G Singh
1 year ago
Retail freight
Hit the delivery window. Avoid the chargeback.
The routing guide runs the show
Major retailers publish a routing guide that dictates how you ship to them: which carriers, which mode by weight band, how to label, how to palletize, how to schedule, and what happens when you do not. Send us the routing guide when you ask for a rate. We would rather read it than guess at it.
It is not advisory
Deviating from the routing guide is itself a chargeback in most programs, even when the freight arrives on time and undamaged.
Send it with the rate request
The guide tells us which carriers are approved and which mode applies at your weight band. Quoting without it is guessing.
Built to it, not corrected after
Most chargebacks are avoidable at booking. Almost none are fixable after delivery.
What actually gets charged back
Late delivery
Arrival after the must-arrive-by-date.
Early delivery
Arrival before the window opens. The DC has no room to hold it and the PO is not open yet.
No appointment
A truck that turns up unscheduled, or an appointment missed and not rebooked.
Routing guide deviation
Wrong mode, wrong carrier or wrong service level. Labeling and ASN errors and pallet non-compliance sit here too.
What shippers say about working with us
MABD and the early-delivery trap
Must-arrive-by-date is the last day a shipment can arrive. What surprises people is that arriving early is also a violation in most programs. The target is a window, not a deadline, and we schedule against the window.
Hit the window
Not before it opens
Book peak ahead
DC or store-direct
DC delivery
High volume into a distribution center. Strict appointments, lumpers common, and a full OTIF scorecard behind it.
Store-direct
Smaller drops to individual stores, often LTL, frequently needing a liftgate and limited receiving hours. Higher cost per unit and more moving parts.
Peak season
Capacity tightens from roughly August through Q4, and it tightens most in exactly the lanes retail needs. The penalty for missing an MABD does not get more forgiving.
Short shipment
Quantity under the PO. This is the in-full half of OTIF, and it is charged back the same way a late delivery is.
Appointments
Appointments get booked against the delivery window, and we tell you when the window and the available slots do not line up rather than letting it fail at the dock.
Send the PO window and the DC. We book the appointment, confirm it, and tell you early if it is at risk.
Freight coming back
Post-peak returns, recalls and unsold inventory moving off a retailer dock is a different problem from getting it there.
Common questions about retail freight
The ones that come up before the first load.
What is MABD in retail shipping? Must-arrive-by-date is the last date a shipment may arrive at a retailer DC. Most programs also penalize early arrival, because the DC has no space to hold it and the purchase order is not open. The practical target is a delivery window.
What is a retail routing guide? It is the retailer published instructions for shipping to them: approved carriers, mode by weight band, labeling, palletization, scheduling and documentation. Deviating from it is itself a chargeback in most programs.
Why did I get a chargeback when my freight arrived on time? Usually a routing guide deviation, a labeling or ASN error, or pallet non-compliance. On-time arrival satisfies only one requirement.
Send us the routing guide and the PO window.
That is enough for us to build the shipment to the program rather than correct it afterward.