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Carrier Performance Tracking

Track on-time delivery, damage rates, and claims processing by carrier. Compare carrier performance for contract negotiations.

Solution Overview

Track on-time delivery, damage rates, and claims processing by carrier. Compare carrier performance for contract negotiations. This solution is part of our Logistics category and can be deployed in 2-4 weeks using our proven tech stack.

Industries

This solution is particularly suited for:

Manufacturing E-commerce Distribution

The Need

Manufacturing, e-commerce, and distribution operations depend entirely on transportation partners—carriers, freight forwarders, and logistics providers—yet have virtually no visibility into carrier performance metrics that directly impact profitability and customer satisfaction. A mid-sized e-commerce company shipping 10,000 packages daily to customers depends on multiple carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL) to deliver 99%+ of its parcels on time, yet lacks answers to critical business questions: "Which carrier is delivering on time? Which carrier causes the most damage? Which carrier's cost per delivery is actually lowest when you factor in damage, returns, and customer complaints? Are we overpaying for premium services? Can we renegotiate rates based on actual volume and performance?" Without this visibility, companies continue paying carrier rates without leverage, suffer silent customer dissatisfaction when packages arrive damaged or late, and miss opportunities to optimize transportation spend—often the second or third largest operating expense in retail and manufacturing.

The problem extends beyond simple cost tracking. Carriers operate with little accountability—they provide standard service level agreements (SLAs) promising on-time delivery rates (95% or 98%) but provide no real-time visibility into whether those commitments are being met, or consequences when they're breached. A manufacturing company shipping finished goods to distributors across the US via LTL (less-than-truckload) carrier discovers after quarterly reconciliation that the contracted "98% on-time delivery" actually achieved 91% on time—discovering this late-stage data provides no recourse, no payment recovery, and perpetuates underperformance. Damage rates vary wildly by carrier: one carrier consistently damages 2-3% of shipments (causing returns, customer complaints, and replacement costs), while a competing carrier damages <0.5% of shipments, yet the company defaults to the cheaper carrier without understanding the true total cost of ownership. Late deliveries cascade into operational disruptions: manufacturing plants waiting for raw materials halt production; distribution centers with delayed inventory cannot fulfill customer orders and incur expedited shipping costs to compensate; retail stores receive inventory after the promotion period has ended, requiring markdown and lost sales.

Carrier management is manual and inefficient. Purchase orders for transportation services (FTL, LTL, parcel, international) go to carriers, but fulfillment tracking comes from multiple systems: tracking numbers from the carrier website, delivery confirmations from email or SMS, damage reports from receiving departments using email or paper forms, and billing invoices from carrier systems—none of which are integrated. When a shipment arrives damaged, the receiving department discovers this at unload, takes photos, and sends an email to procurement. Procurement manually creates a damage claim through the carrier's website, tracking claim status in a spreadsheet. Weeks or months later, the carrier responds with a settlement offer. There's no systematic tracking of damage patterns by carrier, no automatic escalation of recurring issues, and no leverage for rate negotiations ("Your 2.8% damage rate costs us $85,000 annually; competitor achieves 0.6%; we're moving volume to improve our total cost").

Billing reconciliation is chaotic. Carriers bill for shipments, but rates vary by weight, zone, service level, and discounts. Companies receive monthly invoices from carriers with hundreds or thousands of line items showing charges that don't clearly map to shipments. Overcharges are common: carrier charges for 50-lb shipment that actually weighed 45 lbs; carrier applies zone surcharge for destination that shouldn't qualify; carrier bills at base rate despite contracted discount that should apply. Without detailed audit capability, companies pay inflated bills, and even when discrepancies are caught, manual claim processes take weeks to resolve. Disputes with carriers become confrontational—the company disputes a charge, the carrier requires detailed shipment documentation, back-and-forth takes 6-8 weeks, and the settlement is often partial, leaving the company accepting the loss to move forward.

Financial consequences are severe across multiple dimensions. Transportation costs for a mid-sized distributor shipping 500 shipments daily (10,000 per month) average $8-12 per shipment = $80,000-120,000 monthly transportation spend. If 3% of shipments arrive damaged and must be replaced or credited to customer (average value $150 per shipment), that's 300 shipments × $150 = $45,000 monthly loss to damage. If 5% of shipments arrive late, causing customer service escalations and expedited replacements, that's 500 shipments × $50 (premium handling + customer service cost) = $25,000 monthly impact. If billing overcharges total 2-3% of transportation spend ($1,600-3,600 monthly), the total monthly cost of poor carrier management is $71,600-73,600—$860,000-883,000 annually. For manufacturing operations with higher-value shipments (industrial equipment, raw materials), the percentages are smaller but the per-shipment values are higher: a single damaged $50,000 piece of production equipment costs $50,000 to replace plus the factory downtime cost. A single late delivery of critical raw materials costing $2,000 can halt production worth $100,000 in lost daily output.

Beyond financial costs, poor carrier performance damages customer relationships. An e-commerce company promising "guaranteed delivery by Friday" cannot honor that promise if the carrier delivers late. A manufacturing supply chain with unreliable transportation causes production delays that ripple to end customers. A pharmaceutical distributor with damaged shipments faces regulatory compliance issues when temperature-sensitive or controlled medications arrive damaged. These operational failures are invisible without systematic carrier performance tracking—companies don't know which carriers are causing problems, cannot demonstrate to customers why delays occurred, and cannot implement corrective actions because they lack data.

The Idea

A Carrier Performance Management System transforms fragmented, manual carrier data into a unified intelligence platform that continuously tracks, measures, and scores carrier performance across on-time delivery, damage rates, cost per shipment, billing accuracy, and service quality. The system becomes the single source of truth for all transportation operations: "Shipment FX-2024-1847382 shipped via FedEx on 2024-12-18 from warehouse in Memphis to customer in Atlanta. Scheduled delivery 2024-12-20. Actual delivery 2024-12-20 09:15 AM (on-time). Package condition: no damage. Cost charged $28.50. Contract rate $26.00 (overage noted for audit). Driver: James Martinez. Temperature maintained 68-72°F as required."

The system begins at the point of shipment: when a company creates a shipment (purchase order or customer order) and assigns it to a carrier, the system records the shipment origin, destination, weight, value, service level requested (standard, 2-day, overnight), and contracted rate. For complex shipments involving multiple legs (e.g., pickup from supplier in Asia, consolidation in port, ocean transit to US port, final mile delivery to warehouse), the system tracks each leg: Ocean leg: Shanghai port 2024-12-01, arrives Los Angeles port 2024-12-10. LTL leg: Los Angeles to Chicago warehouse via XPO Logistics, 2024-12-10 to 2024-12-15. Last-mile leg: Chicago warehouse to customer location 2024-12-15 to 2024-12-18. The system stores the complete shipment master record with all these details, creating a baseline for performance measurement.

Once shipments move through carriers, the system captures tracking data from multiple sources. For parcel carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL), the system integrates with carrier APIs to retrieve real-time tracking updates: picked up, sorted at hub, in transit, out for delivery, delivered. For LTL carriers, tracking data is captured via carrier websites, EDI feeds, or manual entry by warehouse staff. For international/ocean freight, tracking comes from freight forwarder systems or port authority data. All tracking updates are timestamped and stored, creating a complete movement timeline: "FedEx tracking FX-2024-1847382: Picked up Memphis, TN 2024-12-18 08:30 AM. Sorted Memphis hub 2024-12-18 14:45 PM. Departed Memphis hub 2024-12-18 19:20 PM. Arrived Atlanta hub 2024-12-19 07:30 AM. Out for delivery 2024-12-20 08:15 AM. Delivered 2024-12-20 09:15 AM. Signature: Received by facility manager."

On-time delivery is automatically calculated by comparing scheduled delivery date (based on service level: FedEx Ground = 1-5 days, FedEx 2-Day = guaranteed 2 business days) against actual delivery timestamp. The system generates on-time delivery scorecards by carrier: "FedEx on-time delivery: 97.2% (1,247 on-time deliveries out of 1,283 total shipments in December 2024). UPS on-time delivery: 94.8% (973 on-time out of 1,027). DHL on-time delivery: 92.1% (847 on-time out of 920). XPO Logistics (LTL): 91.5% on-time to first stop, 88.3% on-time to final destination." Delayed shipments are flagged with root cause analysis when available: "UPS tracking UPS-2024-8374921 delayed 3 days. Scheduled 2024-12-18, delivered 2024-12-21. Root cause: Weather delay in Chicago distribution hub (documented in carrier notes). Frequency this month: 2 similar weather-related delays affecting 18 total shipments."

Damage assessment is captured at receiving: when shipments arrive, receiving staff inspects packages for visible damage (crushed boxes, water damage, torn seals). If damage is detected, staff uses the mobile app to photograph the damage, scan the tracking number, and record damage type (crushed exterior, water damage, missing seal, broken contents, contents shifted). The system correlates damage reports back to carriers: "Damage report 2024-12-1043: FedEx shipment FX-2024-1847382 arrived with crushed corner box at 2024-12-20 09:15 AM, damage severity: minor (does not affect product usability), product value $180. November damage rate by carrier: FedEx 1.2% (16 damaged out of 1,283), UPS 0.8% (8 damaged out of 1,027), DHL 2.1% (19 damaged out of 920). Trend: FedEx improving month-over-month (1.6% in October, 1.2% in November)." Systems can flag high-damage carriers for immediate action: "XPO Logistics November damage rate 3.4% (31 damaged out of 920 shipments). This is 5.7x industry average. Root cause analysis: XPO using older equipment for this lane; recommended action: switch to competing carrier or demand equipment upgrade."

Cost analysis compares actual charges to contracted rates, flags overages, and calculates total cost per shipment including damage and late delivery penalties. "Shipment FX-2024-1847382: Contracted rate $26.00 (standard ground rate for Memphis to Atlanta, <50 lbs). Charged rate $28.50. Overage $2.50. Reason: Weight adjustment (system weight 32 lbs, carrier scale 34 lbs = 2 lbs × $1.25/lb = $2.50). Overage flagged for audit. Accumulated overage December: $847.34 across 18 shipments (2.1% of transportation spend). Recommended action: Review weight validation at shipper." The system calculates total cost per shipment: "Cost analysis for 1,283 FedEx shipments in December 2024: Base transportation cost $32,075. Damage replacement cost (1.2% damage rate × average $180 per shipment × 1,283 shipments = $2,784). Late delivery cost ($50 premium handling per delayed shipment × 36 delayed shipments = $1,800). Billing overcharges (0.9% × $32,075 = $289). Total cost of ownership: $36,948. Cost per shipment: $28.83 (vs. $25.00 base rate). Comparison: UPS cost per shipment $26.14 (6.5% better)."

Carrier scorecards aggregate all metrics into comprehensive performance ratings. Each carrier receives scores across multiple dimensions: On-time Delivery Score (0-100, weight 30%), Damage Rate Score (0-100, weight 25%), Cost Efficiency Score (0-100, weight 25%), Customer Satisfaction Score (0-100, weight 10%), and Compliance Score (documentation, regulatory, weight 10%). "December 2024 Carrier Scorecard: FedEx Score 89/100 (On-time 97.2%, Damage 1.2%, Cost $28.83/unit, Satisfaction 92%, Compliance 95%). UPS Score 85/100 (On-time 94.8%, Damage 0.8%, Cost $26.14/unit, Satisfaction 88%, Compliance 98%). DHL Score 79/100 (On-time 92.1%, Damage 2.1%, Cost $31.47/unit, Satisfaction 81%, Compliance 92%). XPO Logistics Score 62/100 (On-time 88.3%, Damage 3.4%, Cost $24.15/unit, Satisfaction 68%, Compliance 85%)." These scores inform procurement decisions, contract renegotiations, and volume allocation: "Based on Q4 2024 performance, recommend: (1) Increase FedEx volume from 35% to 40% allocation (highest overall value), (2) Reduce XPO Logistics from 25% to 15% allocation (damage rate and satisfaction issues), (3) Maintain UPS at 25% for balance."

For contract management and renegotiation, the system generates detailed evidence for rate negotiations. "XPO Logistics Contract Renegotiation Brief (January 2025): Current Q4 2024 volume: 920 shipments, $22,138 base transportation cost. Historical on-time delivery: 88.3% (below 90% minimum SLA target). Damage rate: 3.4% (above 1.5% maximum acceptable). Total cost per shipment: $24.15 (vs. FedEx $28.83, but damage cost adds $618 in replacements). Industry benchmark for this lane: $22/unit with 95% on-time, <1.5% damage. Recommendation: Request rate reduction to $21/unit, improved SLA to 95% on-time with 1% damage, or volume will be transferred to competing carriers. Negotiation leverage: $22,138 annual volume represents 8-10% of typical regional LTL carrier capacity; loss of this volume materially impacts carrier profitability."

How It Works

flowchart TD A[Create Shipment
Assign Carrier] --> B[Record Shipment
Master Data] B --> C[Calculate Expected
Delivery Date] C --> D[Estimate Contracted
Cost] D --> E[Shipment in
Transit] E -->|Pull API/EDI
Tracking| F[Log Tracking
Updates] F --> G{Event Type} G -->|Delivered| H[Check Delivery
Timeliness] G -->|Exception| I[Flag Exception
Event] G -->|Update| J[Continue Tracking] J --> F H -->|On-Time| K[Record On-Time
Delivery] H -->|Late| L[Record Late
Delivery] I --> M[Analyze Exception
Impact] K --> N[Goods Received
Inspection] L --> N M --> N N -->|Damage Found| O[Document Damage
Photos & Cost] N -->|No Damage| P[Receipt Confirmed] O --> Q[Create Damage
Claim] Q --> R[Calculate Actual
Cost of Ownership] P --> R R --> S{Analyze Variance} S -->|Weight
Overcharge| T[Audit Billing
Error] S -->|Zone
Surcharge| T S -->|No Issue| U[Update Performance
Metrics] T --> U U --> V[Calculate Carrier
Scorecard] V --> W[Generate Reports
& Analytics] W --> X[Contract Negotiation
Recommendations]

Carrier performance management workflow from shipment creation through delivery confirmation, damage assessment, billing verification, performance scoring, and contract renegotiation insights.

The Technology

All solutions run on the IoTReady Operations Traceability Platform (OTP), designed to handle millions of data points per day with sub-second querying. The platform combines an integrated OLTP + OLAP database architecture for real-time transaction processing and powerful analytics.

Deployment options include on-premise installation, deployment on your cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), or fully managed IoTReady-hosted solutions. All deployment models include identical enterprise features.

OTP includes built-in backup and restore, AI-powered assistance for data analysis and anomaly detection, integrated business intelligence dashboards, and spreadsheet-style data exploration. Role-based access control ensures appropriate information visibility across your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can we reduce shipping costs without sacrificing delivery quality? +

A Carrier Performance Management System identifies which carriers deliver the best value by calculating total cost per shipment—not just base transportation cost, but including damage, late delivery, and billing overages. By comparing carriers like FedEx ($28.83 total cost per unit) to UPS ($26.14 total cost per unit), you gain leverage to renegotiate rates or reallocate volume to better-performing carriers. Most companies discover 2-3% in monthly savings through billing error recovery and carrier optimization alone.

What does carrier performance management mean for supply chain operations? +

Carrier performance management transforms fragmented carrier tracking into unified visibility: real-time shipment status, on-time delivery rates (tracked by carrier and service level), damage assessments, and cost analysis. Instead of discovering delivery delays after the fact, you see performance issues in real-time and understand root causes—whether a carrier consistently misses service level agreements or a specific lane has quality issues. This enables proactive supply chain decisions: adjusting production schedules for known carrier delays, reducing inventory holding costs by eliminating buffer stock for unreliable carriers, and preventing costly factory shutdowns from late raw material deliveries.

How do we track and reduce damage claims with carriers? +

The system captures damage at receiving: staff photograph packages, scan tracking numbers, and record damage type (crushed, water, broken contents). This creates systematic damage data by carrier and route—revealing, for example, that XPO Logistics damages 3.4% of shipments versus industry average 0.8%. Armed with this data, you escalate performance issues with carriers, demand equipment upgrades, or reallocate volume to competing carriers. Most companies recover $30,000-50,000 annually in damage claims once they have documented evidence of carrier patterns and systemic failures.

How does the system handle billing reconciliation with multiple carriers? +

The system imports carrier invoices and automatically matches charges to shipments using tracking numbers. It flags overages when billed rates exceed contracted rates (weight adjustment overcharges, incorrect zone surcharges, missing discount application). For example, if FedEx charges zone 5 surcharge when shipment qualifies for zone 3, the system flags the $2.50 overage. This automated audit discovers 2-3% in billing errors monthly that manual processes miss entirely.

What data sources does the carrier performance system integrate with? +

The system integrates with multiple carrier APIs (FedEx REST API, UPS tracking) and EDI feeds (DHL, international carriers), plus manual data entry for smaller carriers. It also captures mobile data from receiving staff (damage photos, delivery confirmations) and imports carrier invoices in PDF or CSV format. All data is normalized into standardized shipment records, creating a single source of truth for tracking, damage, and billing across your entire carrier network.

How can carrier performance data inform contract renegotiation? +

The system generates detailed performance briefs showing actual vs. contracted service levels: on-time delivery rates, damage rates, cost per shipment, and SLA compliance. For example, if XPO Logistics contracts for 95% on-time delivery but achieves 88.3%, you have documented evidence for renegotiation. You can also benchmark against industry standards and competing carriers, demonstrating to XPO that their 3.4% damage rate exceeds competitor performance at similar prices. With volume data ($22,138 annual spend represents 8-10% of typical regional carrier capacity), you create leverage to request rate reductions, SLA improvements, or volume transfer to competing carriers.

What is the financial impact of implementing a carrier performance system? +

For a mid-sized distributor shipping 500 daily shipments ($80-120k monthly transportation spend), the system typically enables: damage claim recovery and prevention optimization ($20,000-30,000/month through documented carrier accountability), late delivery cost reduction ($12,000-18,000/month through carrier selection and SLA enforcement), billing overcharge recovery ($1,600-3,600/month), and carrier rate optimization (3-5% volume reallocation savings = $2,400-6,000/month). Total annual impact: $431,200-579,600 in cost recovery, avoidance, and optimization—enabling rapid ROI within 6-9 months, before accounting for supply chain resilience improvements and reduced inventory holding costs from more reliable carriers.

Deployment Model

Rapid Implementation

2-4 week implementation with our proven tech stack. Get up and running quickly with minimal disruption.

Your Infrastructure

Deploy on your servers with Docker containers. You own all your data with perpetual license - no vendor lock-in.

Ready to Get Started?

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