to help new users begin.
Faster ROI – Cloud-based TMS users get a faster return on investment (ROI) because of the low upfront investment and quicker start-up. You’ll be up and running quicker, making smarter decisions on rates and carriers.
Smarter Shipping Decisions – Smarter decisions can be made by your transportation operations team by leveraging actionable reports and dashboards within a TMS housed on the cloud. Every transaction is captured and can be analyzed for improvements in service levels, freight spend, KPIs and more.
Lower Freight Spend – Using a cloud-based TMS will lower your freight spend, reports say between 10 – 20% on average, because you have more choices of modes and access to more carriers and lanes.

A cloud-based transportation management system like Kuebix TMS offers a wide variety of benefits for shippers. Before you take the plunge with a new cloud-based TMS, use this Complete Buyer’s Guide to figure out exactly what your needs are!

Meet Sustainability Goals with the Help of a TMS

April 20, 2018/in Blog /by Sammi Guillen

U.S. Senator Gaylord Wilson, from Wisconsin, witnessed the effects of a massive oil spill along the California coast in 1969, motivating him to bring attention to the environment. He established the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. It was wildly popular, sparking national interest, so popular that Congress established the US Environmental Protection Agency and passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act that same year.

Since Earth Day began, it has expanded globally to over 192 countries – all working together to raise awareness for sustainability and protection of the Earth. The 50^th Anniversary of Earth Day will take place two years from now on April 22, 2020. Click this link to be a part of the Earth Day Network’s mission to broaden, diversify, and mobilize the international environmental movement.

Logistics is at the heart of the U.S. economy, without shipping our country would come to a standstill. The majority of American businesses rely heavily on an enormous amount of diesel fuel each year. According to the ATA (American Trucking Associations)

Fuel Consumption –

· 3 billion gallons of fuel consumed by those trucks used for business purposes in 2016

· 8 billion gallons of diesel fuel

· 5 billion gallons of gasoline

· The trucking industry spent $105.2 billion buying diesel fuel in 2015

· Diesel fuel is often the second highest expense for motor carriers after labor and can be as much as 20% of total operating costs.

Not only is fuel an expensive commodity for companies to purchase, it also has huge implications for the environment. Shippers can have a real impact on CO2 emissions by reducing the amount of fuel they consume. One of the easiest ways for companies to achieve this is to ensure that their trucks are always as full as possible, and their delivery routes are optimized.

Kuebix is helping shippers meet their sustainability goals by facilitating the consolidation of LTL shipments into FTLs when possible. SupplierMAX, Kuebix’s program for streamlining inbound operations, helps shippers standardize a set of carriers to enable loads to be consolidated as a regular practice. An excessive number of inbound deliveries leads to higher emissions, greater idling times and increased unloading costs. Fewer trucks on the road means a decrease in fuel consumption and overall lower costs. It’s a win for suppliers, shippers and the environment!

Shippers can do their part to improve air quality by reducing the number of trucks they have on the road. A robust transportation management system like Kuebix TMS helps to facilitate the creation of an optimized transportation strategy. To honor Earth Day 2018, any shipper can begin to meet their sustainability goals by improving their supply chain efficiency with the help of Kuebix TMS.

What Should You Pay For Your Freight?

March 28, 2018/in News, Supply Chain 20/20, TMS /by Sammi Guillen

Calculating freight rates is a critical step for any business with product to ship. Freight rates may be for a variety of destinations, multiple classes and different weights, but how much it costs to ship product will always be a key driver of your total cost of goods. Getting all the information is necessary to positively impact your bottom line by lowering your cost of goods and getting your product shipped on your terms.

Enter the Kuebix Freight Rate Calculator – a new free tool for all transportation and logistics professionals to research and get instant estimates on their LTL freight.

Here are 3 Reasons to Use the Kuebix Freight Rate Calculator:

Do you have freight to ship but no negotiated carrier rates?
Are you working with a 3pl and have no idea what your freight should actually cost?
Are you just curious if the rate you are currently using is a good rate?

Using the Freight Rate Calculator is simple and only requires the basic information on your freight. Simply visit the calculator by following this link and type in your shipment information. You will need the postal code (zip code) for the origin of the freight as well as the destination postal code. The origin city and state will automatically populate below. Then simply enter your freight’s quantity, weight and dimensions and instantly receive an LTL freight rate.

After receiving your LTL freight rate estimates, you can explore even better rates on LTL, TL and Parcel shipments plus book and manage all your freight by signing up for Kuebix Free Shipper, the free multimodal TMS for unlimited rating, booking and tracking. Kuebix Free Shipper allows you to view all of your carrier rates side by side, empowering you to book the best rate for every shipment.

Begin Calculating Your Rates Now

Imported Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

March 22, 2018/in Blog, News, Supply Chain /by Sammi Guillen

“My business is booming,” said one of our clients in the steel and metal industry. Another commented that “my business is through the roof!” We weren’t sure why until we asked, “What’s the big deal?”

It appears that steel and aluminum manufacturers, producers and distributors are enjoying a boost in revenues thanks to the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum that Trump is imposing. As a result, many of the companies that rely on metals affected by these tariffs aren’t sure what will happen, so they are stocking up on raw materials, parts and components.

The new tariffs will impose a 25 percent price increase on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum to protect national economic security, effective March 23. The plan has been widely criticized by government officials and corporate America who feel the tariffs will cost U.S. jobs, raise consumer prices and hit American manufacturers.

Other countries are threatening trade wars. The EU has warned it will impose a 25 percent tariff on the $3.5 billion of American goods that it imports. Trump’s next move is to impose tariffs on up to $60 million of Chinese imports of technology, telecommunications and apparel.

Many businesses feel that a cost increase is on the way and will likely be pushed down through the supply chain to other businesses like beverages and automobiles. Some US companies that use steel and aluminum in their products may reduce production in the US in favor of foreign production where they can avoid cost increases. Other policymakers think that US manufacturers will no longer have to compete with foreign materials and can instead charge higher prices.

Since many aren’t sure what will really happen as a result of the tariffs, they are building up inventory levels, buying raw materials and stocking up on parts to keep ahead of price increases or lack of materials.

Instead of worrying about stocking up on inventory, Kuebix believes that a greater focus on reducing supply chain costs is needed. As transportation is one of the biggest expenses for a company, often up to 40%, ways to lower logistics costs while boosting efficiencies are a must in this uncertain economic environment.

By leveraging Kuebix TMS, retailers and manufacturers can quickly and easily receive better rates for any transportation mode. Our free TMS, Kuebix Shipper, can even be up-and-running the same day, so companies can immediately begin offsetting costs by receiving lower rates. And by upgrading to add modular features to optimize routes and consolidate loads from LTL to FTL where possible, companies can cut down on the total cost of goods and put money back into other needs, such as raw material purchasing.

Logistics professionals uncertain about the future of steel and aluminum imports can improve their companies’ outlook by utilizing technology to cut costs.

Gaining Supply Chain Visibility Doesn’t Have to be a Daunting Task

February 12, 2018/in Supply Chain 20/20, TMS, Visibility /by Sammi Guillen

Supply chain visibility (SCV) is at the forefront of supply chain leaders’ minds in 2018. Today’s businesses need to know where their product is, when it is going to be delivered, and every detail regarding the contents of their freight. It’s also essential to provide this level of visibility to all the stakeholders in the supply chain. Silos between procurement, warehouse ops, finance and the customer cause breakdowns in the system, resulting in wasted time and lost revenue. Imagine connecting all the logistics professionals who are working to ship your freight from point A to point B on one seamless interface. Giving stakeholders access to the same actionable information in real-time sets them up for better communication and the ability to remove roadblocks.

For many companies working diligently to compete in the new landscape, the prospect of enhancing visibility to their supply chains is daunting. The expected time commitment and resources required to integrate legacy systems with a transportation management system (TMS) is often seen as too costly and inefficient; outweighing the benefits of such a system. These barriers to service are hindering many companies’ ability to gather data on their supply chains and compete at the high-level Amazon has made the industry standard.

Kuebix is revolutionizing logistics management with its intelligent TMS. By seamlessly connecting legacy ERP systems with Kuebix and bolstering the direct customer-carrier relationship, Kuebix enables shippers to see every node of their supply chains. Stakeholders can use one solution to view and manage their freight, saving time and breaking down silos. And depending on the scope of the integration needed, Kuebix TMS can be ready to use in a few weeks to a few months. This modular, scalable solution gives companies previously unable to cope with the commitment of old-fashioned TMS systems the ability to make data collected across the supply chain available to all users and gives them greater control and visibility into what is happening across their enterprises.

Supply chain visibility will be a weighty topic in 2018, as the industry acclimatizes itself to new levels of supply chain control. The question is no longer whether visibility is essential for shipping companies, but how long customers are willing to patronize suppliers without it. The competition will become fiercer and the bar continue to be pushed higher. Here are Kuebix we are excited to see how the demand for increased visibility will continue to evolve the supply chain.

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