SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT FREIGHT PAYMENT SERVICES: BOOSTIING INVOICE IQ
Customer support. ■ Will an individual account representative be assigned to your company? Do you need to sched- ule an appointment to get assistance or is daily help available? Corporate culture. ■ Find a provider that shares your business philosophy. Employee-to-customer ratio. ■ Does the provider have enough employees to sup- port all its customers?
FBAP is in the service and the business intelligence that you receive.”
GLOBAL VIEW One additional capability to consider is whether the freight payment com- pany specializes in global payment and auditing. “It used to be difficult for shippers to gain visibility of overseas freight forward- ers, carriers, and brokers,” says Allan Miner, president of CT Logistics, which offers FBAP capabilities from its inter- national headquarters in Birmingham, UK. “And international bills are very complex, with multiple lines of charges. Shippers had a hard time determining if their bills were accurate.” To improve the situation, CT Logistics developed an international module for its FreitRater software system. The tool helps audit and process international shipments anywhere in the world, in any language. “It’s amazing how many errors we find in international ship- ments,” notes Miner. As shippers clamor for international FBAP, providers are answering that call with increasingly streamlined processes. “Shippers want one provider–not mul- tiple providers – to process bills and perform audits on a global scale,” says Keith Snavely, vice president of sales, North America, at nVision Global Technology Solutions, headquartered in Atlanta. nVision currently conducts business in 190 countries and remits payment in 45 currencies. “About 350 freight pay- ment companies are in operation; only about five can do this,” he notes. RATE EXPECTATIONS Once you’ve selected a service pro- vider that meets your domestic and international needs, the next step is negotiating a contract. This document ensures your company and the FBAP service provider know what’s expected
PURPOSEFUL REPORTING Ampacet Corporation, a manufacturer of masterbatches (pellets used to form plastic products) based in Tarrytown, N.Y., has been working with freight bill payment and audit services provider Technical Traffic Consultants, Congers, N.Y., for more than eight years. The company values Technical Traffic’s ability to provide customized solutions. For example, the vendor’s transportation data reports let Ampacet gather specific information for a particular purpose. “Technical Traffic can pull figures on our volume per shipping lane, which we can then use to negotiate with our carriers for more favorable rates in high-volume lanes,” says John Picyk, Ampacet’s manager of corporate distribution. Another tool Ampacet uses is the “Ad Hoc Query” capability. With this Web-based reporting tool, the company can log on to Technical Traffic’s site and perform freight bill inquiries on the fly. Reports can range from simple lane queries to freight as a percent of sale for individual product lines by customer. Finally, Technical Traffic’s in-house transportation attorney provides Ampacet with guidance on regulatory and legal issues, and consults on matters such as structuring contracts and filing loss and damage claims. Much more than just handling Ampacet’s bills, Technical Traffic helps the manufacturer create a more efficient business environment.
What about cost? Experts say FBAP service pricing should not be the fore- most consideration. “When shopping for a new car, you wouldn’t buy the cheapest one on the lot,” says Mecchella. “The same holds true when shopping for a FBAP company.” Consider cost along with all the other information you’ve gathered about your prospective providers. “Don’t base the decision on cost alone,” says Lynch. “Don’t give your business to the lowest- cost provider. The value of outsourcing
104 Inbound Logistics • September 2009
FACING LOGISTICS CHALLENGES? USE IL’S 3PL EXPERTS AND
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