Transportation-cost benchmarking

We benchmark a year of the group's shipments and invoices. Each is classified by lane, weight band and service, then compared with a market range built from tendered rates, carrier rate cards and alternative quotes gathered for your lanes. The output is a map of where the group pays more than it needs to and where it pays fairly.

Every benchmark states its basis, which gives you evidence to put in front of a carrier.

• A shipment and invoice database classified by lane, weight, service and surcharge.
• A lane-by-lane benchmark showing the group's rate against a market range, with the basis stated.
• A surcharge analysis separating base rate, fuel, peak, remote-area and failed-delivery charges.
• A negotiation pack of target rates and priority lanes for each carrier.
• A quarterly benchmark refresh format for finance.

• Cost per parcel or per pallet is set against the benchmark range, lane by lane.
• Surcharges are tracked as a share of total invoice value, so growth in extras becomes visible.
• Lanes priced above the upper benchmark are counted, so negotiation starts with the right ones.
• A rate change on a negotiated lane is checked on the invoices that follow it.
• Invoice lines are checked against contracted rates.

Transport rates are agreed one carrier at a time, in different units, and revised by surcharge. Fuel, remote-area, peak and failed-delivery charges accumulate on invoices that few people read line by line. The group cannot argue about a rate it cannot place against the market.

• Total transport spend is rising and no one can split it between rate, volume and surcharge.
• Surcharges on invoices are a growing share of the bill.
• Rates have not been tested against alternative quotes in over a year.
• Remote-area and cross-border lanes cost far more than the rest and no one knows why.
• Each carrier explains the difference with a different logic.

Finance directors and chief executives of groups that spend materially on parcels, pallets or full loads in the Gulf, including retailers with store replenishment, distributors with long routes and brands with national delivery.

Qasim Abbas set the capital logic for a delivery fleet of about 1,000 vehicles at BaladiMart, and a transport invoice is a cost that scales with volume. Your benchmark states each lane as a cost per drop that a board can compare.

We build the database from carrier invoices and the group's own order and ledger systems, including Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite. See how fees work.

Does it cover international freight?

Yes. International freight sits in the benchmark as cross-border lanes between the Gulf markets and the freight leg of inbound lanes, each with its market range.

What do we take into the carrier negotiation?

A negotiation pack of target rates and priority lanes for each carrier, drawn from the lane-by-lane benchmark, with the basis of every rate stated.

Send a recent carrier invoice. We lay out how your lanes benchmark at a private briefing with the Managing Partner.