Newell Brands and J.B. Hunt Expedite Less-than-Truckload Analysis with SMC3’s BatchMark XL

Driving Better and More Efficient Business Decisions

For most companies, having access to business data can drive better, more efficient decisions.

Both Newell Brands and J.B. Hunt were looking for ways to expedite less-than-truckload (LTL) analysis of rates and bids.

Specifically, the companies wanted access to information including transit times, rates, and cost of non-compliance, as well as the ability to compare and model thousands of freight bills simultaneously.

Newell was already using demand modeling software to build out scenarios and award lanes to carriers based on various criteria.

But they lacked the ability to evaluate scenarios from a total cost perspective.

The company also wanted to track noncompliance with routing guides published by its retail partners.

J.B. Hunt's Efficiency Comparing Rates and Evaluating Different Scenarios

J.B. Hunt was in a similar situation. The company was flush with data and facing a series of customer rollouts over several hundred locations with quick turnaround times.

The company also wanted to become more efficient in comparing rates, evaluating different scenarios, and having the flexibility to create customized options to uncover more insights to inform decision-making.

“A lot of what we do in our group is data analysis. Looking at customer data trying to understand, how we can make this better? How can we make this more efficient? Or as needs change, looking at new solutions and opportunities” - Carson Leavitt, LTL Pricing Manager at J.B. Hunt

Both companies selectedSMC³'s BatchMark® XL LTL rapid rating tool to drive greater efficiency in LTL bids and analytics.

BatchMark XL helped J.B. Hunt quickly build out scenarios during its new customer rollouts to determine the best carriers, transit data, and timelines to ensure they were leveraging the most effective carriers to meet its customer’s timelines.

Drawing from SMC3’s easy-access data content, BatchMark XL accurately rates or rerates thousands of LTL freight bills simultaneously - even density-based rates.

It works independently of a Transportation Management System (TMS) or Content Management System (CMS), facilitating a broad range of LTL analyses from pricing analysis to site location studies to freight bill auditing and more.

BatchMark XL is also integrated with SMC³’s CarrierConnect® XLto provide access to both transit times and rates in a single solution.

Newell Brand Results: Knowledge and Confidence to Maintain Efficiency

For Newell Brands, BatchMark XL has enabled the company to see what opportunities exist to make small changes and shifts to avoid costs or find savings.

The company uses SMC³'s BatchMark® XLto analyze data from large, multimillion-dollar managed logistics solutions as well as very specific projects with smaller shippers.

One of our goals is to make sure we are giving carriers the freight we told them they were awarded” - Hayley Drosky, Associate Manager at Newell Brands

They have better visibility into their bid process, which helps the company bid smarter, project costs further, shift lanes between incumbent carriers, bring on new carriers, realize efficiencies, make better decisions and maintain their company focus.

The tool has also helped the company with noncompliance tracking - whether it chose the most efficient carrier and if the shipment was compliant with its routing guide. Drosky stated;

“It lets us know how much additional expense we’re incurring because we’re not compliant with our routing guide” and drives down costs associated with non-compliance, using BatchMark XL output lets usknow if that shipment hit the minimum charge or if it hit the discount, which we then pull into reporting”

Output from BatchMark XL helps them bid smarter, project costs further, shift lanes between incumbent carriers, bring on new carriers, realize efficiencies, make better decisions and maintain their company focus.

Download the full Newell Brands and J.B. Hunt case studyto see what these companies have to say about the SMC³ BatchMark XL rate and bid analysis.

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