Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/655792
March/April 2016 11 continued on page 14 For starters, says Brink and Walsh, keep a low profi le. The less attention you draw to your freight the better off you'll be. To accomplish this, they've out- lined a number of steps below to help you avoid costly penalties. Get Serious About Your Bill of Lading If you've ever had to dispute a freight charge, then you're familiar with the aggravation an inaccurate bill of lading (B/L) kindles. Think of pairing the right class with the wrong description, or vice versa, on the B/L as a tripwire, advises Walsh. The fl ags go up immediately and puts the carrier on notice. "They used to give shippers a pass," he says. "As long as the class accompany- ing the description was close to what was being shipped, no one bothered them." Well, rising costs and other saddlebags have complicated things, forcing carriers to focus on cost contain- ment. And that's led to a series of reclas- sifi cations commonly linked to foodservice (e.g., glassware, and aluminum articles— pans, plates or trays, cups, dishes, wastebas- kets, etc.). The biggie, however, is the move to make many of these commodities into density- driven items because carriers believe density is a more accu- rate measurement to determine the right rate to ship. Years ago, transportation guru's pre- dicted the shift, says Walsh. Some even believe carriers will scrap the National Motor Freight Classifi cation (NMFC) sys- tem altogether and use shipment density to rate freight. Seems to be moving in that direction. Take glassware, for exam- ple. "It used to be very simple to ship— class rate 70," says Brink. "A couple years ago, carriers changed the rules. Now you have to describe the density. Is it 6 pounds per cubic foot, 8? "The mistake many shippers make is providing a limited description when shipping a related item, which results in a higher freight charge," he says. "Instead of using glassware as the description on the B/L, the proper description would read, 'NMFC #88160 Glassware, NOI Sub 7 Class 92.5.' The fi rst (and vague) description leaves too much to question and upon inspection the carrier would have the right to apply the highest clas- sifi cation applicable to glassware (CL 400) because the description does not explain exactly what is being shipped. The second, and proper description, provides clear direction on what is being shipped and what the correspond- ing classifi cation should be. The 'Sub 7' portion refers to the PCF (pounds per cubic foot) of the item, which deter- mines both the density and classifi cation of the item." Remember the tripwire? To catch dis- crepancies, carriers have doubled down, adding dedicated departments at each terminal to check the description on the B/L, match it up with the commodity shipped and perform a thorough inspec- tion using machines called dimensional scanners to calculate detailed shipment characteristics such as weight, footage and density, says Brink. Today one out of every six shipments that pass through terminals are inspected, opposed to one out of 14 a few years ago. "There are two things that you can do to eliminate carrier inspections," says Walsh. "First, get the weight right. They have scales on every forklift and once a carrier labels you as someone who 'guesses low on weight,' you're fl agged in their system. "We're seeing a lot of that going on, where the carriers are changing incor- rect weights. A lot of dealers don't have scales. They use weights based on man- ufacturers' spec sheets and that's not shipping weights, but I think it's more of an issue on drop shipments. Some of the factories don't use scales. They use the product weight and don't include the packaging weight." "Second, and most impor- tant to avoid scrutiny, be as accurate as possible with your descrip- t i o n ," c o n t i n u e s Walsh. "Make sure you have the most up-to-date NMFC number followed by the description (the way it is read in the NMFC). When your bill of lading is properly fi lled out, the clerk is more likely to move to the next bill of lading. That's the kind of response every dealer should be shoot- ing for." Update Your Product Library—Often Granted, combing through AutoQuotes to confi rm that manufacturers have posted the latest NMFC codes requires vigilance. Ask any of the ecommerce guys. There's a lot of time and labor involved in making sure databases remain current—be it keeping up with NMFC changes or religiously following up with manufacturers to verify specs. It is what it is, says Walsh. "The indus- try is constantly infl ux and there are a lot of changes taking place. A year ago, puts the carrier on notice. "They used to give shippers a pass," he says. "As long as the class accompany- ing the description was close to what was being shipped, no one bothered them." Well, rising costs and other saddlebags have complicated things, forcing carriers to focus on cost contain- ment. And that's led to a series of reclas- sifi cations commonly linked to foodservice (e.g., glassware, and aluminum articles— pans, plates or trays, cups, dishes, wastebas- kets, etc.). The biggie, however, is the move to make many of these commodities into density- driven items because carriers believe density is a more accu- rate measurement to determine portion refers to the PCF (pounds per the factories don't use scales. They use the product weight and don't include the packaging weight." "Second, and most impor- tant to avoid scrutiny, be as accurate as possible with your descrip- t i o n ," c o n t i n u e s Walsh. "Make sure you have the most up-to-date NMFC number followed by the description (the way it is read in the NMFC). When your bill of lading is properly fi lled out, the clerk is more likely to move to the next bill of lading. That's the kind of response every dealer should be shoot- ing for." Update Your Product Watch Your Weight To avoid being fl agged by carriers, get the product weight right on the bill of lading. Note: "A lot of dealers use weights based on manufacturers' spec sheets and that's not shipping weights," says ReTrans Freight's Tim Walsh. Even more of an issue: Some of the factories don't use scales on drop shipments. They use the product weight and do not include the packaging weight."