Carrier charge-backs are the cause of considerable confusion, often resulting in some level of frustration. This occurs when the shipper manifests low-density freight by weight only, and the carrier later audits the freight so that a more accurate dimensional weight (referred to as “DIM” weight) based tariff may be applied. When this happens, the shipper has no option but to absorb the additional carrier imposed back charges, which can rarely be reclaimed by the shipper from the customer and can amount to significant unnecessary costs.
DIM weight calculations kick-in if the package size is 5,184 cubic inches (three cubic feet) or greater. For package shipments within the USA, DIM weight is calculated by dividing the cubic size in inches by 194 and rounding up to the nearest whole number.
With the growth in the small-parcel business due to catalog and internet shopping, DC managers can reduce shipping cost by packing or re-packing shipping cases more densely so that actual weight, not DIM weight, becomes the billable weight – which equates to more bang for your shipping buck.
There is a vast range of dimensioning technology and systems available to assist in this effort, such as ultrasound, lasers, vision/CCD cameras and infrared light, to scan an item or package length, width and height. This technology can be combined with others, such as barcode scanning systems, label printers and in-line or static weighing systems to provide a complete dimensioning, weighing and tracking system. Once you know the cube and weight of each item on a customer’s order, the data then can be sent to a real-time host system or to a warehouse management system to automate the calculations and determine the most economical shipping case size based on DIM weight pricing.
Of course the cost of deploying automatic or semi-automatic cubing and weighing technology depends on many factors. However, industry reports indicate that most systems pay for themselves in months by reducing the labor cost and eliminating the inaccuracies associated with hand weighing and measuring. In addition, back-charging bills from carriers will be greatly reduced, if not completely eliminated.
Quantronix, Inc. has just made DIM weight calculation much easier for SMB shippers to manage with the recent introduction of its CubiScan 150. This is an economical self contained, standalone tool that eliminates freight carrier charge-backs by automating the dimensioning and weighing of parcels in manually assisted manifesting/shipping applications (for more information and video visit www.cubiscan.com ).
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