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Author: Devops Admin

Community Involvement:Proud Corporate Partner of Truckers Against Trafficking

Posted 6 years ago

SunteckTTS is proud to be a corporate partner of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), an organization that proactively trains truck drivers to help spot, stop, and prevent human trafficking.

Human trafficking is defined as recruiting, holding or transporting people into a “situation of exploitation through the use of violence, deception, or coercion and forced to work against their will”. Victims of human trafficking include men, women, and children, who are involuntarily used for labor or sex work.

Those who are victims of trafficking are often drugged, coerced, or physically forced to participate in unsafe and illegal activities, which can create a cycle of fear, dependence, and violence that can be almost impossible to escape from without assistance.

We are proud to be a sponsor for an organization that is working to help reduce human trafficking through a national program for education and empowerment of those in a unique position to help those who have been trafficked. Truckers Against Trafficking works to educate members of a group that is often exposed to victims of sex trafficking, and to empower truckers to recognize and report suspicious activity and suspected cases of human trafficking.

The training provided by TAT covers how to recognize possible instances of human trafficking, what action to take, and to whom and how they should report the situations and people they encounter. This training empowers truck drivers to take immediate and concrete action that has, in many situations, led to investigations and convictions of traffickers and the rescue of their victims or intended victims.

About Truckers Against Trafficking

Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a 501(c)3 non-profit that exists to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking and busing industries to combat human trafficking. You can read more about the TAT mission at www.truckersagainsttrafficking.org

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LTL 101:Pick-Up and Delivery Tips

Posted 6 years ago

Pick-Ups:

  • Any pick-up (P/U) entered after 2:30 PM local time should be called into the carrier to insure availability, otherwise the request will roll over to the next day
  • Lift Gate P/Us must be called into the carriers because Lift Gates are not readily available at every terminal
  • All Container Freight Stations and Airline P/Us require Delivery Order and Entry paperwork (3416 document), these need to be sent 24 hours in advance because drivers will need these documents in hand prior to P/U
  • P/Us are not Guaranteed
  • All carriers require a 2 hour window for P/Us
  • P/Us are done in the afternoon because drivers have to deliver freight before they can start pickups
    • If your shipper needs an AM P/U it is best practice to call the carrier to set something up which will most likely incur additional charges
  • The shipper must have our system generated BOL to provide to the driver at the time of P/U or our rates will not apply
    • This is not something the carrier will have via our P/U requests in BTMS
  • If an LTL driver needs to reference a P/U number, it is best practice to put that number on the first line of the shipper name. Please see the example below:

           ABC Distribution Co > Ref # 123456

           4567 Main Street

           Anywhere, NY 10014

Deliveries: 

  • Transit times and delivery dates are estimations and can be delayed for many reasons
    • Add an additional day if a shipment is interlined
    • Add 2-3 days if a shipment is traveling by rail
  • Stress to your customers, if the shipment must be delivered by a certain date and time, spend the extra money and have a the shipment guaranteed
    • If “Guaranteed” is not on the BOL at time of P/U no adjustments can be made to the invoice
  • Volume Shipments cannot be Expedited or Guaranteed
  •  Re-delivery Rates are based on weight and can get very pricey

It is imperative to make sure the consignee is ready to accept the freight so that additional charges are not incurred

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Training Tuesday:Problem Solving

Posted 6 years ago

Being able to solve problems for your customers is one of the most important skills you can have as a sales person. Solving problems will require time, thought, and individual attention, but once you have a set of skills in place, you can begin to handle problems quickly, easily, and consistently.

The first step should always be to actively listen to what they’re saying. If you don’t understand the question the customer is asking, how can you expect to provide a helpful solution or answer? You should make every effort to clarify their question, problem, or objection before you even start to formulate a solution. In the clarification process, hopefully your prospect or customer will give you additional details that can help you solve their problem.

After you have defined the problem, you can begin to brainstorm solutions and identify options. Once you have a list of options, you’re better equipped to determine what will actually work for a particular customer and situation.

After you’ve come up with a viable solution, you should answer the question head on, honestly, simply, and succinctly. Present the solution and then, if accepted, implement it efficiently.

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LTL 101:Educating Consignees

Posted 6 years ago

It is very important to educate your consignee BEFORE the freight is delivered about what the process will be like. Will they need a liftgate? Will the driver be helping unload the freight in any form or manner? By asking these questions in advance, and by making sure that the consignee and you are on the same page, you can minimize additional charges on your invoice.

On the delivery receipt/proof of delivery (POD), issues should be notated if you suspect that the value of the product has been compromised. Make sure to notate any damage to the packaging, and/or missing product. Having these notes on the POD makes it easier to file a freight claim with the carrier. Claims can take quite a long time so anything that you can do upfront saves time down the road.

Another tactic you can take is to refuse the shipment upon delivery if damage is present. Refusing a shipment means that the consignee does not accept the freight in the condition presented – meaning you will eventually file a damage claim. This will alert the carrier that something is wrong with the shipment and that they should get in touch with the appropriate party. Make sure you use this tactic responsibly, because if a shipment is not damaged the carrier can actually tack on a redelivery fee. Yikes!  

Five of the most common additional services on a POD include:

  1. Lift Gate – Hydraulic lift on the rear of a truck used to assist in the unloading of freight.
  2. Inside Delivery – The driver is only responsible for moving the freight off the truck. If the driver helps move the freight more than a few feet away from the truck, even if it’s not “inside,” then an Inside Delivery fee may apply. Be very careful with this one because the terminology can be misleading and it varies by carrier.
  3. Limited Access (Residential) – This is up to the carrier’s discretion, however, there are locations that will always be deemed limited access. If a business is run from a home, or is in a residential area, carriers may charge this fee.
  4. Sort/Segregate – Certain locations may require a carrier to sort and segregate a shipment. This is additional handling beyond the normal duties of a driver that will incur additional fee(s). This charge is especially prevalent in grocery stores or distribution centers.
  5. Detention – With most LTL carriers, the first 30 minutes from when the driver arrives are free. Any additional time is subject to an additional detention fee. Again, the length of this “free time” as well as the charge for it varies by carrier.

So the next time you sign a POD when receiving your shipment, be sure to review it and see if any additional services listed are being used. If a service is pre-printed on the POD, then the need for this service was most likely known in advance. However, if the driver marks that an additional service was performed, then there will be an additional charge. In some cases, it may be good practice to have your consignee obtain a copy of the POD themselves.

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Training Tuesday:Motivational Questions

Posted 6 years ago

It can be challenging to maintain momentum in sales without being thoughtful about maintaining your motivation.

There are some questions that can make you (and your team) more successful salespeople. These questions can help you create more productive thoughts, habits, and attitudes.

  • If I try, can I be successful?
  • If I am successful, will there be a payoff?
  • Is the payoff worth it to me?

Beyond those questions, here are some other questions to ask yourself to increase your success:

  • What is your purpose for selling?
    • Who are you targeting and why?
    • What are you going to tell them or ask them? Why?
  • Are you selling what your customer needs? How can you convince them that you are?
  • What goals do you have for each sales situation or visit? For more on goals, check out our earlier blog post of setting SMART goals.

Taking time to focus on what motivates you, and on how to increase that motivation, is important to improving your success overall as a salesperson.

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LTL 101:Confirming BOLs and Avoiding Disputes

Posted 6 years ago

Please remember LTL carriers employ “weight & inspection coordinators” whose sole responsibility is to catch the “bad guys” who list an inaccurate weight or class on their BOL?

  • They keep an eye out for any shipments whose description on the BOL doesn’t seem to match up with its appearance.
  • They will physically examine your freight, and if they deem it necessary to inspect the contents or check the weight, they’ll issue an inspection certificate.
  • You will foot the bill for the additional inspection.

It is for this reason we need to make sure our shippers understand the follow:

  • It is imperative to make sure the weight and class on the BOL are accurate.
  • Don’t just guess, and don’t try to be sneaky, either! You can’t classify furniture as lumber, even though it was once lumber… (Yes, believe it or not, people actually do this!)
  • Include the weight of your pallets in the total weight calculation of your shipment.
  • If you forget multiple pallets, they could add up to an additional 500 pounds or more; that’s not just a few pounds off.
  • Most LTL carriers have scales installed right on their forklifts that double-check the weight listed on the BOL automatically.
  • Make sure you are measuring the freight with extreme accuracy (to the nearest inch)
  • Some LTL carriers make it mandatory for drivers to carry a tape measure and measure the freight at the time of pick up.
  • A couple of inches can add up to hundreds of dollars when classifying freight.
  • Shippers who misrepresent freight need to understand carriers are not taking any more chances and the time to do the right thing is now!
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Training Tuesday:Setting SMART Goals

Posted 6 years ago

Setting goals for each sales call is a crucial part of the sales process. A goal helps you prepare for the sales visit and gives structure to your entire presentation, but it is important to set “S.M.A.R.T.” goals. In order for a goal to be a useful tool in preparing for a sales call, it should follow the “S.M.A.R.T.” method.

This means that a goal should be:

Specific: The goal should not be too broad, but rather, it should be focused in on something. In sales, for example, it should be “I want the prospect to agree to another meeting” or “I want the prospect to agree to use our services for 3 months” rather than just “I want to earn this client’s business.”

Measurable: Similar to a goal being specific, it must be able to be measured in some quantitative or concrete sense. This goes hand in hand with the next component, which is achievability of the goal.

Achievable: It is important to make sure that your goal is realistically achievable in the parameters you set for it. If you goal is to make a specific number of sales to this client (thus making it both specific and measurable) you should also make sure that it is a reasonable, achievable goal, and not something like 1000 sales in 2 weeks. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up to fail, and that can be very disheartening.

Relevant: A goal is relevant if it is worthwhile to a larger plan and to your own personal job duties and planning. Additionally, it should be something that makes sense for you to be working towards. If you are supposed to work in an accounting capacity, then a goal for a number of sales calls will be less relevant to you. You should also consider if the timing is good for this particular goal in your overall business plan as well as in the current economic, social, and business climates.

Time-Bound: If you do not have a set of parameters in which your goal should be completed, you don’t really have a planned goal. It is easy to say “I want to be a successful sales person one day” but unless you start adding timelines, like 6 months, or 1 year, or even 5 years, you won’t actually have any frame to work towards achieving that goal. The time component of a goal is essential to finding the proper motivation to achieve it and also to keeping it in line with the other components of smart goals.

Setting goals according to the “S.M.A.R.T.” method can help you to achieve more, make real progress towards success, and reduce stress.

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LTL 101:Reconsignment and Fees

Posted 6 years ago

Reconsignment – Here’s a shipping term that you might be familiar with if you’ve ever had a change of plans with your freight. A reconsignment happens when freight that is already in transit is re-directed from one delivery location to another. This charge can vary based on how far apart the delivery locations are. For instance, if the new location is just down the street, the charge will probably be minimal. However, if freight was heading to California and is being reconsigned to Florida, you will be in for a hefty reconsignment fee.

We get a lot of groans when we have to quote people for the cost of a reconsignment so we wanted to highlight the process so you can educate your customers as well:

  1. We have to send written authorization to make the change to the carrier. A Bill of Lading is a legal contract, so any changes made must be in writing. Authorization must be made by the shipper or paying party always.
  2. The carrier will enter the information into their online system and image your authorization.
  3. A rating analyst reviews the request, verifies that we have authorization to make the change, and completes the request.
  4. Notification is sent to the terminal who currently has, or if it is in transit, who will have the freight.
  5. New labels have to be generated and put on the freight.

Typically, your charges end up being broken down into the cost from origin to reconsignment point, and reconsignment point to new destination, and fees for marking and tagging of the freight. If your freight has to backtrack, you will pay for every mile it has traveled.

GREAT EXAMPLE: If it was originally to go from NY to CA, but then once it reached Chicago you turned it back around to PA, you are paying NY to Chicago and Chicago to PA, not just NY to PA.

Important points to note as well:

  • If you are not the shipper or paying party, you cannot use your authorization to make changes to the BOL.
  • If your name doesn’t appear anywhere on the BOL, see #1 above.
  • If the driver arrives and you say that it needs to go to a different address across town, this constitutes both reconsignment AND redelivery. And it can’t be done without authorization, as above.

This process actually represents a significant amount of labor time and fuel. Even a local reconsignment (change in address within a local terminal service area) requires these steps.

All carriers want to make money on this deal. Nothing is done at cost.

But time is money, and the cheapest option is to always do it right the first time.

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Training Tuesday:Structuring the Sales Call

Posted 6 years ago

Without structure to the sales call, a salesperson is just a tourist. In order to have a successful sales call, you must stay organized and on-track. That means planning and structuring your visit to a prospect so that you can get the most out of each call. Below are our top things to keep in mind when planning a sales call:

  • The pre-call objective/setting an objective for every call. You should set an objective or goal for every call. This gives you direction for the actual sales tactics that will be most effective.
  • Make your goal specific. It is important to remember to set specific and reasonable goals so that you can accomplish them without being overwhelmed.
  • Be focused AND flexible. Yes, this really is possible! It’s important to not allow your focus to cloud your ability to flex and adjust the sales presentation to the reactions and needs of the prospect.
  • Ask the customer for feedback. You can ask specific questions here, like “Did I cover everything sufficiently?” or “Would you like more details on anything we’ve discussed?”
  • Ask for the business. You will reach a point in the sales call where it is not only reasonable, but expected, to ask the prospect for their business. You cannot avoid this step and consider it a successful call. You must ask for the business you want.

Remember it is just as important to set goals and plan your sales visit to a previously visited a prospect as it is to plan for a first impression. Every visit to a prospect or customer makes a lasting impression about you and the company you are representing. Plan, set goals, and succeed!

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LTL 101:Drop Trailers Overview

Posted 6 years ago

From time to time you may run into a drop trailer with one of your LTL shipments.

A drop trailer is a trailer that is left at a location for an indeterminate amount of time. It’s “dropped,” and picked up later. Most of the time, a drop trailer is used at locations that ship or receive often enough to fill up or unload a full trailer in a week or even a day, depending on production. The location doesn’t matter as much as the amount of freight that is moving in or out of the specified location and the agreement in place with each LTL carrier.

Think about it like this: Let’s say you have a shipment going to a warehouse that multiple manufactures ship to as well. This warehouse has pre-established relationships with a handful of LTL carriers. In order to save time and money they will consolidate and reduce traffic flow to their receiving docks by collaborating with LTL carriers and advise them to only “drop” a trailer at their location when the LTL carrier has a full trailer. This could potentially delay your expected delivery date.

There are numerous ways in which the LTL carriers can handle a drop trailer situation, but the main thing to keep in mind is that your shipment may not deliver on time due to it being a drop trailer which may also change the way in which the PODs are received from the consignee. Due to the nature of drop trailers, PODs are usually handled differently and will almost always take longer to receive considering the consignee is unloading a full trailer of shipments from multiple shippers.

Though the use of drop trailers isn’t exactly common, it’s not something to be afraid of when it comes to your LTL shipments. A little understanding goes a long way. Here are some things to keep in mind when dealing with drop trailers:

Drop trailers can sometimes lead to delays. Before you panic about delays, remember that the manufacturer is often very aware a drop trailer is being used, and so should the buyer. Don’t be afraid to ask if the shipper or consignee have any drop trailer processes in place so you can educate your customer as well. Most drop trailer situations do not revolve around freight that is time-sensitive. If your freight is on a tight schedule, make sure to use a different carrier.

Not all carriers do drop trailers. Just because one carrier uses a drop trailer at a certain location doesn’t mean that EVERY carrier uses a drop trailer there. Trailers belong to carriers, so if you can’t afford to have a drop trailer on a shipment, simply look at using a different carrier. It may not be the cheapest of the bunch, but there will always be options available.

Stay away from perishables. For obvious reasons, if you’re shipping perishable items, make sure you’re not dealing with drop trailers.

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