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PathGuide Technologies ● 22745 29
th
Drive SE, Suite #150, Bothell, WA 98021 ● www.pathguide.com ● clientservices@pathguide.com
today have expanded to handle inbound
transportation scheduling and manifesting small
parcel and less than load (LTL) for outbound
shipments.
These new logistics tools help achieve
significant shipping cost savings for the
company and its customers, adding to the
overall ROI of the system.
Integration is key to cost savings
Manifesting systems generally integrate with
shipping systems in the background to simplify
tasks such as warehouse shipping, package
tracking, and route management. These systems
contain information about all the relevant
carriers, automatically selecting the lowest
available shipping rate (or the fastest option for
rush orders).
Other advantages of a manifesting system
include the automated printing of hazmat or e-
commerce labels, bills of lading, and third-party
shipping papers. These systems can be used to
provide multi-carrier compliance with major
international and regional carriers, LTL
shipments. Even billing can be simplified when
the relevant data gets automatically transmitted
to the appropriate carrier for processing.
Recent changes implemented by FedEx, UPS
and other carriers are accelerating the need for
the adoption of a manifesting and shipping
system in today's warehouse. These carriers are
now utilizing a complex, dimension-based
pricing model that increases shipping costs and
makes them more difficult to calculate. This isn't
just a problem for the shipper. It's also an issue
for customers since they are now unable to
calculate standard shipping costs through
retailers' online tools. In many cases, retailers
are absorbing shipping cost overages to
maintain clarity for consumers, but this isn't a
long-term solution.
An extra dimension
Whatever products or parts a company is
shipping, the shipping problems are familiar.
California-based Cascade Orthopedic Supply
and Fisheries Supply in Seattle had similar
shipping problems, both solved by a flexible
manifest system integrated within a WMS. For
Cascade, it had become nearly impossible to
accurately quote shipping costs to its customers
– particularly for items with irregular shapes.
This lack of visibility into shipping costs also
made it extremely difficult for the company to
audit its expenses to ensure that it wasn't being
overcharged. Cascade needed tools that would
