Users now have the ability to access live LTL rates from CH Robinson via a direct integration with the Shipwell platform. This integration supports the ability to get contracted rates if they exist or spot market rates, receive tracking updates automatically, and receive associated shipment documents including Proof of Deliveries and Invoices.

Enabling this integration is quick and easy. First go to Manage, Carriers, then locate your CH Robinson carrier profile. Once in the carrier profile, select the Accounts menu on the left side of the screen. The accounts tab will appear where you can then select the Add Accounts button. For CH Robinson you will need to enter an Account Name, Billing Address, and your CH Robinson C code.

Optionally, if you have multiple accounts for different shipping or receiving locations you can add locations in the Origin or Destination fields. If you only use one account these fields can be left blank.

Once the required fields are populated click the Connect button. If you have completed the setup properly you will see a green indicator showing you have successfully connected to CH Robinson.

If you have an account that is used for both FTL and LTL shipments, you can add both of the modes when setting up the account.

To access the CH Robinson rates, from the shipment details screen for an LTL shipment click the Rates tab, Edit Quote, then click the Get Quotes button. This will start the process to get all of your standard LTL rates along with the CH Robinson LTL rates. Once the rates appear you can expand the rate to see the detailed line item costs by clicking the v next to the rate.

You can now click the Select button next to the rate to begin the dispatch process. After clicking the Select button you will be taken to the confirmation page. Once confirmed the system will dispatch the shipment to CH Robinson and the shipment status will change to Tendered.

The system will receive tracking updates automatically, and these updates will appear in the Shipment timeline on the Shipment Tracking tab.

The system will also automatically receive any associated shipment documents, including invoices which will appear in the documents window.

Contracts can now support freight class rating, via adding these rates in the Contract Importer. If a contract includes freight classes, the system will rate the shipment using the appropriate freight class associated with each shipment line item. Once all of the freight class groups on the shipment have been rated, the sum total of all the freight class charges will provide the total shipment rate.

Generally, Freight Class rating incorporates the use of hundred weight (CWT) rating as well as minimum charges.

Example Scenario

We have the following five items in our shipment:

Assume the base rates per class (per 100 lbs) are:

Calculation Steps

The Contract Importer has been updated to support the Freight Class columns, as well as the importer instructions located here.

Dimensional Weights

A Dimensional Factor has been added to the contract importer to apply dimensional weights to shipments when calculating rates. Dimensional weights are used, if negotiated with the carrier, to adjust the rating weight for bulky items that do not weigh very much.

The formula for calculating the dimensional weight of a shipment line item is (length x width x height) / the Dimensional Factor. The dimensional factor is a negotiated number between the shipper and the carrier and is typically around 166, 200, etc depending on the carrier. In addition, some carriers may use the freight class of the shipment line item as the dimensional factor. In this case, setting the dimensional factor to FC instead of a numeric value will use the line item freight classes when calculating the dimensional weight.

If a Dimensional Factor exists in a contract, when weight based rates are calculated, the system will compare the dimensional weight versus the actual shipment line item weight, and will use whichever weight is greater when calculating the shipment rate.

Accessorials have been updated to include multiple charge type options that can be calculated based on shipment attributes, as well as including a minimum charge to compare to calculated charges. The following accessorial charge types have been added:

Minimum Charge (optional)

The Accessorial Importer has been updated to include the new charge types and minimums. The updated importer with instructions is located Here.

In addition, if accessorials are loaded directly onto a contract, users are able to define the charge type and minimum.