Savings In the Ba
transportation information on inbound and outbound shipments across the globe. Shipment data is aggregated and normalized at a granular level, providing a comprehensive view of transportation costs. This visibility allows shippers to analyze not just their spending, but also their operations. “Clients are asking for advanced analytics that they can leverage,” Carlson says. In addition to reducing costs, they want to better manage their supply chains by, for instance, analyzing networks and traf c lanes. And as interest rates have started to rise, shippers have shown more interest in holding onto their money for longer. Of course, carriers still want to be paid quickly. Through the Cass Financial Suite, Cass can pay carriers within a few days, and then collect from its shipper clients 60 to 90 days later, Carlson says. Full Claims Management Service Among the other services Cass offers is a full claims management service. “We’ve taken something that’s manual and labor intensive, and streamlined it,” Carlson says. Here too, Cass helps clients use their claims data to learn how to reduce future claims by, for instance, changing how they build pallets. One of Cass’s clients operates seven global transportation control towers and produces 300,000 products across its various companies and divisions. Its transportation operations span 100 countries. Leadership has been steadily centralizing management of transportation operations and migrating the freight audit and payment processes for ocean, air, and parcel shipping to a central, standardized process with Cass Information Systems. Among other steps, Cass handled responsibility for onboarding carriers. Because freight payment remains a relatively new concept in many parts of the world, Cass has had to navigate cultural barriers and provide education, particularly to carriers. It worked with the carriers in multiple
At the end of the day, we don’t want to just keep correcting mistakes. We want to fix the root causes of errors and then move on to analysis. It’s not just about audit savings, but the total value we can provide. –Jeff Carlson Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing Cass Information Systems
ways, including developing a library of electronic invoice formats to simplify the onboarding process. Cost savings through audits and minimizing duplicate billings at the company have ranged from 1 to 5%. As important, teams across the globe can view the same, accurate information to compare costs and other information. This visibility led to global freight rate agreements that helped save money and simplify rate management. “At the end of the day, we don’t want to just keep correcting mistakes. We want to x the root causes of errors and then move on to analysis,” Carlson says. “It’s not just about audit savings, but the total value we can provide.”
client who has never engaged an outsourced FBAP provider usually saves more in its rst few years, he adds. Shippers can implement FreitRater in one of several ways. They can outsource implementation and operation to CT Logistics, they can operate it under the BPAAS (Business Process as a Service) model, or as a SAAS (Software as a Service) model. Large shippers who prefer more control and a greater ability to customize the
system can license it in-house. CT Logistics has leveraged its
headquarters location in Cleveland, Ohio, to work with companies in many industries in the area, including metals, automotive, chemicals, petroleum, and rubber manufacturing. It has also worked with many companies that rely on the raw materials these companies offer, including those that provide parts for vehicles, agriculture, aerospace, and other industries. At one point, a multinational holding company for automotive and industrial original equipment manufacturers engaged CT Logistics because it struggled with a lack of visibility to its logistics spend. It also couldn’t easily determine which carriers were being deployed. In addition, each business unit had its own accounts payable team and processes, limiting visibility and transparency across the enterprise. By engaging CT Logistics and leveraging its international audit and payment services, the company gained visibility to its scoped logistics spend globally, and down to the accessorial level, Miner says. It also gained greater and more structured buying power.
CT LOGISTICS: Tackling Complexity and Providing Control FreitRater, the proprietary and
global freight bill audit and payment platform developed by CT Logistics, can ef ciently and accurately process complex transportation rating structures, says Allan Miner, president. More than 20 of the largest trucking lines in North America, and more than 25 of the Fortune 1000 corporations, currently use the solution. The in-house development team behind FreitRater includes programmers with between 4 and 31 years of experience with the solution. “In general, FreitRater identi es gross savings between the billed amount and the paid amount, averaging about 3.2%,” Miner says. This is a blended average, however, and a new shipper
82 Inbound Logistics • September 2022
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