Quality 3PL Services
Manage the transit of your goods and get control of costs
Our services can encompass virtually any freight related matter for our customers. Consultations usually begin with an in-depth analysis of your freight activity. We will identify key areas for improvement: shortening transit times, consolidating lanes, creating core carrier routings, and most importantly…freight cost savings. Our carrier selection process will tailor specifically which carriers are best suited to your business. We base our core carrier selection on transit time, financial stability, industry ranking, mode, territories served, and reputation. Each carrier’s performance is monitored continuously, making it possible for our customers to have access to industry-best options at all times.
SOLUTIONS
We provide the tools for making informed freight management decisions
CONSULTing
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Tangible results are typically visible within 30 days of implementation
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Flexible agreements – we typically operate on a low monthly retainer basis, but can be flexible to your preference (per project, percent of savings, etc.)
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Our freight analysis phase is designed to be as easy and non-invasive as possible. We require minimal effort on your part to conduct the study.
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We understand your time constraints and we can usually complete an assessment within just 4 weeks of initiation.
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Under no circumstances will we sacrifice carrier service for price. Our goal is to improve your overall supply chain with attention to both service and cost.
FREIGHT Invoice Auditing & Payment
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Recover 2-5% in carrier billing errors (prior to payment)
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Avoid filing overcharge claims
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Monitor vendors and internal traffic for routing non-compliance
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Batch pay all carriers on a single weekly check, ACH, or wire transfer
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Spectrum will research all carrier inquiries
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Maintain an active three-year history of all data
reporting
Transform your freight bills into practical, useful data and give your management team the tools to makie more informed decisions. Our wide range of pre-designed reports make it easy to analyze trends to achieve the best possible transportation solutions. We offer numerous variations of allocation, savings, and spend analysis reports for you to choose from or let us create fully customized reports specific to your needs.
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Create ad hoc reports with your unique login and set visibility limits by department or individual user
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Interface directly with your data or import to your payment system
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Choose your preferred format: printed or via email in .pdf, .csv, or .xlsx
FAQs
We have the answers!
Q. Why should we outsource?
A. Many companies have begun to outsource portions of their internal functions to focus more on their core strengths. Everything from processing payroll to hiring employees have become commonly outsourced. In most cases these companies have found that they can get better services at a lower cost than by keeping these functions in-house. They are able to reduce clerical expense and gain significant expertise in the specific field. However, while shipping can represent as much as 20-30% of the cost of doing business, many companies admit that they spend little or no time internally trying to reduce these expenses.
Q. Can you really generate another profit center for us?
A. Consider this: If your company has an operating ratio of 95% (5% being profits) and STC saved you $25,000.00 annually (on your direct freight expense), those savings would be equal to $500,000.00 in sales revenue for your company. Just think about how much work and expense it takes to generate $500,000.00 in sales. Your savings are your profits!
Q. How much money will Spectrum save us?
A. The actual savings your company can expect to achieve will be outlined in our final proposal to you. This dollar amount obviously varies with each company but we find that the average savings figures are usually 10-25% under your current rates. We estimate that 90% of the freight analyses we have completed show that those companies are paying higher rates than what is available though the STC program.
Q. Which departments in my company will benefit most?
A. Several. Traffic departments will enjoy reduced dock congestion and easy routing instructions for each shipment. Accounting departments often stagger at how much clerical work is eliminated with our freight bill processing and freight payment system. Both sales and purchasing departments use our instant rate quotes for bidding purposes. Finally, top executives such as CEOs, Presidents, CFOs, VPs, and Controllers enjoy the bottom line savings and management reports which allow them to make more informed decisions.
Q. Are many companies choosing to outsource logistics?
A. Yes. It has been estimated that approximately 86% of all top 500 companies outsource some portion of their logistics and supply chain function.
Q. How much does the STC program cost?
A. We are paid a flat pre-proposed monthly service fee from our customers. The fee varies by customer and is based on the number of bills processed per month. This fee is easily justified for three reasons: 1) it will be offset by the direct freight savings we provide 2) it will include all of our additional services including freight payment, pre-audit, and reporting, and 3) The fee is kept small because it is offset by a small sales commission paid to us by the carriers (however, the rates and savings figures we project are based on the actual pricing we have negotiated on your company’s behalf. We take no part of the savings projections. The savings remain entirely with you the customer).