On September 18, FedEx announced its 2018 general rate increase (GRI). FedEx’s 2018 GRI is keeping the US Domestic Express and Ground increase to 4.9% (as compared to 2017 GRI Express at 3.9%)... View More
How many parcel shippers truly read the story their parcel data tells? The reason I ask: To have a discussion about parcel benchmarking against other businesses, the data — be it from invoices... View More
With the FedEx GRI that was announced several weeks ago, FedEx also announced increases to accessorial fees that will have a significant impact. This link provides a chart that highlights the ch... View More
Automated dimensioning systems have been around for over 20 years and have been used by a small subset of the shipping, warehousing, and distribution center business. First-generation systems were a b
As most of us have heard by now, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Freight, subsidiaries of FedEx Corp., will increase shipping rates effective January 1, 2018 by an average of 4.9%. The ch... View More
As shippers and logistics professionals, we accept the rationale behind surcharges. After all, from a shipping company’s perspective, surcharges only make sense — some packages cost more to
When UPS first announced Peak Surcharges in June, the carrier promised to publish an updated 2017 Rate and Service Guide on September 1. That day has arrived and UPS has delivered, so to speak. So, w
This article originally appeared in our July/August issue If UPS and FedEx follow their 2017 timelines, general rate increase (GRI) announcements for 2018 are on the horizon. No matter when they are announced,... View More
Freight charges can represent up to 10% of a company's total costs. Fuel surcharges and fees drive that cost even higher, and we trust that what our contract says is what our invoice hears. In... View More
Lately, talking about the future of shipping feels like peering into an old 1950s sci-fi movie complete with flying robots and self-driving vehicles or a steampunk dream featuring blimps and par... View More
On many levels, your relationship with your parcel carrier is like a partnership. You need your carrier so that you can perform your business, and the carrier needs you for revenue. You sign an agreem
In a previous article, I referenced business intelligence and its importance in managing small parcel supply chains. It wasn’t merely for the sake of audit and service recovery, but for the sake... View More
As part of their 2017 rate changes, UPS and FedEx have changed the way they calculate fuel surcharge as of February 6. Instead of calculating based on the monthly jet fuel average price two mont... View More
Far too often, parcel intelligence reporting is underused — if used at all — by even the highest-volume parcel shippers. Shippers tell me they know their shipping costs because they ca... View More
If data collection, analysis, and intelligent decision making wasn’t a determining factor for business success, these articles might be fewer and farther between. The other reality — in the
As part of their 2017 rate changes, UPS and FedEx changed the way they calculate fuel surcharges as of February 6th. Instead of calculating based on the monthly diesel average price two months p... View More
With the recent GRI increase and carrier tariff changes that have just become effective, it is a very good time to review your company’s shipping profile and costs. Most people know that their... View More
The commonwealth of Virginia has played an important role in shaping America’s history. It wasn’t until farmers of Virginia could not find quality seeds in 1923 that the farmer’s... View More
In part one of this series, we discussed the importance of continually reducing expenses and improving operational processes in order to help your business succeed, and we looked at a case s... View More
We invest time, resources, and money into negotiating our contracts. But are we dedicating the same attention to our carrier invoices? How do we know what we negotiated is what we are actually r... View More
