Understanding Contract Lanes and Rates
A Contracted Lane, also known as a Contracted Rate, is a fixed rate agreement for transporting a specific number of loads from Point A to Point B over a set period, typically up to a year. This locked-in rate between a shipper and a carrier remains constant regardless of market fluctuations, offering predictability and ease in business planning.
How Does It Benefit You?
Alvys now supports the application of load-level Contracted Rates, making your financial calculations more accurate and hassle-free. When users create a load, if the load's details, like the first pickup and last delivery stops, match a Customer Contract Lane, the system automatically applies the Contract Rates to your financial computations, including Linehaul, Fuel Surcharge, and Accessorials.
Easily Access and Apply Contract Rates
You can find and apply these Contract Rates directly from the Customer Profile under the section "Contracted Lanes & Fuel Surcharges". This feature is designed to make your workflow smoother and more efficient.
Diverse Contract Rate Types Supported
Alvys caters to various needs by supporting multiple types of Contract Rates:
Flat Rate: A fixed fee for a load, straightforward and simple.
Per Mile Rate: Calculated based on either the fixed mileage of the Contract Lane or the Customer's specified Mileage Distance under Load details.
Per Weight Rate: Determined by the Load Weight units entered in the Load details.
Per Volume Rate: Based on the Load Volume units specified in the Load details.
Image 1: Company profile - Contracted Lanes & Fuel Surcharges link
Image 2: Company profile - list of Contracted Rates
How to Create or Update a Contract Rate
Follow these simple steps to create or update a Contract Rate under a Customer profile:
Creating a Contract Rate:
Access the Customer Profile: Start by navigating to the specific customer profile where you want to create the contract.
Specify a Contract Name: Give your contract a unique and easily identifiable name. This name will be used to select from a list of Contracted Rates later.
Define Your Contract: Input the necessary details such as the rate type (Flat, Per Mile, Per Weight, or Per Volume), duration, and any other relevant criteria.
Updating a Contract Rate:
If you need to make changes to an existing Contract Rate:
Locate the Existing Contract: Go to the Customer profile and find the contract you wish to update.
Edit the Details: Modify the contract name, rates, or other criteria as required.
Save Your Changes: Ensure all updates are saved correctly.
Image 3: Company profile - Create/Update a Contracted Rate
Image 4: Company profile - Update/Remove a Contracted Rate
Bulk Contract Uploads
Manually entering contracts one at a time is highly inefficient, especially when managing hundreds of contracts, often with frequent changes. Bulk uploading streamlines the process, saves time, and enhances data accuracy by allowing multiple contracts to be imported at once.
Follow these simple steps to upload contracts in bulk:
Access the Customer Profile: Start by navigating to the specific customer profile where you want to create the contract.
Access the "Import Contract" option located next to the "Create Contract" button.
Image 5: Company profile - Import Contracted Rate
A window will pop up. Choose the subsidiary and press Next once it is selected.
Image 6: Company profile - Select Subsidiary
After pressing Next, a new window will open where you can download and upload your report. Field mappings can be manually adjusted, and you can edit data directly in the preview. Non-mandatory columns can also be removed as needed.
Image 7: Company profile - Download/Import sample file
Once the sample is uploaded, validations will focus on the data format to ensure correct entries. If errors are identified, the affected fields or cells will be highlighted in red, indicating where corrections are needed.
Image 8: Company profile - Error validation
After all issues are corrected and the information is verified, press Import.
Note: For contracts with multiple locations, separate lines should be added for each location entry, ensuring that only the pickup and delivery locations differ, while other fields remain the same. If discrepancies are found in other fields, the system will mark the entry as invalid and prompt you to correct the data.
Applying a Contract Rate to a Load
Step-by-Step Guide:
Input Load Details: Begin creating a load with all necessary details.
Match Contracted Rates: Alvys automatically matches your load with appropriate contracted rates.
Select Contract Rate: Choose the best-fit contracted rate for the load.
Review Calculations: View preliminary financial impacts before finalizing.
Finalize Load: Confirm your load with the selected contracted rate applied.
Image 9: New Load - Stop details - Choose Contract
Image 10: New Load - Load Summary - Contract rates
Image 11: Load details - Money Box
Note: The system checks that the Equipment Class in the contract matches the one on the load or template. If they do not match, the contract will not appear in the suggested list, and load cannot be created with the template if there is a mismatch. Additionally, if the contract’s Equipment Type is updated and no longer matches the template, the template becomes invalid, and a warning message will be received indicating the mismatch.
Managing Contracted Rates Permissions
In Alvys, we ensure that sensitive data and actions are safeguarded by specific permissions. Here’s a quick guide on permissions related to Contracted Rates:
Viewing Contracted Rates
Permission Needed: View Contracted Rates
What It Does: Allows users to access the "Contracted Lanes & Fuel Surcharges" link within the Company profile, ensuring only authorized personnel can view these details.
Image 12: User profile - View Contracted Rates permissions.
Creating and Editing Contracted Rates
Permission Needed: Update/Create Contracted Rates
What It Does: Grants the ability to create and modify Contracted Rates, ensuring that changes are managed by users with the right authority.
Image 13: User profile - Update/Create Contracted Rates permissions.
Applying Contracted Rates to New Loads
Permission Needed: Apply Contracted Rates on New Load
What It Does: Enables users to select Contracted Rates during the final stage of the New Load creation process, allowing for accurate financial calculations and billing.
Image 14: User profile - Apply Contracted Rates on New Load permissions.
Minimum Rates for Contract Lanes
As of July 18, 2024, Alvys introduces Minimum Rates to ensure brokers and carriers are protected from unusually low linehaul rates due to the rate method, units, or quantity.
What Are Minimum Rates?
A Minimum Rate ensures that a specified minimum is charged on a load, protecting against cases where the total linehaul could fall below an acceptable level. For instance, if the rate is $2.25 per mile and the mileage for a load is only 19 miles, the calculated total would be just $42.75. A Minimum Rate of $500 would safeguard against such low totals, ensuring fair compensation.
How Are Minimum Rates Applied?
Non-Flat Rate Contracts: When a contract rate type is anything other than 'Flat', users can now input either a Minimum Rate or a Minimum Quantity.
Minimum Rate: This amount will override any lower calculated rates on the load, and the quantity won’t be displayed on the invoice.
Minimum Quantity: If entered, the quantity is adjusted on the invoice to reflect the minimum specified quantity.
Where to Find Minimum Rates
Minimum Rates can be added and edited in the Contracted Lanes & Fuel Surcharges section of the Customer Profile, making it easy to set and enforce these safeguards for any load.