DIY Freight Management Toolkit
Professional freight management tools for businesses without a transportation manager
Freight costs and service problems can be difficult to manage when transportation is only one part of your job.
The Inglis Logistics DIY Freight Management Toolkit gives business owners, operations teams and finance professionals a practical system for understanding freight costs, monitoring carrier performance and identifying problems before they become expensive.
It combines professional transportation-management methodology with straightforward Excel tools and detailed instructions. No specialized transportation experience is required.
Start with the free Freight Health Check
Not sure where your freight-management gaps are?
Complete the Inglis Logistics Freight Health Check to assess ten important areas, including:
- Freight-cost visibility
- Carrier invoice verification
- On-time performance
- Accessorial-charge control
- Carrier rates and service expectations
- Freight budgeting
- Claims management
- Backup-carrier planning
- Monthly management reporting
The assessment identifies warning signs and recommends where to begin.
What the toolkit includes
Freight Health Check
Assess your current freight-management practices and identify the areas requiring the most attention.
Carrier Performance Scorecard
Track shipment-level performance, including:
- On-time pickup
- On-time delivery
- Damage
- Carrier response time
- Performance by carrier and lane
Use objective information to support carrier reviews instead of relying on isolated complaints or impressions.
Freight Cost Analysis
Build a clearer picture of what each shipment actually costs.
Track:
- Base freight
- Fuel surcharges
- Accessorial charges
- Total shipment cost
- Cost per pound
- Costs by carrier, lane and mode
This analysis can reveal cost increases, inconsistent pricing and potential savings opportunities.
Accessorial Tracking and Audit
Monitor charges beyond basic freight, including detention, appointments, layovers, residential delivery, liftgate service, redelivery and reweigh charges.
The tool helps you:
- Compare billed charges with approved rates
- Identify questionable charges
- Track disputes and recoveries
- Assign responsibility
- Record root causes
- Prevent recurring costs
Carrier Bid Comparison and RFP Support
Compare competing carrier proposals using more than the quoted base rate.
The worksheet evaluates:
- Annualized transportation cost
- Fuel
- Expected accessorials
- Service capability
- Operational fit
- Risk
- Overall weighted score
This creates a more consistent basis for carrier selection and rate discussions.
Freight Budget
Develop a monthly freight budget using expected shipment volumes and cost assumptions.
Compare the plan with recorded freight spending to identify:
- Volume differences
- Rate changes
- Fuel effects
- Accessorial costs
- Shipment-mix changes
- Material budget variances
Claims and Service Tracking
Keep cargo claims and material service problems moving toward resolution.
Track:
- Claim or case value
- Current status
- Assigned owner
- Last follow-up
- Days outstanding
- Amount recovered
- Required next action
Management Dashboard
The dashboard brings the key results together in one place, including:
- Freight Health Check score
- On-time pickup and delivery
- Damage rate
- Total freight spend
- Accessorial spending and disputed variance
- Budget variance
- Open claims
- Claim value and recoveries
Detailed step-by-step SOP included
- What information to collect
- Where to find each piece of information
- How to complete every worksheet
- Which cells should and should not be changed
- How to reconcile entries with carrier invoices
- How to conduct a monthly freight review
- Common problems and corrective actions
- Transportation terms in plain language
- When professional assistance may be worthwhile
Who should use the toolkit?
The toolkit is designed for small and mid-sized businesses that:
- Ship or receive freight regularly
- Do not employ a dedicated transportation manager
- Want better visibility into freight spending
- Experience unexplained extra charges
- Need a consistent way to evaluate carriers
- Have recurring delivery or service problems
- Want to prepare for carrier negotiations
- Need a clearer freight budget
- Have unresolved claims or operational issues
It can be used by owners, operations managers, finance teams, purchasing employees, customer-service leaders and office administrators.
What the toolkit is not
The toolkit is not carrier-tracking software or a transportation management system. It does not book shipments, provide live tracking or replace your accounting, warehouse or order-management system.
It is a practical management system that organizes information from those sources and helps you make better freight decisions.
From information to action
The objective is not simply to complete a spreadsheet.
The objective is to understand:
- What your freight is actually costing
- Which carriers and lanes are performing
- Where avoidable charges are occurring
- Which problems require immediate attention
- What your business should do next
Start with the free Freight Health Check, use the DIY Toolkit to organize the facts, and involve Inglis Logistics when the findings point to a larger opportunity.
