Contract Rate Tables

Users have the ability to import contracts that contain multiple lanes and different kinds of rate tables into the system from a spreadsheet. Rather than creating a separate contract for each lane (current functionality), contracts with rate tables will create a single contract record, with all of the lane and rate information stored within the contract. This will allow for easier management of the contract, for example changing the contract status or expiration date.

Contract Lanes

Lane information related to origins and destinations within the contract will allow multiple levels of specificity. When displaying available contracts to the user on a shipment, the system will display only the most specific lane within the contract.

Origin and destination lanes can support the following, in this order of specificity:

In this example, a contract can contain different rates for a shipment that has:

Contract Rate Tables

Within a contract, lanes can be set up with a variety of rate structures that use a combination of rate bands and rate application rules. Rate bands define ranges within a lane that have different rate. For example, a rate band could be based on DISTANCE ranges, WEIGHT ranges, or HANDLING UNIT ranges. Rate application rules can either be RATE PER UNIT or FLAT RATES.

Here are some examples of how common rate types would be imported within a contract.

Rate Per Mile

This would be a standard FTL type rate per mile, where each row represents a lane. Lanes could be based on an entire postal code, city, state, or country. In this example there are 3 lanes that each have a different rate per mile charge.

Distance and Weight Based

In this example, I have a rate structure where there is a different rate per ton, based on how far the truck needs to travel. 1 - 99 miles the rate is $18 per ton, 100 - 299 miles the rate is $16 per ton, 300 - 499 miles the rate is $14 per ton, and 500+ miles the rate is $12 per ton. Different units of weight measures can be applied (TON, LBS, KG) in this type of rate structure.

Lane and Weight Based (LTL Rates)

In this example, each lane will contain multiple rows with different rates based on weight ranges. The system will automatically calculate deficit weight charges as the weights approach the upper end of the weight ranges.

Per Pallet or Handling Unit Rates

In this example, each lane will contain multiple rows with different per handling unit rates. These rates can either be a flat rate for the handling unit range or a per handling unit charge within the range.

When imported into the system, a single contract will be created based on the contract name entered in the import file. When rate table contracts are imported, many of the contract fields will be grayed out as the data within the contract is stored at the rate table level. Certain fields like the contract status, start and expiration dates remain editable at the contract level for easy management of the contract.

Data imported within the rate table can be viewed by clicking on the View Rate Table Details link. Re-importing the contract file will replace all the existing contract data allowing users to easily make corrections or updates to all of the contract data.

Rate Per Hour Contracts

Users have the ability to set up contracts based on the amount of time the carrier spent on the shipment. From the Contract Details screen, the user can choose a Rate Type of Hourly Rate.

Once Hourly Rate is selected, the user can choose to Manually Enter Time on the shipment financials page, or to Auto Calculate Time the carrier spent on the shipment.

Manually Enter Time - This allows the carrier or the shipper to enter the amount of time spent on the shipment’s financial tab. Once the amount of time is entered, the system will calculate the line haul charge based on the hourly rate set up on the contract.

Auto Calculate Time - This allows the system to automatically calculate the amount of time the carrier spent on the shipment, and set this on the shipment’s financial tab to calculate the line haul charge based on the hourly rate set up on the contract. The user now has the option to determine what shipment times will be used to calculate the shipment duration:

Start Time Options

End Time Options

Once the shipment status changes to Delivered, the system will automatically calculate the amount of time the carrier spent on the load based on the contract’s Start and End Time fields. Once the amount of time is determined, the system will calculate the line haul charge based on the hourly rate set up on the contract.

When an Hourly contract is tendered to a carrier, they will see the hourly rate assigned to the contract instead of the total cost for the shipment, and the hourly rate will appear in the Special Instructions section of the tender request. The carrier will also see the hourly rate that will be charged in the tender email.

If the Hourly Rate is to be manually entered, the carrier or the shipper can enter the Quantity of Time on shipment’s financial tab, and the system will use the pre-populated Rate to determine the total Line Haul charge. In the event the carrier makes an update to the line haul charge, if an hourly rate contract is tied to the shipment, the carrier updates for line haul charges will be copied into the shipper’s financials automatically. This is to allow carriers to update their time spent on the shipment instead of having the shipper perform this function.

If the Hourly Rate is automatically calculated, the system will determine the amount of time based on the Start and End values on the shipment, and once the shipment status changes to Delivered the Quantity of time will automatically be populated along with the Line Haul charge.

Contract Assignment on Shipment Creation

Users have the ability to view the applicable contract rates when creating a shipment. The Pricing Intel card has been added to the New Shipment screen right above the financials card. Once the origin and destination have been set on the shipment the system will automatically fetch all applicable contracts and display them to the user. The top 5 lowest rates will be displayed on the screen. Users can select the View Pricing Details link to see a list of all applicable contracts.

The user can also assign a carrier from a contract by clicking on the Load From Contract link in the Financials card. Once the desired contract is selected, the carrier will be assigned to the shipment, and the financial data will be updated based on the contract rates.