A PRO number is a 7 to 12 digit tracking number a carrier assigns to your LTL shipment. It's the number you enter on a carrier's site, or a multi-carrier lookup tool, to see where a shipment actually is. For a distributor shipping LTL across multiple locations, PRO tracking sounds simple until you're staring at…
Read more
Cross-docking is when freight gets unloaded, sorted by destination, and reloaded onto another trailer without going into long-term storage. If you ship LTL, this isn't optional. It's the operational service you're paying for, and it happens on nearly every shipment you send, sometimes more than once. For a mid-market manufacturer or distributor moving freight across…
Read more
Just-in-time, or JIT, is an inventory strategy where materials and products arrive right before you need them instead of sitting in a warehouse for weeks or months. The goal is to cut storage costs and reduce waste by matching what comes in with what you're actually about to use or ship. For a mid-market manufacturer…
Read more.png?width=360&height=189&name=hub-and-spoke-featured-image%20(1).png)
Hub and spoke is the network model most LTL carriers use to move freight. Instead of driving your shipment straight from pickup to delivery, the carrier routes it through one or more central hubs, where it gets combined with other shipments heading the same direction. For a distributor shipping LTL across multiple locations, hub and…
Read more.png?width=360&height=189&name=ltl-shipping-featured-image%20(2).png)
LTL shipping stands for less than truckload shipping. It means moving a shipment that's too big for a parcel carrier like UPS or FedEx, but too small to justify booking an entire trailer, by sharing space with other shippers' freight on the same truck. For a distributor running freight out of more than one location,…
Read more.png?width=360&height=189&name=fob-meaning-featured-image-photo%20(2).png)
FOB stands for "free on board," and it's sometimes written as "freight on board." It's the shipping term that decides the exact moment ownership and risk for a shipment move from the seller to the buyer. That's the FOB meaning in one sentence, and it has nothing to do with who pays the freight bill…
Read more
On Monday, ArcBest and its subsidiary ABF Freight announced a general rate increase of about 5.9%, effective June 22. The headline number is unremarkable. It matches the increase the carrier took last August. What should get a shipper's attention is not the percentage. It is the calendar. ABF's general rate increases almost always land in…
Read more
Before you hand a 3PL, 4PL, or TMS vendor the keys to your supply chain, demand clear answers to these questions. One vague response can cost you millions in hidden fees, missed SLAs, and lost visibility. This checklist is designed for operations and supply chain leaders at mid-size to enterprise manufacturers evaluating whether to outsource…
Read more
Billing overcharges are the silent tax on every freight budget. Industry benchmarks consistently show that between 2% and 6% of all freight invoices contain errors. In LTL and parcel, where accessorial fees multiply across thousands of shipments, the exposure compounds fast. For a mid-market shipper moving $20 million in freight annually, that's $400,000 to $12…
Read more
If you're managing freight across multiple carriers, juggling LTL shipments, and trying to get visibility into shipments while running a manufacturing operation — you've probably wondered whether outsourcing the whole problem is worth it. That's exactly what a fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider is designed for. This guide explains the specific services a 4PL delivers, what…
Read more