BestENews0918

BestNow
The official publication of BestTransport, the leader in transportation management
BestTransport.com
SEPTEMBER 2018
ROAD
SAGE
GETTING YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED
TO WIN ON THE BOTTOM LINE
INSIDE
2 Vince Ciroli: Technology can’t replace people
3 Accessorial tutorial
4 Putting data to work for you
5 Facing rising freight demand
6 Saving big bucks on LTL

PORT OF ENTRY WITH CO-FOUNDER VINCE CIROLI
Human touch
still required
If to err is human, then how do we correct
the “human err”?
While we would like to think we are so
advanced that we have an app that will do
that — well, that generally is not the case.
Yeah, the Waze app might warn us of
a wreck ahead and even route us in a different
direction, but what happens when that technology
takes us off the interstate and leads us smack in the
middle of a No-Go Zone where your life expectancy
can be measured with a watch?
While technology has delivered many wonderful
things, it has not gotten to the point of replacing
humans and human management.
While we are seeing many advances in Artificial
Intelligence (AI), the day of turning over the transportation
department fully to a computer might be
many years in the future.
This is not to say that computers can not help us
to better outcomes. They can. Computers can help
us sort and analyze data faster and better than at
any time in the past.
But we still need the human element.
Data big and small help use create better programs
via algorithms.
I was first introduced to algorithms over 60 years
ago by my grandmother. The word “algorithm”
was first used by Persian mathematician Abu
Abdullah Muhammad in the ninth century and the
word “computer” much later, in 1613. I’m sure my
grandmother was not familiar with either word but
nonetheless taught me about algorithms. She called
it a “recipe!”
Algorithms are much like my grandmother’s
recipe: If something changes just a little bit, it can
change the taste (expected outcome).
So, just like recipes, data need to be continually
watched and managed to achieve the best possible
outcome.
As you will see as you read the articles in this
month’s magazine, the “Human M” in TMS is critical
if you are to constantly and consistently manage
your freight spend dollars.
2 best now
J. Scott Cummans
President and CEO
Reo B. Hatfield
Chief Operating Executive
Deborah (Chesnick) Llaneza
Vice President, Professional Services Group
1103 SCHROCK ROAD, SUITE 100, Columbus, OH 43085 | (614) 888-2378 | BestTransport.com

MAIN FRAME
Accessorial tutorial
Best’s LTL program can ensure you cash in on shipping efficiency
Accessorial fees are one of many
factors affecting LTL rates. These
include charges applied when additional
services are required to
handle a shipment. These fees
are often applied and assessed after shipping,
making them difficult to anticipate and budget.
Base rates represent the largest
portion of LTL freight costs, but
accessorial fees easily can add up,
leading to a significant increase in
total transportation expense. It is
critical to understand the impact
of accessorial fees. The more you
understand about how these fees
are determined and calculated
the easier it is to find ways to reduce
or waive them altogether.
Here is a list of common LTL
accessorial fees and what you can
do to reduce or avoid them:
Fuel surcharges: These are
the most common and typically
are included on every shipment.
This additional charge is due to
excessive costs of diesel fuel and
is applied as a percentage based
upon indices published by the
feds. These surcharges vary by
carrier, 3PL or broker, so remember
to check total net costs when
doing comparisons.
Lift-gate service: Lift gates
enable carriers to lift and lower
shipments from the ground to the
truck and vice versa. This service
often is required when the shipping
or receiving site lacks a loading
dock. Since this equipment
costs carriers money, an additional
charge is required. The cost
can vary widely by carrier.
Oversized freight: Most
shipment pieces equal to more
than 12 feet in length require
more space and can create additional
accessorial fees. Each carrier
has its own rules on the size,
skid count, lineal feet or capacity
rules. Check your carriers’ rules
tariffs or contact Best.
Reweigh and inspection: If
the carrier suspects (or hopes) the
weight or classification of your
freight is inaccurate, it will charge
a fee to reweigh and re-class the
shipment. See our story on weigh
and inspection fees
Limited access pickup: Carriers
may also charge fees when
they pick up or deliver shipments
at limited access areas such as
schools, prisons, military bases,
convention centers, construction
sites, airports or piers. These
fees can be negotiated depending
upon your situation.
Additional services: There
are many other instances when
carriers add an accessorial charge
such as “inside” a building to
pick up or deliver a shipment,
collecting (“COD”) the sale price
of goods shipped and notifying
consignees before making a delivery.
Additionally, be aware of
single shipment charges for only
picking up one shipment that is
usually less than 500 pounds.
Carriers generally publish complete
details regarding all their
accessorial fees in a “Rules Tariff”
and make it available on their
website or upon request. These
“rules” vary among carriers.
Reducing and waiving LTL
Accessorial Charges
Accessorial charges can be
tricky, complicated, difficult and
time-consuming to manage.
Every week, we see companies
paying tens of thousands of
dollars in unnecessary accessorial
charges, which add billions of
dollars in profit for LTL carriers
and subtract that amount from
the shippers’ bottom lines.
So, we have two suggestions:
1. Track, measure and record
the characteristics, dimensions
and weight of your LTL freight
shipments. Make sure your transportation
department knows and
understands the tricky rules tariff
language in all LTL contracts
2. Use an experienced and
qualified provider like BestTransport
Professional Services Group
to analyze and audit your freight
invoices and negotiate rates and
accessorial fees with carriers.
BestTransport’s PSG can recover
past accessorial fees paid over the
past two years and do so at no risk
to the shipper.
Our PSG LTL experts have
helped companies save on their
LTL freight spend for years.
Additionally, our Professional
Service Group LTL experts can
provide you with a no-obligation
freight analysis showing you the
potential savings using our LTL
Saving Program.
Email us at PSG@besttransport.com
september 2018 3

OPEN TOP
Putting data to
the smartest use
BestTransport’s Professional Services Group
can ensure you find real solutions to problems
Why have a transportation
Management System (TMS)?
At first this might seem like a
silly question, but the answers
you get from different parties
might surprise you.
Or if you already have a TMS, you might ask the
question a little differently…
Why do we have a TMS?
Well, a Transportation Management System
(TMS) helps organize information in a clean, easyto-understand
format that allows shipping managers
to make the best and most efficient decisions
possible — automatically.
And many of these
systems take contract
information that was
previously in a file
cabinet and organize
it into a simple list
that can automatically
tender load and route
information to the
best carrier according
to price or pre-determined
rules.
However, Transportation
Management
Systems can do much
more than simply provide rate information. They
can collect data points that become critical in managing
to better and better outcomes. This wealth of
information is incredibly valuable but only when it
is parsed into a form that can be used effectively.
The challenge for Transportation Management
System developers such as BestTransport is to find
effective ways to help shipping managers understand
and interpret the wealth of data and turn that
information into actionable processes that drive a
4 best now
As more and more data
become available, the
question becomes, which
data are the most useful.
Data that are difficult to
navigate, sort or understand
can be useless.
better financial outcome.
At BestTransport we believe this is so important
that we have a separate division, Professional
Services Group (PSG), organized around experts
who have a combined 300-plus years of real world
experience, dedicated to working with shippers and
carriers finding real solutions to real problems.
TMS: More than a transaction tool
As more and more data become available, the
question becomes which data are most meaningful
and useful? In determining meaningful and useful
data, it is critically important to understand the
building blocks behind the data. Without understanding
the details, it becomes difficult to make
better business decisions
or improve business
practices.
How are the data
provided?
This goes back to the
old “garbage in/garbage
out.” How are the data
created? Is the process
automated or supplied
manually by end users?
Is it a judgment call in
areas such as LTL classification,
definition and
estimations? In analyzing results, it is important to
fully understand the initial forming of the data to
provide both control mechanisms and specific and
consistent rules of engagement.
Making better business decisions
The top-of-mind question on data should be
“Does it help me?”
More data, and even more accurate data, are not
necessarily the answer all the time. Data that are
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GROUP

FIFTH WHEEL
difficult to navigate, sort or
understand can be relatively
useless.
Usefulness many times is
organization or facility specific.
The methods of evaluating
metrics or developing key
performance indicators vary
significantly from company to
company.
This is especially true if the
results of the data are derived
from a cookie-cutter approach.
The information might not be
helpful to the specific evaluations
a company requires.
Proper expectations should
be set regarding the reporting
requirements. These should
include the exact analytics
needed, the timing of report
generation and parties within
an organization responsible
for collaborative evaluation of
the data.
At BestTransport, our Professional
Services Group works
closely with all management
levels to develop individualized
useful and actionable
reporting.
Additionally, reporting
needs to be done and presented
in a manner that speaks
specifically to company objectives
and initiatives, producing
performance indicators
specific to department and
management responsibilities
at all levels.
Check it out
To learn more about
how BestTransport’s Professional
Services Group
can help you manage to
better financial outcomes,
even if you are
not using the BestTransport
TMS, please email
PSG@BestTransport.
Facing freight’s
rising demand
Surprises are as abundant
as the miles in
the world of freight,
but there’s little that
could not have been
foreseen in the current state of
things.
Drivers are too few. (Nothing
new there.) Rates are too high.
(Not exactly shocking.) Truck capacity
is too low to match freight
demand. (Heard it all before.)
Regulation hovers menacingly
over it all, the latest wrinkle the
heavily anticipated hard enforcement
of the new federal requirement
for cabs to be rigged with
electronic logging devices.
It all adds up to possible shipping
delays and even steeper rate
increases, industry insiders say.
“This is something we have
been anticipating,” explained
BestTransport Chief Operating
Executive Reo B. Hatfield.
“When you add increased regulatory
burden to a driver shortage,
you have to expect impact from
that.”
There is plenty of good news
gleaming amid the trends. The
bellwether Cass Freight Index
for shipments increased almost
12 percent and spending rose at
a nearly 16 percent clip year over
year in the spring. These were
indicators the U.S. economy was
hitting the gas on growth.
But the wave is something to
be managed rather than ridden,
Hatfield cautions.
“This is still a very tricky situation,
considering what carriers
are facing,” he said. “They don’t
have what they need to meet demand,
so they have to control
that in some way. Rates are the
easiest way to do it.”
This is why Best emphasizes
shippers working with carriers
to set up best-case scenarios for
all sides, allowing carriers to turn
a profit on a deal while preventing
shippers from being legally
gouged.
“There’s a lot to be considered,”
Hatfield said. “This is part
of what we focus on: how we can
help all sides realize benefit from
the transaction.
“The problem is people don’t
know where to look. That’s where
we come in. We know how to analyze
a transaction and find the
hidden benefits for everyone.”
A Walmart supply-chain executive
explained to Transport
Topics that his company had
eased deadlines on some deliveries.
The company also beefed
up load volume and arranged for
drivers to drop and hook to keep
the big wheels rolling. This is just
a sampling of moves that can
boost both sides, an essential in
a climate like this one.
“We believe in and advocate
shippers working with their carriers,
and that’s critically important
in all this,” Hatfield said.
“And this is something we here
at Best can help you manage, to
ensure that both your rights are
protected and your carrier sees
you more as a partner than just
someone they’re doing business
with.”
rbhatfield@besttransport.
com or call (540) 480-2109
for more.
september 2018 5

BACK HAUL SOME PARTING THOUGHTS
BY VINCE CIROLI
How to save big bucks
Best’s LTL program can ensure you cash in on shipping efficiency
‘‘A back an article from last year.
billion here, a billion there, and
pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
Over the past year, we have seen
transportation cost skyrocket for most
shippers, so I thought I would bring
For a company looking for a quick and easy way
to save big money in transportation, our LTL Savings
Program is just what the doctor ordered.
The “billion here, billion there” quote comes from
late Illinois Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen, who died
in 1969. Dirksen was vocal about his concern about
the national debt.
What does a dead senator and a billion-dollar
quote have to do with transportation and logistics?
Well, as best we can determine here at BestTransport,
shippers are overspending, something old Ev
would have called waste — billions of dollars on LTL
shipments annually.
How and why: Weight and inspections rules
You might be asking yourself the How and Why
questions.
How? you ask ...
The carriers are using “their” legal “Weight and Inspection
Rules Tariffs” to verify accurate information.
They are doing “their” job by following “their” rules.
Their, I mean, there you have it! They each have
their own rules, which they wrote. They can and do
enforce these rules, benefitting their bottom line, not
the shippers’.
Why? you ask ...
Because they can. Shippers aren’t following the
rules. In fairness to LTL carriers, they have these
rules and many shippers simply don’t have the time
to review or understand those rules or even know
where they are written or how they are applied.
Where can I find these rules? you ask ...
You can find the rules at the carrier’s office. You
can go online and look them up.
THE FAILURE TO KNOW, UNDERSTAND AND
COMPLY WITH CARRIER WEIGHT AND INSPEC-
TION RULES COSTS SHIPPERS BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS EACH YEAR!
It is not what you expect but what you inspect that
is important.
If you expect a carrier is going to tell or help you
each time you don’t know or understand or violate
one of their “rules,” you will be a long time waiting.
They have more than a billion reasons not to help,
not to correct and not to show a shipper how to avoid
all those costly overcharges.
LTL carriers across the country are hiring hundreds
of extra Weight and Inspection personnel because
they know this is where the greatest opportunity
to fatten their bottom line exists.
For an LTL shipper, the solution is simple: UN-
DERSTAND AND FOLLOW THE RULES AND AD-
JUST BEHAVIOR
As we all know, the devil is in the details.
You first need to find the rules
You need to read the rules. Remember, they are
different from one carrier to the next
You need to follow the rules. Train personnel on
rules and procedure.
You need to understand density rules to avoid extra
charges.
You need to adjust behavior. Check the weight and
sizes of pallets. If you charge your customer $100 for
freight then two months later get a $50 bill from the
carrier’s Weight and Inspection area, who pays the
difference? YOU DO!
Now, try and bill your customer $50 two months
after delivery and see what impression you make.
That is money from your bottom line to the carrier’s
bottom line.
BestTransport LTL Review: We have the knowledge
and experience to do a complete review of your
shipping department. Our LTL Savings Program is a
no-risk evaluation of your LTL systems and procedures.
It costs nothing but can yield large bottom-line
rewards. We work with and for your traffic department.
We do the heavy lifting, allowing your team to
spend more time on its projects.
ASK YOUR LTL CARRIER REPRESENTATIVE IF
YOU DOUBT US: WEIGHT AND INSPECTION IS
BIG BUSINESS.
Get the lowdown
To find out risk-free how our LTL Savings
Program can grow your profits, schedule an
interview today by emailing:
PSG@BestTransport.com.
6 best now