Effective Price Benchmarking

w i t h L T L’ s M o s t P o p u l a r B a s e R a t e

A n S M C ³ W h i t e Pa p e r A u g u s t 2 0 0 9
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

C O N T E N T S INTRODUCTION
The once-humble surveyor’s benchmark has evolved into a
Introduction right highly sophisticated analytical approach and management
practice. Today “benchmarking” is used by businesses
Benchmarking For worldwide to compare cost, cycle time, productivity,
Predictability & Consistency right
financial performance or quality against a standard or best
practice. Uniform, actionable data, content and business
A COMMON LANGUAGE
FOR COMMERCE right
rules are at the heart of benchmarking. Its ultimate goal is
to facilitate informed business decisions that will, in turn,
The Case For A True LTL support strategic, operational efficiency and financial
Price Benchmark 2 goals and help assure consistent, predictable performance.

W H Y A L L LT L D E A L S A R E
In this white paper, we explore general management
NOT EQUAL 2 benchmarking best practices; benchmark pricing examples;
superior LTL benchmarking characteristics; and the specific,
THE PROBLEM WITH tangible business benefits and value benchmark pricing
C U S TO M S H I P P E R TA R I F F S 3 tools provide to LTL freight purchasers and vendors alike.

Successful LTL Benchmarking

with SMC3 CZARLITE®
CZARLITE USER DEMOGRAPHICS
KEY PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
& D I F F E R E N T I ATO R S
T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F R E G I O N A L LY
B A S E D LT L E C O N O M I C S
Built To Last:
Why CZARLITE Is Here to Stay
INDEXING CARRIERS’ COSTS
TO DO BUSINESS
M A I N TA I N I N G Z I P C O D E
ACCURACY
BENCHMARKING FOR
3
P R E D I C TA B I L I T Y A N D C O N S I S T E N C Y
3 Benchmarking best practices are a business cornerstone of
effective metrics-based organizations worldwide—no matter
what their strategic, operational, process or financial
4 goals. Benchmarking best practices rely on a combination
of systematically updated information, which serves as a
stable metric for making informed decisions; unbiased
4
information, which is collected and distributed independent
of external influences; and widespread usage, so the benchmark
or benchmarking process can serve as common ground for
negotiations. Fortune 500 companies embrace universal
6
benchmarking methods as a systematic way to achieve strategic
and revenue objectives. Small- and medium-sized companies
6 embrace the strategic value of establishing a basis for
performance and business processes improvement. All seek
to enhance and secure their competitiveness with
6 benchmarking.

I N D E P E N D E N T V E R I F I C AT I O N 7
A COMMON LANGUAGE FOR COMMERCE

Conclusion 7 Many august benchmark-development organizations and

benchmark pricing indices have attained regional, national
More About SMC3 8 and global scope and influence, with the ultimate goal being
a common language by which users can conduct commerce.
Information Sources 9
Financial Benchmarks and Benchmarking: Financial benchmarks
are at work in most global financial markets, including
equities, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives.
While there are many pricing models, the Black-Scholes model
(and some of its “knock-offs”) is generally regarded as the
quintessential financial pricing benchmark. 1
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

U.S.financial benchmarks include bond yields (generally •The Argus/McCloskey Coal Indices often serve
compared to benchmark yields on U.S. Treasury securities as the benchmark price for coal markets.
of similar maturity) and the Standard & Poor’s 500
•Reuters RICs and history for the Argus liquefied
“Benchmarking is
Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the most
petroleum gas (LPG) dataset is the benchmark an ongoing out-
widely followed benchmarks or indicators of the U.S.
pricing source for LPG markets. reach activity;
market for large-company stocks and funds that
invest in those stocks).
the goal of the
•Steel Benchmarker™ draws information from outreach is iden-
Multi-Industry Management Benchmarks and almost 1,000 steel buyers, sellers and users
tification of best
Benchmarking: The members of the International and provides benchmark pricing data (these
operating prac-
Standards Organization (ISO)—a worldwide federation information providers and pricing assessment
tices that, when
of national standards bodies from over 100 countries— inputs are anonymous and in compliance with
implemented,
collaborate to develop and promote universal U.S. and European Union anti-trust and
competition laws).
produce superior
management benchmarks and standards used in
performance.”
industries ranging from manufacturing to communication.
•The Energy Information Administration (EIA)
ISO certification assures internal operational, product Bogan and English,
at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides
and service compliance and excellence. Benchmarking for Best
unbiased, policy-neutral energy data, forecasts
Practices
Energy/Commodities Benchmarks and Benchmarking: and analyses to promote efficient markets.
Perhaps the most widely accepted benchmarks EIA’s data products cover energy production,
are in the energy sectors: stocks, demand, imports, exports and prices.
Companies worldwide rely on EIA content to
•Oil is priced using benchmark pricing or make informed strategic and operational decisions.
“price markers” that link local prices to publicly PAGE 1

traded benchmarks like NYMEX WTI crude oil

and IntercontinentalExchange ® (ICE) Brent
crude oil.

Figure 1. Three individual carriers’ pricing programs for the same average LTL shipment traveling from and
to the same origin and destination locations fluctuate widely, causing even savvy LTL purchasers to question
whether they received the best pricing scenario.

$2,250

Carrier C

Carrier B
Shipment Cost

$1,750
Carrier A

Shipment Profile
Class: 77.5
$1,250 Shipment Weight: 1,500 lbs
Origin ZIP Code: 30269

$750
0800 1200 1600
Key Point Miles

continued, next page

 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

T H E C A S E F O R A T R U E LT L True LTL benchmarking—where shippers and carriers

“The use of one PRICE BENCHMARK employ reliable, fuel- and direction-neutral
baseline LTL rates to manage mutually successful
tariff limits The old adage “information is power” is a new truism
outcomes and reliable sourcing—has become core
complexity for for companies sourcing freight within today’s ultra-
to doing business.
the shipper and competitive LTL environment. There is literally no
simplifies the margin for making flawed business decisions based
W H Y A L L LT L D E A L S A R E N OT E Q UA L
comparison of upon inaccurate information or faulty assumptions.
Despite economic upheaval and a ferociously competitive LTL shipment handling costs vary greatly for carri-
LT L b i d s …
LTL market, some carriers and shippers continue to ers, depending on whether the shipment is local,
CzarLite use has
forgo base rate benchmarking. But lacking a shared regional or long haul. For example, short-haul regional
increased as a shipments have a higher percentage of their over-
pricing benchmark, the integrity of both parties’ short-
standard tariff all cost at the terminal level, while longer haul
and long-term planning processes can become
format. Shippers compromised. interregional and transcontinental shipments have
may prefer CzarLite a higher percentage of cost in their linehaul oper-
because it is The North American LTL carrier pool has con- ations. These cost differentials play out in
‘carrier neutral’...” tracted dramatically, and industry consolidation is various ways in individual carriers’ tariffs, and
leaving only the fittest, best-capitalized carriers introduce unnecessary pricing complexity when
N o r b r i d g e , I n c . , LT L
Pricing Effectiveness standing—companies with considerable power, who used as a base rate.
Research Study4 have learned how to obtain significant revenue
yields on a lane-by-lane basis. As the Canadian An individual carrier’s “base rate alternative”
Web site trucknews.com recently reported, rarely i n c o r p o r a t e s a h i s t o r i c a l m a i n t e n a n c e
“Shippers should not be lulled into a false sense of perspective, and may simply use a basic or even
PAGE 2 security that there is a lot of capacity. Two thou- out-of-date price/ZIP code matrix that does not
sand six hundred and ninety (2,690) trucking r e f l e c t c u r r e n t p o s t a l c o d e c o m p l ex i t y. S o - c a l l e d
companies went bankrupt or closed through mid- “ f r e e ” r a t e s o f t e n come with substantial fine
November [2008], with more to come. … That kind print and subsumed goals; therefore, all LTL
of capacity drawdown will leave a major dent when deals are not created equal.
the economy finally turns around.” 2

Figure 2. The relative share of cost varies dramatically between national and regional carriers due to differences
in the length of haul, average weight per shipment, traffic density, terminal network and equipment.

70%
65.17%
60%
Operating Cost

50%
38.50%
40% 35.70%

30%

20% 17.74% 15.90%

10% 7.90% 8.47% 8.50%

0.72% 1.50%
0%
Linehaul P&D Terminal Hub Administrative

Transportation Activity
National Regional
Carrier Carrier
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

Strategic Marketing Goals: Individual carriers S U C C E S S F U L LT L B E N C H M A R K I N G

use their pricing to tailor their rates to market WITH SMC³ CZARLITE ®

conditions. As conditions and strategies change

for carriers and shippers, the shipper is not
always provided a viable means to change
their current pricing.
System Distribution Goals: Individual carriers’
tariffs are designed to give them the advan-
tage, since their pricing is based on their
specific head-haul lanes, deadhead, through
rate, turn around, differential routes, peddle runs,
needed back haul, terminal locations, traffic
patterns and lane imbalances. An inbound
premium covers a vehicle’s less-profitable
return trip to its origin terminal, and carriers
offset circuitous routings and empty or low-
capacity miles in short-haul lanes with
additional charges.
Profitability Goals: Carriers simply cannot supply
every transportation solution to every shipper;
they are limited by their terminal systems and
geographic range. Each market has a unique set
of operational challenges and associated costs.
Profitability is a function of the price/cost
ratio and is often adjusted in the rate to or
from these areas. There is a severe cost
disjuncture when regional carriers are forced
to do business out of their normal areas of
operation. Thus, the shipper may be paying for
individual carriers’ operational decisions—
although those costs were not incurred by
the freight.
THE PROBLEM WITH CUSTOM
SHIPPER TARIFFS
To work effectively and reliably over time and
through the twists and turns of a global economy, an
LTL price base must be fair, balanced, and maintain
a fuel- and direction-neutral basing system. It must
also closely benchmark key independent data as
well as draw from a transportation network and the
frequently updated, well-understood postal and
ZIP code assignments. Above all, it must be able to
express and maintain all the aforementioned infor-
mation in an efficient, effective database that
delivers key decision-making information on time
to shippers and carriers alike.
Industry-standard SMC 3 CzarLite ® is a trusted,
predictable pricing benchmark. Refined over 21
years, CzarLite is used routinely throughout North
America as the basis for thousands of successful
shipper, carrier and logistics service provider
pricing agreements that represent several billion
dollars in annual managed transportation spending.
PAGE 3
CZARLITE USER DEMOGRAPHICS
CzarLite relies on the periodically updated SMC 3
Carrier Cost Index (CCI), regionally based economics
and independent verification of the update process
to enable shippers and carriers from all areas of
commerce and transportation to make wise choices:
Several branches of the U.S. government employ
CzarLite to process literally thousands of competing
motor carrier rates and maintain control over
their massive LTL transportation needs.

On the flip side of the coin, very large shippers Shippers’ Use of Benchmarks Benchmark pricing has
been a normal practice
and logistics service providers have created their in the LTL industry for
own shipper-optimized tariffs to cherry-pick the 11% Own many years. A study
Carrier Tariffs
by Norbridge and
lowest-priced freight movements. However attractive
Associates showed 89
these tariffs may seem for shippers, this approach percent of a carrier’s
also contains inherent risks: When carriers gain 20% Other customers use price lists
Carrier Tariffs other than the carrier’s
pricing strength in an economic turnaround and are for “benchmarking” their
no longer “low-balling” to garner shipper business freight. The same study
determined that CzarLite
and meet their fixed costs, they will most likely 69% Other is the most popular non-
Tariffs
be unwilling to price using today’s “strategically carrier tariff. 4
optimized” shipper rates. These vanity tariffs will
be the most obvious agreements for carriers to Source: Norbridge and Associates

renegotiate or do away with.

continued, next page

 C Z A R
Nearly half of the Fortune 500 and more than
2,000 shippers, including some of the largest
U.S. logistics service providers, use CzarLite
to optimize their LTL purchasing processes;
secure long-term value and core carrier capacity;
and adjust their freight services to meet their
transportation planning needs and strategic
business goals. CzarLite serves as a critical
negotiating tool for securing and affirming
competitive carrier pricing and automating
shippers’ contracts.
Over 375 carriers, including all 50 of the
largest national, multi-regional and regional
LTL carriers use CzarLite with shipper-customers
to negotiate single and joint-line movements;
eliminate rate disputes with connecting carriers;
develop their overall pricing offers; secure
freight that supports their operational
strengths and goals; avoid pricing hazards like
freight mix changes, artificially inflated
regional pricing and DC relocations; improve
productivity; reduce request for pricing (RFP)
PAGE 4
expenses; and compare shippers’ historical
freight statistics with marketplace statistics to
determine shippers’ shipment profiles.
Benchmark pricing has been a normal practice in
the LTL industry for many years. A study by
Norbridge and Associates showed 89 percent of a
carrier’s customers use price lists other than the
carrier’s for “benchmarking” their freight. The
same study determined that CzarLite is the most
popular non-carrier tariff.
WITH CZARLITE, SHIPPERS AND
LOGISTICS SERVICE PROVIDERS:
• Make wise logistics choices by assessing
annual bid awards to carriers
• Survey general pricing availability in
various markets
• Ensure carrier rate competitiveness
• Standardize critical areas of their
business operations, including accounting
functions, computer systems, purchasing
agreements and RFPs
• Increase productivity and overall
efficiency for greater profitability and
competitive end-customer pricing
L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009
KEY PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
AND DIFFERENTIATORS
Delivered via Web services (also known as service-
oriented architecture, or SOA) or other engines
for PCs, networks and UNIX, CzarLite supports a
wide range of transportation and warehouse
management systems as well as enterprise
resource planning systems. Reliable benchmarking
is only one CzarLite benefit; it also brings value
through reduced operational and labor costs, ease
of integration, quick ramp-up times, common
terminology and rules that facilitate internal and
external communication, borderless pricing and
proven technical support.
FOR THEIR P A R T, CARRIERS:
• Develop their overall pricing offers
effectively and benchmark industry
standards at regional, multiregional,
transcontinental and North American
market levels
• Gain access to freight that supports their
operational strengths and goals
• Improve productivity and reduce expense
when replying to RFPs
• Determine shipment profiles by
comparing a shipper’s historical freight
pricing statistics with marketplace
statistics
All CzarLite products—including SMC³
MexicoLite™ and SMC³ CanadaLite™—are designed
to help users establish pricing details that correlate
with each of their carrier agreements, including
discounting, minimum charges, fuel surcharges
(by individual carrier or national average) and
FAKs. Robust discounting features allow simple
discounts, weight break discounts or discounts
attached to very specific geographic lanes.
T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F R E G I O N A L LY
BASED LTL ECONOMICS
CzarLite is designed to handle the anomalies as
well as the economic and geographic complexity
of North America’s many regions, which affect
carriers’ ability to price and move LTL freight and
shippers’ transportation rates. The factors
CzarLite takes into consideration are:
 C Z A R
• State and regional labor expenses
• Weather-related costs
• Speed, weight and restricted road limits
• Load factors
• Freight flow costs, traffic congestion
• Local, state, county and city laws and restrictions
• Chronic head-haul imbalances into New York
City, Washington, D.C., and Florida
• Additional operational expenses, such as tolls
and access fees, and restrictions, such as time-
limited road access, bypasses, etc.
For example, the heavily populated Northeast has
a highly unionized labor force and considerable
urban congestion. Trucks are limited by interstate
highway congestion and often operate on surface
streets. Conversely, the Southeast has less-expensive
labor, less-congested roads, and high-speed road
access with higher speed limits. And unlike some
carriers’ individual pricing systems—which use
one level of rates for intrastate freight pricing and
another for interstate freight pricing—CzarLite
simplifies intrastate pricing, which is based on
regional pricing for the corresponding interstate
movements. For example, CzarLite’s transportation
Figure 3. Carriers tailor their inbound (IB) and outbound (OB) rates to reflect individual operational
and marketing objectives. CzarLite rates trend uniformly on an IB and OB basis without unknown
headhaul or backhaul adjustments.
Rates
Distance
L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009
cost for freight traveling 200 miles between
Georgia and North Carolina is the same as a
corresponding shipment moving between two
points in Georgia or two points in North Carolina.
This eliminates analysis, billing errors, and discount
negotiation and administrative management problems—
an important feature if a shipper’s logistics
patterns include regional distribution or a local
customer base.
Figure 3 compares two individual carriers’
inbound and outbound rates versus CzarLite for
the same shipment moving from Phoenix, Ariz. to
nine U.S. points. CzarLite price increases are
uniform across distances, while carriers’ rates
fluctuate based on individual lane requirements
and revenue goals to and from the target city.
The SMC³ CzarLite, CanadaLite and MexicoLite
base rate systems are aligned to provide consis-
tent rating throughout North America (as shown
in Figure 4):
• MexicoLite enables shipments to move PAGE 5
between any point within the United States
and the Mexican border crossing point under
the standard, established CzarLite rates, while
the distance from the border crossing point to
the Mexican destination is rated for the Mexican
portion of the move. For convenience, these
National OB
Regional OB
National IB
Regional IB
Czarlite IB/OB
continued, next page
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

Figure 4. CzarLite’s comprehensive regional, inter-regional and international pricing supports

accurate LTL decision making throughout North America.

Canada Region 1

Canada Region 2

Canada Region 3

Canada Region 4

U.S. Western

U.S. Pacific Northwest

U.S. California Intrastate

U.S. Middle West

U.S. Southwest

U.S. Southern

U.S. Central

U.S. Eastern

Mexico Region 1
PAGE 6 Mexico Region 2

Mexico Region 3

“The SMC3 CCI Mexico Region 4

applies to specific,
identifiable
expenses, aligning
rates are presented as through rates from the • Tracks motor carrier costs
the process with point of origin to the point of destination.
the recommenda- • Eliminates CPI items that are not part of motor
tions of the • CanadaLite enables a shipment to move carrier costs (e.g., entertainment, produce,
Bureau of Labor between any point within the United States timber, food, liquor, etc.)
Statistics.” and a Canadian border crossing point under
the standard, established CzarLite rates. • Assigns a weighted, regional cost

• Allows interregional or “overhead” pricing

B U I L T T O L A S T: that reflects cost characteristics of the
W H Y C Z A R L I T E I S H E R E T O S TA Y transcontinental freight market

INDEXING CARRIERS’ COSTS TO • Quantifies carriers’ labor expenses (including,

DO BUSINESS
for example, salaries, wages and fringe benefits)
3
The SMC Carrier Cost Index is designed to sup- and non-labor operational expenses (for example,
port CzarLite regional benchmark pricing and is equipment depreciation, amortization, general
a key factor at the “heart” of the CzarLite update. supplies, insurance, rentals, etc.)
Unlike other supposedly “indexed” base rates—
which may draw from irrelevant indices—the CCI M A I N TA I N I N G Z I P C O D E A C C U R A C Y
is based on a statistical subset of regional U.S.
CzarLite’s pricing accuracy relies on biweekly ZIP
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
code system updates from the U.S. Postal Service
Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price
(USPS). But these updates generate a staggering
Index (PPI) 3 data and:
amount of data, resulting in 1,676,738,704 unique
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

U.S. lanes (origin-destination pairs). To add to interregional changes in the CCI, resulting in
code maintenance complexity, each CzarLite updates to the rates. The economic update process
change—which varies from the extremely large is carefully vetted by industry experts: An independent
ZIP code boundaries in the western United States Certified Public Accountant (CPA) verifies the
to the unique pricing challenges posed by areas application of the SMC 3 documented process and
like the Chicago Loop, Puget Sound, the Florida the product’s mathematical accuracy, and an
Keys, and California—must be individually investigated outside economic review panel comprised of
and aligned with the proper ZIP code rate. economic and supply chain subject matter experts
California, for example has over 10 percent of the carefully reviews any proposed changes to the
total U.S. population, large shipment volumes, benchmark, assuring a practical, fair and carrier-
generally smaller shipments, and unusual traffic neutral approach.
patterns that must be adjusted to insure equitable
pricing for both shippers and carriers.
CONCLUSION
To deal with these many complexities, CzarLite Like other professionals throughout the world
employs an “intelligent hybrid” of three- and five- who use highly accurate benchmarks and benchmarking
digit ZIP codes and state-of-the-art software that best practices to assure their organization’s progress
gives users the most granular, accurate, and cost- and success, savvy LTL purchasers throughout the
efficient information available to make highly United States and North America succeed when
informed strategic pricing/cost decisions, avoiding they utilize benchmarks and best practices to
overcharges and undercharges. This hybrid system accurately, consistently and predictably manage
has an additional payoff: a smaller, faster engine their transportation pricing agreements.
able to rate 50,000 shipments per minute.
PAGE 7
CzarLite base rates are the tool of choice for many
organizations in their daily supply chain management
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION
activities, because they predictably and consistently
The CzarLite, CanadaLite and MexicoLite benchmarks provide a common language for commerce—and they
a r e p e r i o d i c a l l y u p d a t e d t o a s s u r e a c c u r a c y. are fairly indexed according to carriers’ costs to do
These updates are guided by the regional and

Figure 5. The graph below re-plots individual carrier rates from Fig . 1 with CzarLite pricing ,
represented by the green line, showing CzarLite’s uniformity over distance.

$2,250 Key Point Miles

Carrier C

Carrier B
Shipment Cost

$1,750
Carrier A

SMC3 CzarLite

$1,250 Shipment Profile

Class: 77.5
Shipment Weight: 1,500 lbs
Origin ZIP Code: 30269

$750
0800 1200 1600
Key Point Miles

continued, next page

 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

business without being biased toward any individual complete freedom of choice among a wide range
carrier’s operational structure. of hardware, operating systems, databases and
software applications and eliminate systems
integration issues:
MORE ABOUT SMC 3

Founded in 1935, SMC 3 is devoted to consistently
raising the level of knowledge, collaboration and
technological capability in the freight transportation
marketplace. We achieve this by using our internal
expertise and industry connectivity to provide the
best data, content, technology and educational
services to our members, customers and associates.
Our deep-seated core values of integrity, consistency,
thought leadership and operational excellence
support this mission and provide a foundation for
our unique portfolio of industry solutions.
Shippers, carriers and logistics service providers
look to SMC³ for the technology, industry data,
educational services and general know-how they
need to achieve greater success in the transportation
marketplace.
PAGE 8
TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS
TO FURTHER SECURE YOUR KEY
LTL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS
CzarLite’s value is enhanced through integration
with SMC 3 companion products. Often delivered
via an SaaS delivery model, these products assure
A vital part of the new SMC 3 portfolio of products,
the SMC 3 CarrierConnect™ XL database combines
carrier operational capabilities, points of service,
transit times, hours of operation and terminal-to-
terminal network information into one easy-to-use
system. More than 150 participants’ data files
represent the industry’s leading national, interregional
and regional LTL carriers, plus select truckload
carriers. Shippers can easily add niche carriers;
view detailed, terminal-level carrier contact
information; make accurate routing decisions with
regular data/content updates; audit freight bills;
and review effective dates for auditing carrier
on-time performance.
SMC 3 RateWare ® XL totally accurate and timely
rate calculations, delivered via SOA to speed
critical information to accounting, purchasing,
transportation planning and other shipper business
functions requiring transportation pricing content.
Unlike RateWare, many technology offerings miss
the point—and key inputs, such as line item discounts,
FAK calculations, floor minimums, and other

Figure 6. As distance increases CzarLite provides smooth, predictable, omni-directional

benchmark rating across regional, inter-regional and transcontinental territories.

CzarLite Rating Curves

90
Northeast
Region
80
Central/
Middle West
70 Inter-regional
60 Southeast
Region
Cost

50
Southwest
Regional
40

30

20

10

0
100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1500

Distance
 C Z A R L I T E W H I T E P A P E R , A U G U S T 2009

shipment rating details. The result: Wrong carrier

assignments and unexpected charges. Other’s
flawed workarounds rely on estimates and rating
modeling, instead of rate calculations. The result:
Quality errors. Still other offerings lack service
and transit times. The result: Inaccurate rates.

SMC 3 Bid$ense ® helps shippers and carriers achieve

the optimal carrier selection and maximize cost savings.
Automated RFP distribution and analytics support
operational excellence for all bid parties. Bid$ense
integrates seamlessly with CzarLite base rates, so
common rating structures are shared between carrier
responses for true “apples-to-apples” bid comparisons.
With complete, uniform shipment data from shippers,
carriers remove costly steps from their RFP response
process, reducing their pricing decision uncertainty.
Automated review-and-respond features save carriers’
time and expense.

Density-based transportation pricing is the default

approach for most of the world. The United
States—the only country in the world using
PAGE 9
class-based LTL pricing—is catching up with the
global market with CzarLite density pricing.
Density pricing enables U.S. carriers to accurately
compute density-based LTL charges to or from a
U.S. port or between any two points within the
continental U.S. using SOA; and supports load-
planning software requirements for dimensional
data (to assure efficient trailer loading and cost
savings). With CzarLite density, foreign manufacturers
can bid their wares inclusive of transportation to
U.S.-based points and foreign customers can easily
price the inland U.S. portion of their shipment.
Lastly, carriers are free to price and sell to shippers
with greater flexibility, to meet individual customer
needs and performance goals.

I N F O R M AT I O N S O U R C E S
1. Trade Technology Australia Web site (see:
http://www.tta.com.au/news/observing-the-risk/).

2. “Schneider Logistics Gives State of the Industry Overview,”

http://www.Trucknews.com, April 13, 2009.

3. For CPI and PPI source information, visit the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics Web site (http://www.bls.gov/news.
release/cpi.toc.htm and http://www.bls.gov/ppi/, respectively).

4. Norbridge, Inc. “LTL Pricing Effectiveness Research Study,”

November 2002.
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phone 770.486.5800
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