Best Value Carrier Ranking Methodology
Your supply chain priorities drive the carrier ranking process with our Best Value Carrier Ranking Methodology. This method, proprietary to Universal Traffic Service, has big benefits:
- It bases every ranking on your preferences regarding cost and service levels.
- It predicts service reliability for your specific shipment based on actual carrier performance over the past 90 days.
- Rankings adjust automatically as individual carrier rates and service levels change over time.
- It gives us a consistent method for assigning the carrier on an inbound shipment and for recommending a carrier on an outbound shipment.
The Best Value Ranking uses a scale that ranges from 100% cost to 100% service. The input can be set at any point along this scale so that both values add up to 100%.
If you tell us you’re all about price, we’ll set the ranking at 100% cost. This setting returns the carrier with the lowest total cost regardless of transit days or on-time performance. Setting it at 100% service returns the carrier with the best proven transit time on your lane regardless of price. Most likely, you will want some combination of the two variables.
Example of a Best Value Ranking:
Consider a shipment going across the country and simplified scenario of four carriers to choose from:
|
Transit Days |
OnTime% |
Cost |
Carrier A |
3 |
94% |
$601.33 |
Carrier B |
4 |
89% |
$522.58 |
Carrier C |
4 |
77% |
$464.26 |
Carrier D |
6 |
76% |
$433.82
|
Carrier D is the ranked carrier when the Best Value Ranking is set at 100% Cost because it has the lowest total delivered price. But the ranking quickly changes to Carrier C at the 94% Cost value because the improvement in service level is so great. The ranking remains at Carrier C until the scale hits 39% Cost (61% Service). At this level, service is prioritized and the ranking changes to Carrier B. The ranking changes one last time to Carrier A at the 22% Cost level (78% Service) as service is given a much higher weighting than cost.
Infographic: Best Value Carrier Ranking Methodology