Everyone has had this experience – you buy something, think you got just what you wanted and it’s a great deal! Then you find out that there are fees and unexpected / undisclosed costs you didn’t count on. Improperly used, broker-supplied Less than Truckload (LTL) blanket rates can be exactly that. Small and middle market manufacturing and distribution companies often fall victim to poorly understood transportation products that end up costing them significantly more than the right product.
How can you avoid falling for this? What is really happening here?
It’s likely a day doesn’t go by that your shipping team isn’t called by sales reps from brokerage firms telling you that they have the best LTL blanket rates. The broker has “consolidated millions in freight spend to bring YOU great rates!” They offer the best service, amazing technology and a big company name. Even better, when you give them shipments to compare their rates to yours, their rates look better than what you’re currently paying
Amazing! Simply by answering your phone, you have found a magic solution that lets you skip all that blocking and tackling that industry pros recommend you do to build a stable, low-cost and high-quality LTL freight purchasing program.
Sounds great doesn’t it? Too good to be true? It probably is. Soon after biting on those low blanket rates, the invoice comes in and you see the real cost of moving that shipment. Unanticipated assessorial charges, reclassification or other fees eat into that great “introductory offer.” What’s worse, if you don’t have a system for auditing the invoice against that initial blanket rate quote, you may not even realize the pricing you are being asked to pay is different from what you were initially quoted
Read our white paper if your company has LTL shipments and you’re interested in seeing if you are one of the lucky few for whom broker-provided blanket rates are the right solution
What you will learn:
