Topic: Measuring LTL Rate Quote Accuracy Between Customer Charges and Actual Freight Costs
We are currently evaluating the accuracy of LTL rates quoted during Sales Order entry in Acumatica compared with the final freight cost incurred when the shipment is processed. We use ShipHawk TMS for the rate shopping and freight cost. The customer is quoted and charged based on the rate shop within Acumatica/ShipHawk integration prior to shipping. Then the actual freight charge is saved in a data field on the shipment after booking within TMS. NO updates are made to customer charge/billing.
Our initial target was for the customer freight charge and actual shipping cost to be within 5% of each other. However, we are encountering some challenges:
- Customer Service does not always quote the same carrier or service that the warehouse ultimately selects.
- Smart Pack does not account for void and occasionally “packs” multiple pallets when rating.
- Even when the quoted and shipped services match, we are still seeing an average difference of approximately 16%.
- Lack of uniform accessorial definitions for Carrier API calls.
We are interested in learning how other Acumatica users manage and measure LTL quote accuracy.
- What percentage of variance do you consider acceptable?
- How do you account for differences between the service quoted and the service ultimately used?
- Do you update the customer freight charge after the shipment is processed?
- Are there configuration changes, integrations, or process controls that have helped improve your LTL quote accuracy?
- Is a 5% variance realistic for LTL shipments, or would a different benchmark be more appropriate?
Any insight into how others manage this process would be appreciated.