Unlock 6860 RA Transportation Spend Management[1]

8/14/2019 Unlock 6860 RA Transportation Spend Management[1]

1/49

2011 Transportation Contract, Tenderand Spend Management

May2011

BobHeaney

~ Underwritten, in Part, by~


2/49

2011 Transportation Contract, Tender and SpendManagement

2011 Aberdeen Group. Telephone: 617 8545200 www.aberdeen.com Fax: 617723 7897

Executive Summary Research Benchmark In February 2011 Aberdeen conducted a survey involving 174

transportation and procurement professionals. The data reveals thatalmost 50% of respondents are focused on improving the ability toanalyze and automate true freight spend and this report details howBest-in-Class shippers have leveraged transportation spendmanagement solutions together withprocess improvements to keep costs under control and maintain highlevels of carrier and freight performance.

Aberdeen s ResearchBenchmarks provide anin-depth andcomprehensive look intoprocess, procedure,methodologies, andtechnologies with bestpractice identification andactionablerecommendations

Best-in-Class PerformanceAberdeen used the following five key performance criteria todistinguishBest-in-Class companies:

0.7% decrease vs. last year in baseline freight spend 92.8% of carriers are compliant with their contract cost 91.9% of carriers are meeting their SLA routing compliance 9.2 - average time in days to pay a freight invoice from receipt 86.4% of transportation invoices currently audited

By outsourcing our auditand payment proce ss wevebeen able to reduce ourfreight spend by more than$500k. Weve ev en reducedour errors down to 12 to 15last year out of the morethan15,000 bills we pay yearly.

~ Logistics Manager, SmallManufacturing Firm

Competitive Maturity Assessment Survey results show that the firms enjoying Best-in-Classperformance shared several common characteristics versus allothers, including:

1.88-times as likely to practice incremental bidding between bids 1.70-times as likely to centralize transportation spend management 1.69-times as likely to electronically audit invoices against rate tables 1.50-times as likely to practice multi-round bidding 1.41-times as likely to practice online collaboration with carriers

Required Actions In accordance with the specific recommendations in Chapter Three ofthis report, to achieve Best-in-Class performance, companies must:

Integrate collaboratively by beginning to improvetransportation spend management by automating eithercontract procurement or freight audit and paymentcollaboratively

Complete the spend management loop and increaseelectronic payments to gain control over spend
http://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/


3/49

2011 Transportation Contract, Tender and SpendManagement Implement route-based incentives / scorecards -

consider community bidding and route-based incentivecoupled with benchmarking for even greater reductions incontracted rates

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research

and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted byAberdeen Group, Inc. and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent byAberdeen Group, Inc.


4/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.

Telephone: 617 8545200

Table of Contents Executive Summa ry....................................................................................................... 2

Best-in-Class Performance..................................................................................... 2Competitive Maturity Assessment....................................................................... 2Required Actions...................................................................................................... 2

Chapter One: Benchmarking the Best-in-Class .................................................... 4Business Context ..................................................................................................... 4The Maturity Class Framework ............................................................................ 5The Best-in-Class PACE Model ............................................................................ 6Best-in-Class Strategies........................................................................................... 6

Chapter Two: Benchmarking Requirements for Success ................................... 9

Competitive Assessment......................................................................................11Capabilities and Enablers ......................................................................................13

Chapter Three: Required Actions .........................................................................19Laggard Steps to Success......................................................................................19Industry Average Steps to Success ....................................................................19Best-in-Class Steps to Success ............................................................................19

Appendix A: Research Methodology.....................................................................21Appendix B: The Closed Loop Transportation Spend Management Process.........................................................................................................................................23Appendix C: Related Aberdeen Research ...........................................................26Featured Underwriters ..............................................................................................27

Figures Figure 1: Top Pressures for Improving Transportation Spend Management.. 4Figure 2: Top Strategic Actions by Class................................................................. 7Figure 3: The Best-in-Class Process Capabilities - Track and Bid ...................14Figure 4: Automated Process Capabilities- Select, Invoice, Pay.......................16Figure A: The Transportation Closed Loop Process .........................................23Figure B: Technology Being Leveraged by the Best-in-Class ............................24

Tables Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status.............................................. 5Table 2: The Best-in-Class PACE Framework ....................................................... 6Table 3: The Competitive Framework...................................................................11Table 4: The PACE Framework Key......................................................................22Table 5: The Competitive Framework Key ..........................................................22
http://www.aberdeen.com/


5/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Table 6: The Relationship Between PACE and the Competitive Framework.........................................................................................................................................22


6/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Capitulo uno:Evaluacion comparative de lasmejores compaas de su clase

Contexto del Negocio Las empresas han sido la gestion de contratacion de transportecomplejos y procesos durante muchos aos han ido evolucionando

/ maduracion dede la decada de 1980. La cadena de suministros dehoy ha tomado muchas medidas para reducir los costos de la cadenade suministros. una preocupacin central de transporte y gestores dela cadena de suministros , a travs de todos los rangos de lasindustrias y geografas es el control y la optimizacin del trabnsporte.Sin embargo, los resultados varian mucho en funcin de la madurez.Por ejemplo, el Best-in-class 40% eran mejores del promedio de laindustria, y la mejor de su clase era el 180% mejor que las resagadasen el segmento del costo toal de carga, es decir, accesorias, cargas decombustible y el costo de la factura.El repentino aumento en el combustible y otras cargas atrapadasmuchas organizaciones por sorpresa carecian de procesos suficientespara gestionar los cambios de manera efectiva. En los ltimos 12meses, la falta de visibilidad de gasto real de informacin y la falta deflexibilidad en general en los procesos tpicamente manuales hanobligado a mucho ejecutivos en busca de una mejor tecnologa yprocesos para reducir costos.Figure 1: Top Pressures for Improving Transportation Spend

Management

How the Best-in-Class are Evaluating Freight Rates:

88% compare tocompetitors rates forpricing

65% utilize communitydata from peers

50% compare carriersto internal historicalpricing

Volatility of freight costs and/orfuel cost surcharges 69%

Increasing awareness of the costand service impact of transportation 54%

Customers demanding faster andmore frequent deliveries 33%

Supply chain sourcing complexitydue to increased globalization 33%

Carrier service-related challenges 31%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%Percent of Respondents, n = 174

Source: Aberdeen Group, April 2011No solo el aumento de los costos de flete y gastos de envoi obligo a muchos ejecutivos a tirar masrecursos para resolver el problema. Mas grupos dentro de la organizacin viendo verdaderos costos del


7/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


transporte y detrs de la creacin de mandatos para reducir costos de transporte estuvo bajo control.


8/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Como se muestra en la figura 1, mas del 50% de los encuestados seencuentran en una situacion en la que mas de la empresa conscientesdel costo y el servuicio impacto el transporte en la cadena desuministros global. Por otra parte, los encuaestados tambin se

enfrentan con los ejecutivos de la compaa pidiendo que se hagaalgo rapidamente. De echo, el 60% esta en busca de un cambio en losprximos 12 meses.

Con estos desarrollos muchas organmizaciones estan luchando paratener una major comprencion de sus gastos de transporte, es decior,donde se estan gastando el dinero, y lo eficiente que son en el manejode las relaciones y minimizer los costos. Estos es aun mas un problemapar alas industrias que tienen margenes de ganancia muy finas (comoel comercio minorista, tienda de comestibles, y las industrias desonsumo durarero), donde la eficncia operative en el proceso de

distribucion son funadamentales. Las companies mas grandescontinuan enfrentando problemas, a pesar de la disponibilidad detecnologia, es la falta de visibilidad en el verdadero nivel de los costosde transporte.

El marco de madurez Aberdeen utiliza 5 criterios clave de rendimiento para distinguir el major desu clase del promedio de la industria y las organizaiones rezagadas. La tabla 1ofrece a las empresas un marco para comparar sus resultados contra lasclasificaciones.

Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status

Definicion declase madurez La medida del rendimiento de

Best-in-Class:superior 20%

De calificados endesempeo

0.7% reduccion en su carga incial que pasa aotras ao . 92.8% de los porrtadores en el cumplimientode contrato de suministro del costo total.91.9% de los portadores para cumplir sunivel de servicio .9.2 dias, el tiempo medio para poderprocesar y pagar una facture de flete.86.4% de las facturas de transporte auditados.


9/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Industria media50%

De los calificados

en desempeo

1.4% de aumento en su carga incial.78.5% de las companies en el cumplimientode contrato de suministro78.8% de las companies para cumplir consus niveles de servicio11.4 dias, tiempo medio para poder procesar ypagar una facture de flete.51.1% de las facturas de transporte auditadas.


10/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Definition o f Maturity Class

Mean Class Performance

Rezagado:Bottom 30%parte inferiordel agregado

endesempeo

4.4% aumento en su bas de carga.

31.6% de las companies en el cumplimientode contrato de suministro 52.2% de las companies para cumplir con

sus niveles de servicio 12.8 dias, tiempo medio para poder procesar y

pagar una facture de flete. 27.1% de las facturas de transporte auditadas.

Source: Aberdeen Group, April 2011

The Best-in-Class PACE Model

Using technology to achieve corporate goals and improvetransportation performance is not an isolated solution it requires acombination of strategic actions, organizational capabilities, andthen the proper use of enabling technologies that can besummarized as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: The Best-in-Class PACE Framework

Pressures Actions Capabilities Enablers Volatility offreight costs

and/or fuelcost surcharges(e.g., rates,accessories,fuel costs)

Automatedata

collectionandanalysis onfreight spendand / orupdates torate tables

Optimize orautomate abilityto source andnegotiate freightrates and awardcontracts to theoptimal carrier

Expressive carrierbidding

(carriers submitalternative bids basedon bundling andunbundling of lanes)

Practice multi-round bidding

Practice electronicinvoice presentment andpayment with carriers

Tracking of total freightcost includingaccessories (e.g.detention and stop- offcharges), fuel charges,and invoice dis ute

Transportation procurement module ofTransportation Management

Software(TMS)

General Procurement tool usedfor freight procurement

Specialized transportationprocurement tool

Automated data conversion Spreadsheets for

transportation procurement Homegrown / legacy systems

for transportationprocurement

Freight audit and payment module ofTMS Specialized freight audit and payment


Best-in-Class Strategies In response to the key pressure to contain fuel cost and the generalneed to control overall transportation costs within the extended supply


11/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


chain(Figure 1), the Best-in-Class are leading the charge in the following areas.


12/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Figure 2: Top Strategic Actions by Class

Automate data collection and analysison freight spend and / or updates to rate

tables

47%40%40%

Collaborate and synchronize data withcarriers, suppliers and trading partners

38%36%

31%

Enforce adherence to our routing guideand / or to convert bid responses to rate

tables 15%28%

38%

Best-in-Class

Tie transportation, carrier selection, auditand payment together in a single

process21%

32%

29%

Industry AverageLaggard

0% 20% 40% 60%Percent of Respondents, n = 174

Source: Aberdeen Group, Month 2011

In Figure 2, almost 50% of respondents focused on improving theirability to analyze and automate true freight spend. In addition toworking on improving visibility, survey respondents recognize thatvisibility isn't enough and are putting processes in place to betterutilize spend data and improve/optimize the activities around sourcingand payment. Much of the attention today is around extending datavisibility and collaboration with carriers, suppliers and trading partners.The number of trading partners in today's global supply chain is achallenge that every enterprise must face.The key words from the figure above are visibility, collaboration /synchronization, selection / adherence, and "closing the loop" onprocurement and payment (the closed-loop process is one we havewritten about in the past see Appendix B for an illustration of thissystem). Now, more then ever, Best-in-Class companies are embracingthe people, processes and technologies that drive superior resultswhich are needed to address global cost challenges and servicerequirements.

Recognizing that transportation procurement and transportationpayment are unique functions in most companies - this reportexpands upon these two primary categories at the "front end" and"back end" of transportation spend, highlighting Best-in-Classmethods for managing each.


13/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Aberdeen Insights Closing the Loop on Transportation Spend

If the last two years has taught us anything it's that visibility into and

control of the entire supply chain is critical in fully understandingthe true impacts to cost and service in this highly interdependentglobal supply chain. That focus has suddenly shifted to "closing theloop" on transportation spend. This shift ensures that the actualtransportation spend is accounted for in every strategy and everytactical decision made, and is no longer seen as an after-thought.

Understanding the actual spend on transportation, including drillingdown to all accessorials and surcharges, is the most important stepto bringing transportation spend under control and creating morestrategic value. Despite the importance of this information and its

impact on the strategic actions behind transportation sourcing andprocurement decisions, many organizations continue to run blind.For instance Laggard companies achieved only 31.6% compliancecarrier contractual costs versus actual costs and only a 52.2%compliance to services levels (versus a 91% to92% compliance to both metrics by the Best-in-Class, Table 1).

The entire transportation procurement and payment process relieson information as a valuable input to keep the "closed loop"lifecycle moving. Information collected at each stage (see AppendixB for a fuller description) whether it is regarding freight rates,

contract performance metrics, actual cost updates, and paymentdetails are required inputs into each procurement cycle in order todrive service and cost imbalancesout of the business.

In many cases today, companies continue to rely on paper-basedtracking of this information, or keeping track in spreadsheets.Leveraging technology to track, analyze, and provide visibility tocritical transportation spend data. The technology can be acompetitive differentiator and lead to reducing costs (more on thisin the Technology section).

Transportation and logistics is an ever-changing landscape. Ratesand capacities are in a constant state of flux. Managing these highsand lows is critical to sustaining transportation and supply chaincosts. Keeping up with the changes and controlling them willbecome increasingly strategic. Leveraging the technology andprocesses available will become a necessity.

Now that we have reducedthe non-value add part ofthe process we can focusmore on vendor compliance,payment terms and otheractivities that continue todrive more bang for thebuck from processes; tha tshad a significant impact onour entire organization."

~ Chris Cavin, Director ofTransportation, RockTenn

In the next chapter, we will see what the top performers are


14/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


doing to achieve these gains.


15/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Chapter Two: BenchmarkingRequirements for Success

One question explored throughout this report is how the Best-in-Class are embracing automated process to leverage transportationspendmanagement capabilities. As high as 75% of the leading companies(only 45%for Laggards see Table 3) are tracking total freight cost includingaccessories. These companies are making transportation a strategicpart of the supply chain and not a mere afterthought. Somecompanies have been able to gain visibility into the cost of theirtransportation spend, focus resources on driving efficiencies, enhanceor acquire new skills and insights, and manage through the difficultebb and flow of the specific cost drivers impacting transportation.These leaders are closing the loop on transportation spend and arebetter able to tie transportation, carrier selection, audit and paymenttogether in a single process (Figure 2). The Best-in-Class areresponding and leading the pack, widening the performance gap,where they are 6.1 percentage points advantaged versus Laggards intheir "baseline freight cost" metric, Table 1.

The following case study is an example of how one company hastaken control of their transportation spend and managed to turn thecorner to become Best-in-Class. This company has turnedtransportation from a cost center to a competitive differentiator.

Best-in-Class vs. All Others in Knowledge/Performance

1.44-times as likely topractice formal rootcause analysis oninvoice errors (56% vs.39%)

1.2-times as likely tosupport negotiations of'all in' rates including

assesssorials ( 56% vs.44%)

1.15-times as likely touse incentive-basedfreight contracts (30% vs.26%)

Case Study E-commerce Freight Incentive and Spend Management Services Yield $1 Million in Freight Savings

S&S Activewear is a midsized supplier and distributor of 60 brandname apparel items such as t-shirts and sweatshirts in about 2,000overall styles. While anyone can order the apparel items the typicalbuyer is an apparel customizer. The t-shirt customizing shop is themost common example and these shops will order t-shirts by thepiece with a typical order comprised of two to three boxes shippingvia parcel from a single distribution center located in Chicago. On atypical day this distribution center processes several 100,000 units orabout 8,000 cases from orders placed 24 hours a day primarily fromthe company's e-commerce website. The e-commerce capability hasbeen a channel of growth for the company which has grown over the15 year period since the company was formed. This has fueled thecompany's transportation spend, now at $10 to $12 million annually,leading to major restructuring efforts at the company.

"One of the keyelements of totaldelivered cost for ourcompany as well as acompetitivedifferentiator istransportation cost. Soa few years ago webegan to partner with aTransportation SpendManagement (TSM)services company," saysJim Shannon, Controllerat S&S Activewear.

continued


16/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


"One of the key elements of total delivered cost for our company as well as acompetitive differentiator is transportation cost. So a few years ago webegan to partner with a Transportation Spend Management (TSM) servicescompany. Overall this new partnership has allowed us to document savingsupwards of$1 million off of our freightcosts while at the same time improving our reach from the single DC on both

one day and two day delivery to 40 states -a threefold inc rease.

~ Jim Shannon, Controller

S&S Activewear


17/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.



"Overall this new partnership has allowed us to document savingsupwards of $1 million off of our freight costs while at the same timeimproving our reach from the single DC on both one day and twoday delivery to 40 states - a threefold increase," the Controller goeson to say.

The e-commerce platform allowed the company to increase volumeand value to existing customers. "But the website was also amarketing platform that allowed the company to move away fromviewing freight asa cost that was passed on to the customer and instead to use the

web and our partnership with the TSM services company torestructure our transportation pricing and delivery territory. Toprovide an incentive we have increased order size and deliveryterritory by offering free freight on qualifying web orders of $150 ormore. This is a market differentiator and cost equalizer to reach newcustomers and states," said the Controller.

The following key points define the restructuring efforts and themanner in which the TSM service partnership facilitates the order,delivery, confirmation/audit and payment:

Orders are placed and free freight itemized . Customers canorder via an 800 number, email or the web. The new e-commerce platform calculates total cost displaying freight atlist rate (but will subtract this as a savings for qualifyingorders above the $150 minimum). Based on the destinationzip code the carrier (mainly parcel but TL and LTL are used forlarger shipments) will be selected and the delivery-to-customer date is determined. Ninety percent (90%) are withinone to two days from the date of order.

Orders are tendered to carriers at the Chicago DC andshipped within 24 hours. The applicable carrier UPS, FedExor TL/LTL acknowledges pickup and statuses each order bytracking number to the e-commerce system and the real-time SaaS freight/audit system.

60% increase in sales volume due to zone skipping support . Based on zip codes aggregated orders to predeterminedparcel hubs (in places like Columbus, Kansas City, and as faras Pennsylvania) are batched to allow LTL or TL deliveries.The cost benefit of these mode shifts is rebated back to the


18/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


company from the applicable carrier and is verified by theTSM system and reports. This strategy has also allowed thecompany to reach territories in the radius of the hub within atwo day customer delivery promise which, without zoneskipping support, would have been in three to four day

parcel zones. An estimated 60% increase in sales volume wasenabled this way.

continued


19/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.



100% freight order tracking and audit service . The SaaSbased TSM modules are used to report on volumestendered to each carrier and mode and to provide dailyrecaps on all freight shipments according to contractualrates and freight discounts as well as exceptionmanagement down to specific shipment.

Real-time transportation spend analytics . The SaaS basedTSM modules help insure that the company savings areconsistent with the 10% to 15% in bundled freight rate andaccessorial discounts that the company and the TMS services

firm were able to negotiate during the last, and the future,contracting phase.

"In summary the restructured transportation solution and ourpartnership with the TSM services firm has enabled our e-commercestrategy to expand and grow our volume and geographic reach. Wenow have negotiated our baseline freight costs down by over $1million per yearand are able to share these savings and incent customers to placelarger orders and enjoy lowest landed cost to their market,"concludes the Controller.

Competitive Assessment Aberdeen Group analyzed the aggregated metrics of surveyedcompanies to determine whether their performance ranked as Best-in-Class, Industry Average, or Laggard. In addition to having commonperformance levels, each class also shared characteristics in five keycategories: (1) process (the approaches they take to execute dailyoperations); (2) organization (corporate focus and collaborationamong stakeholders); (3) knowledge management (contextualizingdata and exposing it to key stakeholders);(4) technology (the selection of the appropriate tools and theeffective deployment of those tools); and (5) performancemanagement (the ability of the organization to measure its results toimprove its business). These characteristics (identified in Table 3)serve as a guideline for best practices, and correlate directly withBest-in-Class performance across the key metrics.

Table 3: The Competitive Framework

We've spent a considerableamount of effort this pastyear to establish strongercontrols in our freightsettlement processes. Werecognize the need for amore scalable andcommercial solution as a

next step to support theprocess reengineeringefforts we ve implementedthus far .

~ Robert Sliter,LogisticsLeader, Owens Corning


20/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Best-in-Class Average Laggards

Process


75% 52% 45%

Tracking of total freight cost including accessories(e.g. detention and stop-off charges), fuel charges,

and invoice dis ute costs

74% 72% 38%


21/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Best-in-Class Average Laggards Process (cont.) Practice incremental bidding as requirements

change

62% 35% 34% Expressive carrier bidding (carriers submit

alternative

59% 45% 44%

Electronically assisted bid analysis

56% 47% 38% Strategic bid allocation based on business

performance

56% 47% 35%

Organizational

Allow carriers to suggest alternate routing 56% 51% 29%

Centralized transportation spendmanagement

platform in place, capable of multi-language,

51% 36% 21% Practice online collaboration with carriers for

invoice45% 39% 20%

Knowledge /PerformanceManagement

Negotiate 'all in' rates with carriers instead ofhaving

56% 48% 35%

Practice formal root cause analysis forrepeated56% 45% 28%

Use incentive-based freight contracts 30% 26% 25%

Technology Management

Practice electronic invoice presentment andpayment

66% 57% 35% Automatically audit invoices against electronic

rate61% 42% 23%

Automated carrier selection based on known dataand

51% 43% 38% Practice online bidding via web portal

44% 41% 40% OCR for paper to electronic conversion of

freight42% 30% 21%

Electronically assisted bid allocationoptimization to

41% 34% 24%

How the Best-in-Class are Performing vs. Others

1.88-times as likely topractice incrementalbidding as requirementschange between bidcontracts

1.70-times as likely tocentralized transportationspend managementplatform in place, capableof multi- language, multi-currency

1.69-times as likely toautomatically auditinvoices against electronicrate tables

1.50-times as likely topractice multi-roundbidding

1.44-times as likely topractice formal root causeanalysis for repeatedinvoice errors

1.41-times as likely topractice onlinecollaboration with carriersfor invoice exceptionhandling

1.35-times as likely topractice electronicinvoice presentment andpayment

with carriers


22/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Best-in-Class Average Laggards

Technology Enablers

Electronic routing guides in TMS for day-to-daycarrier selection decisions

54% 38% 34% Transportation procurement module

of45% 41% 30% Specialized freight audit and payment tool

34% 22% 31% Specialized spend analytics software

31% 31% 30%


Capabilities and Enablers Based on the findings of the Competitive Framework and interviewswith end users, Ab erdeens analysis of the Best-in-Classdemonstrates that it is truly a combination of superior and balancedperformance across each of the sections that denotes the overalllevel of transportation success.

Process - Cost Tracking and Electronic Collaboration Over 70% of the companies, from the Chief Supply Chain OfficerSurvey, January 2011, indicated that internal/external collaboration wasintegral to their supply chain strategy. When it comes to process,companies of all classes have begun to harness technology in acollaborative fashion. But the Best-in-Class are doing a superior job,primarily in the area of tendering bids and doing electronicassessments or allocations with their carriers. Figure 3 illustrates someof the process collaboration gaps where the following observationsand recommendations can be made.

Collaborate to obtain and track true cost . Only 38% of theLaggards are tracking actual costs and accessorials. The Best-in- Class and Industry Average track at the 74% and 72% levelrespectively. Without actual costs, the ability to audit andmeasure compliance to plan, variances in fuel surcharges andaccessorials in particular, cannot be achieved. For those thatare tracking thesecosts, ensure that monitoring is taking place in a collaborative fashion.

Collaborate and examine bundled and unbundled costs. At75%, the Best-in-Class are 50% more likely than all others topractice collaborative multi-round bidding. Without this


23/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


capability it is difficult to secure your best overall rates and toanalyze the potential savings of bundling several low volumelanes. Failure toconsider bundling these lanes or surcharges into a base contract cancost as much as 15% more for the associated volumes.

Complete the collaborative bidding cycle: start withselection and end with electronic bid assistance. The Best-in-


24/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Class are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.9-times as likely as allothers to be able to optimize the collaborative bid andselection process - whether performing expressive bidding or

strategic carrier allocations or electronically assisting the bid proces s. Without collaboration at each phase, it is likely thatsavings will be left behind during transportation execution.

Figure 3: The Best-in-Class Process Capabilities - Track and Bid


Tracking of total freight cost includingaccessories (e.g. detention and stop-off

charges), fuel charges, and invoice disputecosts

52%45%

38%

75%

74%72%

Practice incremental bidding as requirementschange between bid contracts

Expressive carrier bidding (carriers submitalternative bids based on bundling and

unbundling of lanes)

35%34%

45%44%

62%

59%

Electronically assisted bid analysis

Strategic bid allocation based on businessperformance of carriers

56%47%

38%

56%47%

35%

Best-in-ClassIndustry AverageLaggard

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%Percent of Respondents, n = 174


Organization When it comes to organizational capabilities the Best-in-Class aremuch more likely to organize capability around a centralizedtransportation platform capable of handling global complexityincluding multi-lingual and multi-currency functionality (Table 3 underOrganization). At 51% the Best-in-Class ar e more than twice as likely

as Laggards to have this capability. This fact is compounded by theincreasing globalization of companies, (i.e., more than85% of all respondents are global). Having a centralized platform tocollect and share data across regions divisions and operating silosenables the company to evaluate its extended supply chain andanalyze transportation spend management data to streamline itsoperations. In our study, this was one of the most significant areas forsavings opportunities with some companies uncovering as much as35% in cost savings directly applicable to cross-region optimization


25/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


initiatives. If a company is not organized in a fashion to centralize thisshared data, then they are at a distinct disadvantage in performingperiodic strategic and tactical assessments.


26/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


The Best-in-Class are centralized with respect to transportation databut are primarily "managed globally". When compared to all others,Best-in- Class firms are more likely to organize/centralize these two

key transportation spend management functions and manageglobally:

1.65-times as likely to have transportationprocurement functionality (61% vs. 37% all others)

1.61-times as likely to have freight audit and payment functionality(53% vs. 33% all others)

And finally, in the July 2010 report, International Transportation:Optimize Cost and Service in a Global Market , the advantages of onlinecarrier portals to handle a variety of transportation costs and eventswere highlighted, and invoicing is no exception. Here again we findthat the Best-in-Class at 45% are more than twice as likely as Laggardsto have this online portal capability for invoicing (see Table 3,Organization).

Knowledge Management and PerformanceManagement Knowledge is power when it comes to internal andexternal performance management. A few of the related areaswhere the Best-in-Class demonstrate superior capabilities rangingfrom root causes analysis toincentives are found in Table 3.

Laggard companies are only able to accurately report 31% complianceto contractual cost and 52% compliance to service level requirementswith their carrier base (Table 1, Pressures). The higher level of successin that the Best-in-Class demonstrate (up to 92% on the samecompliance metrics) is directly related to the measurement andperformance management skillsan organization deploys. Both having actionable metrics andexpectations for service/cost as well as measuring carrier performancefrequently are central to the success of the Best-in-Class.

Earlier we saw that the Best-in-Class are able to accurately determinetheir true or actual costs and that Best-in-Class companies have acentralized platform upon which to store shared data and access theirtransportation spend. In keeping with the closed loop process, it isdifficult to perform analytical and exception-based analysis tonegotiate or create contract incentives with carriers (Table 3) withouthaving an ability to conduct historical and contractual costcomparisons.


27/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Technology The richness of data required to evaluate plan versus actual cost andperform transportation spend analytics is vast and daunting. It is clearthat technology and automation tools are requirements for theseefforts to be successful for companies of any scale. The Best-in-Classare more highly automated where they are anywhere from 1.17 to 1.5-times as likely as all others to have each of the technology enablersindicated in the competitive framework (Table 3, TechnologyEnablers).


28/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Large companies need to automate just to keep up with the deluge ofshipments. As a result, large companies can experience considerablyhigher productivity levels among other benefits. The time to payment

metric shows that the Best-in-Class are, on average, able to processand pay a freight invoice in 9.2 days or two to three days morequickly than Industry Average and Laggard companies respectively.Automation is also savingthem on the average cost to process and invoice, where at $10.98 perinvoice they are saving $2.96 and $11.04 per invoice vs. IndustryAverage and Laggards respectively (see sidebar).

Automated Features: Procurement, Contract/Track and Freight Invoice, Audit and Pay When it comes to software capabilities there are numerous choices forthe transportation professional. With ERP and Supply ChainManagement suites, complete transportation management systems,and a variety of specialized tools and optimizers, companies have awide range of options available to automate various aspects of theirtransportation spend management. In almost every instance,companies that are able to leverage technology to remove the manualcomponents of everyday tasks are able to focus moreon delivering value versus entering data. In Figure 4, we have capturedsomeof the key areas where the Best-in-Class have demonstrated moreadvanced capabilities.

Figure 4: Automated Process Capabilities- Select, Invoice, Pay

Cost per Freight Invoice Under Automation:

$10.98 Best-in-Class

$13.94 Industry Average

$22.02 Laggard

The Best-in-Class are:

Saving $2.96 and$11.04 per invoice vs.Average and Laggardsrespectively

Able to process and pay a

freight invoice in 9.2 daysor2 to 3 days more quickly

Laggard Reasons for Not Investing in Technology:

Practice electronic invoicepresentment and payment

with carriers

Automatically audit invoicesagainst electronic rate tables

35%

42%23%

66%57%

61%

46% up-front costsof solution too high

34% upfront costs ofchanging processes aretoo high

Automated carrier selectionbased on known data and

rules

51%43%

38%

26% software integrationis too difficult /expensive

Practice online bidding viaweb portal

OCR for paper to electronicconversion of freight invoices

44%41%40%

42%30%

21%

Best -in-ClassIndustry AverageLaggard

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%


29/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Percent of Respondents, n = 174



30/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


One area of known popularity is electronic invoice presentment and payment where the Best-in-Class (at 66%) are 1.5-times as likely as allothers to have automated capabilities in place. This is a big difference

particularly if you are a large shipper with millions of shipments andinvoices to audit and pay. For these shippers, it therefore follows thatthe ability to automatically audit invoices is equally an importantcapability. This is a system that allows for each and every invoice to becompared and contrasted with contractual rates and historical trends.This system also provides the ability to support automated paymentfor items that are within user configurable acceptance criteria. Thiscapability is also the type of solution that was deployed in our casestudy example at S&S Activeware. This system allowed S&S Activewareto expedite the payment process as well as collect historicaltransportation spend data to assist the next freight procurement cycle.It should be noted that Laggard companies at only 23% are behind thecurve and, likewise, they are hampered in moving very far towards thegoal of 100% freight audit. Indeed, at 27.1% they are behind theIndustry Average and the Best-in-Class (52% and 87% respectively,Table 1, Metrics). Imagine having to manually process hundreds orthousands of payments each month without any automation in placeto streamline the review and payment.

On the procurement-to-pay side of things, the Best-in-Class at 51%are 1.2- times as likely as all others to perform automated carrierselection. This capability allows them to demonstrate higheradherence to the routingguide and standard transportation lanes. What about promotionalitems or new spot order/lanes? Here the Best-in-Class are alsoleveraging online bidding tools for dynamic tendering of freight(44%) and have automated OCR techniques for conversion of freightinvoices from paper to digital.

Across a broad range of transportation components today's softwareand automation tools are providing a strong foundation forcompanies to handle each step in the closed loop transportationprocure-to-pay cycle. Today's software aids in eliminating manualsteps where possible and bringing down overall processing costs.Beyond the savings in time and labor, those companies that excel inautomation and transportation spend management are able to reducetheir baseline freight costs by 4% to 5% and improve carrier servicelevels compared to their peers.


31/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Aberdeen Insights Technology

Aberdeen research indicates that companies take three distinct

approaches with enabling technology: using a best-of-breedmodel, a collaborative outsourcing model (leveraging third partyproviders), or a supply chain specific application within a broaderSCM/ERP suite.

The technology section highlights key areas for investment andautomation that should be considered when a company isenhancing or acquiring new capability around TPP andtransportation spend management. Regardless of the specificapproach, the adoption of technology has taken a turn for thebetter with a focus around four key criteria for making investment

decisions. Three of these key criteria demonstrate thatorganizations understand the value of these solutions and areinsisting that there is an ability to create more of an end-to-endprocess environment. The four criteria are:

Feature and functionality / capabilities (72%) Price (67%) The ability to interface with existing technology / solutions (65%) Ability to extend functionality of existing solutions

(52%) Following features, "price" is a key requirement and at67% it isimportant to contrast this with another key finding - over 40% of allrespondents indicated that these solutions are still tooexpensive upfront, or too expensive / difficult to implement.For these companiesmuch of the upfront costs and lead-times can be substantially reduced. Asdepicted in the case study and as discovered by many who haveconducted the proper due diligence, it is important to be aware ofthe variety of solutions available today and the deployment optionsthey provide. It is also important to look to the areas where others

have found the biggest savings (see Summary Insight). Theevolution of SaaS and on-demand offerings from most solutionproviders has delivered on the promise to decrease these historicalhurdles. Companies must invest the time to educate their decision-making teams on the latest options in order to complete the properdue diligence around these solutions.


32/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Chapter Three:Required Actions

Whether a company is trying to move its performance intransportation spend management from Laggard to IndustryAverage, or Industry Average to Best-in-Class, the following actionswill help spur the necessary performance improvements:

Laggard Steps to Success Measure and audit religiously. Only 27% of Laggard

companies currently are measuring freight cost and servicecompliance by auditing. The Best-in-Class at 87% are 3.2- timesmore likely to perform auditing and their metrics reflect it.Working to get control of transportation spend data is the end-goal, however it's more important to get visibility and measurecompliance to cost and service in order to identify short andlong term improvements.

Increase the ability to track cost. Only 38% of the Laggardsare tracking actual costs and accessorials. The Best-in-ClassandIndustry Average track at the 74% and 72% level respectively.Manycompanies still rely on paper-based tracking of this

information, or keeping track in spreadsheets. It is critical toleverage technology to provide visibility to criticaltransportation spend data.

Industry Average Steps to Success Integrate collaboratively with external groups. Working to

get control of transportation spend data is critical. Over 30%of all companies cite collaboration and synchronization of datawith carriers, suppliers and trading partners as the secondhighest strategic action (Figure 2). But for the Industry

Average on a global level only 16% can share that data withexternal partners. Collaborating to combine data into a globalview will greatly increase spend analysisvalue-add opportunities and sharing with external partners willdrive better performance.

Close the gap on electronic payments. While over 78% ofIndustry Average companies measure carrier compliance tocost they have not fully automated electronic payment. Oursurvey indicated that only 51% of them have moved beyond

auditing toautomatedpayment (a 27

percentagepointcapabilitiesgap). Byautomating thisfinal step theycan increaseprocessingspeeds andaccuracy and"close the loopon spend."

Best-in-Class Stepsto Success

Optimizedynamically with

the onlinecommunity. About

40% of Best-in-Class companiesare leveragingspend datavisibility andoptimization forbidding viacommunity webportals.Optimizing


33/49


34/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


the bid process is limited to your level of visibility. There arenumerous public and private bidding and community freightboards that post capacity daily. By leveraging these tools into

your daily freight operations, you can optimize yourmovements to get the best rates and greatly increase freightutilization.

Implement freight-based incentives / scorecards. With thesuperior visibility and knowledge of historical costs of freightspend; score carding at a higher level can help drive furthercostreductions. Rather than getting too lost in the individualcharges, placing a score (an index) on each route and workingto reduce the overall average cost per route can greatly

improve savings and overall spend management. Currentlyabout 30% of the Best-in- Class are attempting to useincentive based freight contracts or scorecarding to evaluateor negotiate all-in rates for freight.

Aberdeen Insights Summary

The volatility and complexity in the world of transportation continuesto grow exponentially and every company is looking for ways tosustain costs. The predominant pressure is the current volatility offreight and fuel costs. To combat this pressure, Best-in-Class

companies are looking to optimize the process of sourcing, selecting,and negotiating freight rates, and increasing the degree ofcollaboration and data-synchronization with both their carriers andtrading partners. With this primary objective in focus, the leadingcompanies are continuing to acquire transportation spend control.

To achieve the capabilities needed to support these strategies, Best-in-Class companies utilize both foundational systems, such as TMS,but also specialized point-solutions for auditing, data analysis, andelectronic communications or look to logistics services providers toprovide the same.

Better management of transportation procurement, audit, andpayment is enabling companies to negotiate reduced rates andlower the total cost s of processing invoices. Through a combinationof best practices and business transformation, radical improvementcan be achieved. Automation of these processes, along with end-to-end integration, and the real-time availability and use of spend data,provides Best-in-Class companies with the ability to reduce overallfreight spend. Moreover, these companies are also able to reducethe labor costs associated with managing these typically manual

processes.

Supply chain executiveswant to be strategic anddrive value. Getting

costs under control hasalways been a goal andthe "closed loop"transportation spendmanagement cycle iscapable of drivingcontinuous value.Understanding andmanagingtransportation costs andnew practices will be asignificant competitiveadvantage goingforward; it will producethe leaders of the nextdecade.


35/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Our carriers at Sunoco have great contact with our customers. They cannow inform our sales and support staff when a customer needs assistanceor new ways to provide value-added services to them in the future. In theend, were all working together and lowering costs as a team.

~ Thomas C. Moyer, Sr. Transportation Analyst, Sunoco


36/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Appendix A:Research

Methodology Between March and April 2011, Aberdeen examined the use, theexperiences, and the intentions of more than 174 enterprisesregarding transportation contract, tender and spend management ina diverse set of enterprises.

Aberdeen supplemented this online survey effort with interviews withselect survey respondents, gathering additional information ontransportation contract, tender and spend management strategies,experiences, and results.

Responding enterprises included the following: Job title: The research sample included respondents with the

following job titles: Manager (40%); Managing Director /Director (30%); EVP / SVP / VP (11%); CEO / President (7%);Consultant (6%); Staff (4%); and other (2%).

Department / function: The research sample includedrespondents from the following departments or functions:supply chain, or logistics manager (55%); procurement (13%);operations manager (8%); senior management (7%); salesand marketing staff (8%); and IT manager or staff (3%).

Industry: The research sample included respondents from:Transportation / logistics (13%); Wholesale Distribution (7%);Retail and Apparel (9%); Food and Beverage (9%); IndustrialManufacturing (10%); Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) (5%);Computer Equipment (5%); Automotive (4%); Health andMedical (3%); Government, Aerospace and Defense (4%); andother (31%).

Geography: The majority of respondents (72%) were fromNorth America. Remaining respondents were from Europe

(17%) and the Asia-Pacific region (11%). Company size: Forty-nine percent (49%) of respondents were

from large enterprises (annual revenues above US $1 billion);33% were from midsize enterprises (annual revenues between$50 million and$1 billion); and 18% of respondents were from small businesses(annual revenues of $50 million or less).

Headcount: Fifty-seven percent (57%) of respondents were

from largeenterprises(headcount

greater than1,000employees);26% were frommidsizeenterprises(headcountbetween 100and 999employees); and17% ofrespondentswere from smallbusinesses(headcountbetween 1 and99 employees).


37/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Study Focus

Responding transportation management executives completed an onlinesurvey that included questions designed to determine the following:

The degree to which TPP solutions are deployed in their operations andthe financial implications of the technology

The structure and effectiveness of existing TPP implementations

Current and planned use of TPP to aid operational and audit activities

The benefits, if any, that have been derived from TPP initiatives

The study aimed to identify emerging best practices for TPP, and toprovide a framework by which readers could assess their own managementcapabilities.


38/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Table 4: The PACE Framework Key

Overview Aberdeen applies a methodology to benchmark research that evaluates the business pressures, actions,capabilities, and enablers (PACE) that indicate corporate behavior in specific business processes. Theseterms are defined as follows:Pressures external forces that impact an organization s market position, competitiveness, orbusiness operations (e.g., economic, political and regulatory, technology, changing customerpreferences, competitive) Actions the strategic approaches that an organization takes in response toindustry pressures (e.g., align thecorporate business model to leverage industry opportunities, such as product / service strategy, targetmarkets,financial strategy, go-to-market, and sales strategy)

Capabilities the business process competencies required to execute corporate strategy (e.g., skilledpeople, brand, market positioning, viable products / services, ecosystem partners, financing)Enablers the key functionality of technology solutions required to support the organizati ons enablingbusiness practices (e.g., development platform, applications, network connectivity, user interface, trainingand support, partner interfaces, data cleansing, and management)


Table 5: The Competitive Framework Key

Overview

The Aberdeen Competitive Framework definesenterprises as falling into one of the following threelevels of practices and performance:Best-in-Class (20%) Practices that are the bestcurrently being employed and are significantlysuperior to the Industry Average, and result in thetop industry performance.Industry Average (50%) Practices that representthe average or norm, and result in average industryperformance.Laggards (30%) Practices that are significantlybehind the average of the industry, and result in

below average performance.

In the following categories:Process What is the scope ofprocess standardization? What is theefficiency and effectiveness of thisprocess?Organization How is your companycurrently organized to manage and optimizethis particular process?Knowledge What visibility do you have intokey data and intelligence required to manage thisprocess? Technology What level ofautomation have youused to support this process? How is this automationintegrated and aligned?Performance What do you measure?How frequently? What s your actualperformance?


Table 6: The Relationship Between PACE and the Competitive Framework


39/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


PACE and the Competitive Framework How They Interact Aberdeen research indicates that companies that identify the most influential pressures and take the mosttransformational and effective actions are most likely to achieve superior performance. The level ofcompetitive performance that a company achieves is strongly determined by the PACE choices that theymake and how well they execute those decisions.



40/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Appendix B: The Closed Loop Transportation Spend

Management Process Source: Transportation Procurement and Payment: Gain Control

over Spend , Aberdeen February

2010

The February 2010 Aberdeen report on Transportation Procurementand Payment, ( Transportation Procurement and Payment: Gain Controlover Spend), delved deeply into the concept of closed looptransportation management. The technology that supports a closedloop transportation management platform is not new. Indeed this isvery much in keeping with a key finding of Aberdeen's researchdemonstrating that companies are departing from thinking abouttransportation management in a linear format and, instead, as a closedloop, with each step in the process feeding the subsequent ones.Figure A depicts the "closed-loop spend management" cycle, with thecapabilities shown on the inner circle, and the enabling technologiesthat dri ve integration and automation in the two outermost circles. Acommon, but less effective alternative to the closed-loop conceptinvolves having the electronic flow of data cease at the audit and pay

step. The model shown below completes the loop by having theshipment history form the audit and pay step flow directly into a spendanalytics step, which is then used as atool to create the request for proposal in the procurement process.

Figure A: The Transportation Closed Loop Process


41/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Source: Aberdeen Group, February 2010


42/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


In their steps towards closing the loop, Aberdeen found thatcompanies take three distinct approaches with enabling technology:using a best-of- breed model, a collaborative outsourcing model (

leveraging third party providers), or a single application suite. Thebest-of-breed model involves using a combination of specialized bidoptimization tools, Transportation Management Software (TMS),audit and payment applications, and transportation spend analyticssolutions to produce a feature-rich platform of integratedapplications. Often the outsourcing model leverages the same toolsand process but involves an alliance with a logistics service providerfor procurement, audit/pay or both. Alternatively, with a TMS, thevarioussteps in the loop are all offered by a single software developer. In eachcase, the critical link to the individual processes is automated dataconversion to ensure that there is an efficient information exchange ateach step in the cycle.

In almost every instance, companies that are able to leveragetechnology to manage processes and remove the manualcomponents of everyday tasks are able to focus more on deliveringvalue versus entering data. In using the Aberdeen methodology toanalyze technology usage, there continues to begreater adoption associated with the Best-in-Class group and alignment withdriving better performance in key metrics. Across six differentcategories of technology usage (Figure B), over 40% of the Best-in-Class are taking advantage of opportunities to automate as much ofthe processes as possible.

Figure B: Technology Being Leveraged by the Best-in-Class

65%

44%

33%

57%

37%

Best-in-Class

54%

19%

29%

Average

10%

60%

36%

Laggard

10%

53%

44%

27%

n = 236

34% 34%

13%

Electronic invoicepresentment and

payment with carriers

Electronically ass istedbid analysis

Electronic bidallocation optimization

to award lanes.

TMS routing guide forday to day carrier

selection decisions

Specialized freightaudit and payment tool

(TMS) Transportationprocurement module

Electronic Data Conversion Technology Components


43/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Source: Aberdeen Group, February 2010

In each case under electronic data conversion, the Best-in-Class are 2-to 6- times as likely as Laggards to have automation in place especiallyaround the sourcing and procurement process, updating and auditingrate guides, and optimally awarding lanes via electronic updates.


44/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Under technology components, they are again 2.5 to 6 times aslikely as Laggards to use extensions of TMS procurement solutionsand specialized freight audit and payment tools to speed and

automate the front-end to back-end of closed loop transportationprocess and enable tighter spend control.

Key Benefits of Closed Loop Process Key benefits of utilizing a true close loop spend management processto end users include the opportunities to control and managetransportation procurement and settlement:

Monitor, reduce and control contracted freight rates and spend Track and control non-contracted freight rates and

accessorial charges Reduce labor required to convert bid data into contract and

then into rate tables and to support invoicing/auditing Reduce labor requirements for freight invoice auditing

Measure and control carri ers compliance to contract costs and servicelevel agreements:

Improve spend data visibility and analysis for moreeffective bid management and negotiating new/updatedcontracts

Improve ability manage information and enforce rules forcarriers to adhere to contracts

Reduce amount of over-billing from carriers Enable closed loop monitoring/auditing of budgets,

contracts and actual charges

In summary, better management of transportation procurement, audit,and payment is enabling companies to negotiate reduced rates andlower the total costs of processing invoices. The automation of theseprocesses, along with end-to-end integration, and the real-timeavailability and use of spend data, has provided Best-in-Classcompanies with the ability to reduce overall freight spend, as well as toreduce the labor costs associated with managing these typicallymanual processes.


45/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Appendix C: Related Aberdeen Research

Related Aberdeen research that forms a companion or reference tothis report includes:

International Transportation: Optimize Cost and Service in a Global Market ; July 2010

Transportation Procurement and Payment: Gain Control over Spend; February 2010

State of Retail Logistics: Strengthening Cross-Channel Supply Chain Execution, March 2010

Integrated Transportation Management: Improve Responsiveness with Real-Time Control of Execution; October, 2009

Evaluating Logistics Outsourcing: Look Before You Leap! ; October, 2009 Tending the Fleet: Paving New Roads with Effective Fleet Management;

September, 2008 No Excuses! Why Optimizing Transportation Management is Within the

Reach of Every Company; July, 2008 Achieving Closed-Loop Transportation Spend Management; January,

2008

Information on these and any other Aberdeen publications can befound at www.aberdeen.com .

Author: Bob Heaney, Senior Research Analyst, Supply Chain Management(bo [email protected] )

For more than two decades, Aberdeen's research has been helping corporations worldwide become Best-in-Class.Having benchmarked the performance of more than 644,000 companies, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to provideorganizations with the facts that matter the facts that enable companies to get ahead and drive results. That's whyour research is re lied on by more than 2.5 million readers in over 40 countries, 90% of the Fortune 1,000, and 93% ofthe Technology 500.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeens research provides insight and analysis to the Harte-Hanks community oflocal, regional, national and international marketing executives. Combined, we help our customers leverage the powerof insight to deliver innovative multichannel marketing programs that drive business-changing results. For additionalinformation, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.comor call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call(800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologiesprovide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unlessotherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not bereproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by
http://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.harte-hanks.com/http://www.harte-hanks.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.aberdeen.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/


46/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Aberdeen Group, Inc. (2011a)


47/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


Featured Underwriters This research report was made possible, in part, with the financial

support of our underwriters. These individuals and organizations shareAberdeens vision of bringing fact based research to corporationsworldwide at little or no cost. Underwriters have no editorial orresearch rights, and the facts and analysis of this report remain anexclusive production and product of Aberdeen Group. Solutionproviders recognized as underwriters were solicited after the fact andhad no substantive influence on the direction of this report. Theirsponsorship has made it possible for Aberdeen Group to make thesefindings available to readers at no charge.

Founded in 1998, BirdDog operates two business units BirdDogSolutions and Foley Carrier Services.BirdDog Solutions is the transportation procurement expert andtrusted partner to more than 1,200 large-volume shippers. Leveragingtechnology and expertise that was previously available only toFortune 500 companies, we consistently trim 10% to 20% from ourclients annual transportation costs.Under the Foley brand, we deliver Help at Every Turn to more than 17,000

DOT-regulated motor carriers. Our comprehensive line-up of DOTcompliance and transportation factoring services has made Foley aone-stop shop for new entrant motor carriers and established carriersalike.

For additional information on BirdDog Solutions:

138 River Road, Suite 208Andover, MA 01810Telephone 1: 978.688.8400Telephone 2:[email protected]
http://www.birddog.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.birddog.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/


48/49


2011 AberdeenGroup.


LeanLogistics is a global solutions provider of TMS applications andsupply chain services enabled by one of the industry s largesttransportation networks.The LeanLogistics network empowers shippers, carriers and otherparticipating members to reduce costs, improve service and gaincomplete visibility.

For additional information on LeanLogistics:

1351 S. Waverly RoadHolland, MI 49423Telephone:

[email protected]
http://www.leanlogistics.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.leanlogistics.com/http://www.aberdeen.com/


49/49


Syncada from Visa is a global financial supply chain network whichcorporations and governments can use to process invoices, makepayments, and finance payables or receivables through sponsorfinancial institutions. Syncada processes invoices for hundreds ofbuyers and makes payments to tens of thousands of sellers in 42countries. In 2009, the network processed more than USD $18 billion inpayments and more than 200 million invoices and supporting tradedocuments. For more information about Syncada, visi twww.syncada.com.

For additional information on Syncada: 200 S 6 th Street, Suite 2700Minneapolis, MN 55402Telephone: [email protected]
http://www.syncada.com/http://www.syncada.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.syncada.com/http://www.syncada.com/

Documents

Unlock 6860 RA Transportation Spend Management[1]