LTL Shipping: Laugh or Cry, It’s Up to You

There are certain things in life that you can count on – death, taxes, repayment of student loans, and your kids not speaking to you all day until you sit down to watch a TV show that you have been waiting to watch all week.

There are certain things in life that you cannot count on no matter how much you wish, rub rabbits feet (dead or alive, that’s up to you), or throw salt over your shoulder – the weather in Michigan, parents picking their kids up on time from a sleepover, and LTL shipments going the way that you planned them.

Whether you are the sales rep, customer, shipper, or carrier, stuff happens. Why does it have to happen to your shipment? No clue, but the fact of the matter is that it will happen at least once because the universe is just set up that way … an extra skid is added here, a load wasn’t quite ready yet there. It all adds up to time and capacity issues and the fact that there are no guarantees in LTL.

“Oh, great LTL guru, tell me how to make it not happen to me!” Well, first of all, I am not a guru. I am in Operations and I was not issued a crystal ball or keys to the Way Back machine when I signed on for this. What I can give you are some pointers on how to get your freight from Point A to Point B.

Eight Tips for Optimizing Your LTL Shipment Experience

1. A two hour timeframe is required by carriers, which means if you close at 4 and it’s 2:30 now, you may be out of luck. You can always check with the carrier to see if they have capacity. If they do, you, my friend, should write yourself a sticky note to buy a lottery ticket on your way home from work. But, chances are you will need to make peace with your freight shipping out the next morning.
2. If your freight is that important, cough up the cash and go guaranteed. Yes, I know, I said there are no guarantees in LTL … hang on. The good things about guaranteed is that carriers that offer the service don’t use partner carriers because if they fail, the main carrier is left holding the bag, so you will have the carrier you picked for the whole trip. IF the guaranteed carrier fails, you have recourses, and by recourse, I mean some sort of refund for your customer.
3. If your freight is more important than your Nana’s 90th birthday and has a delivery date that cannot be missed, go expedited. If this was a seafood menu, expedited would be the lobster with $$$$ next to it. However, you get what you pay for. If the expedited carrier has capacity, your load is getting where it needs to go because these guys have superpowers. They don’t live by the same rules standard carriers do. They may even have wings, or wear capes, or something… Whenever quoting expedited rates, remember to always ask if they have capacity and provide all dimensions of the cargo.
4. Always use the correct BOL. Your accounting department will love you for it.
5. Know the class of your freight. Better yet, have an NMFC number. Bad things can happen when you don’t have the correct class…like reclasses. These bad boys equal more expense to the customer and you will have to tell them. This talk is like The Birds and the Bees-ZILLA – totally uncomfortable for all involved.
6. Have your shipment ready when you say it’s going to be ready. Carriers are like the cable guys, when they show up, you better be home.
7. Make sure you have made provisions for accessorials such as lift gates or notify prior to pick up and delivery. Not every LTL truck has a lift gate and if they don’t have a lift gate, you load won’t be going anywhere until they do. There is no joking about accessorials. I take them very seriously and so should you because they mean money.
8. Give the carrier good contact information for both origin and destination. Putting the contact name as Shipping at XYZ Warehouse and the phone number to 867-5309 Jenny doesn’t cut it. Take the time to get the correct information.

So, good luck with your shipments, and remember that your ops and sales people are like waitresses. If your meat isn’t cooked right, be mad at the cook, not at the waitress.