For many shippers, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight is one of the most difficult areas of transportation spend to control.
An LTL invoice can be influenced by far more than the negotiated rate. Commodity classification, shipment characteristics, origin-and-destination pairs, carrier rules, accessorial fees, and contract language can all affect the final cost. Over time, these variables can create unnecessary expense and administrative complexity, even when a shipper believes it has competitive pricing.
That was the challenge facing one customer when it first engaged with KBX Logistics™.
The shipper was not simply looking for another carrier quote. It needed a clearer understanding of how its LTL network was structured, where costs were being created, and what changes could improve performance over the long term.
KBX approached the opportunity from a shipper’s perspective: start with the data, engage the customer to understand the network along with their current challenges, and address the underlying cost drivers before going to market.
The Challenge: LTL Costs Are Often Hidden in the Details
It is easy to evaluate an LTL program primarily through base rates or discount percentages. But a competitive-looking rate does not always translate into the lowest total transportation cost.
Two carriers may offer similar pricing while producing very different outcomes once discount and minimum charges, accessorials, freight classifications, lane coverage, service requirements, and contract provisions are applied. Small inconsistencies across these areas can compound across hundreds or thousands of shipments.
When KBX began working with the shipper, the team received the company’s full network transportation file, including its detailed LTL shipment data. KBX then conducted a thorough review of origin-and-destination pairs, freight classes, product information, service expectations and shipment descriptions.
The analysis identified opportunities related to pricing, network structure, and carrier alignment that were invisible to the shipper at the time.
Rather than treating the transportation bid as the beginning of the process, KBX treated it as an outcome of the data analysis.
That distinction matters.
A bid can tell a shipper what carriers are willing to charge. A network analysis helps determine what the shipper should be buying, from which carriers, and under what terms.
Step One: Build a Clear Picture of the LTL Network
The first objective was to establish a reliable view of how freight was moving across the network.
KBX evaluated shipment data to understand:
- The lanes and O/D combinations being used
- The freight classifications applied to shipments
- Product and commodity descriptions
- Existing carrier coverage
- Pricing structures
- Accessorial exposure
- Transit times & service commitments
- Opportunities to simplify the overall program
This review helped move the conversation beyond individual invoices or isolated lanes. It created a network-level view of where costs and complexity were accumulating.
For shippers, this is an important first step.
Without accurate and complete shipment data, it is difficult to determine whether rising LTL costs are being caused by carrier pricing, freight characteristics, network design, inconsistent processes, or a combination of factors.
Step Two: Identify the Cost Drivers Behind the Rate
Once the network was visible, KBX examined where the shipper’s pricing and operating structure could be improved.
The analysis revealed opportunities involving the company’s pricing, network setup, and carrier base. KBX then used those findings to develop a more informed sourcing strategy.
This approach reflects a broader principle of effective freight cost management: the lowest quoted rate is not necessarily the lowest-cost solution.
For example, a carrier may present an attractive discount but have a higher minimum charge on the lanes a shipper uses most frequently. Another carrier may look more expensive on paper but offer stronger lane density, fewer added charges, reliable service or more favorable operating terms.
A stronger LTL strategy considers the complete cost structure, including:
- Base transportation pricing
- Minimum charges
- Accessorial rules and fees
- Freight classifications
- Lane and service alignment
- Carrier fit
- Contract consistency
- Administrative effort
By evaluating these elements together, shippers can make sourcing decisions based on total network value rather than a single pricing metric.
Step Three: Take a Better-Structured Program to Market
With a clearer understanding of the network, KBX took the shipper’s LTL business to market.
The objective was to create a more competitive and sustainable program based on the shipper’s actual lanes, freight profile, and operating requirements.
Through the bid and negotiation process, KBX helped the shipper improve several important components of its LTL program, including rates, pricing structures, service and accessorial terms.
Because the sourcing event was supported by detailed network analysis, carrier proposals could be evaluated in context. KBX could assess how each option would perform across the broader transportation network, not just how it appeared within a rate table.
The result?
More alignment between the shipper’s freight, its carrier base, and the commercial terms.
Step Four: Simplify Contracts and Standardize the Approach
Cost reduction was only part of the opportunity.
Over time, LTL programs can become difficult to manage as carrier agreements, pricing rules, exceptions, and operating practices accumulate. This creates work for transportation, finance, procurement, and customer service teams. It can also make freight costs more difficult to predict and explain.
KBX helped the shipper simplify its carrier contracts and establish a more standardized approach to LTL management. These changes reduced administrative complexity while supporting significant cost and time savings.
Standardization can improve an LTL program by making it easier to:
- Compare carrier options consistently
- Understand how charges are calculated
- Identify pricing or invoice exceptions
- Apply repeatable shipping processes
- Manage carrier relationships
- Evaluate network performance over time
The value was not limited to a one-time procurement event. A simpler, more consistent operating model gives a shipper a stronger foundation for continuous improvement.
The Outcome: Lower Costs and a More Efficient Network
The engagement produced meaningful savings for the shipper, but the larger benefit was the creation of a more efficient and manageable LTL program.
By combining network analysis, carrier sourcing, commercial negotiation, and contract standardization, KBX helped the shipper address both visible transportation costs and the structural issues behind them.
The shipper gained:
- More competitive LTL pricing
- Fewer unnecessary accessorial costs
- Better alignment between carriers and the network
- Simpler and more consistent contracts
- Reduced administrative effort
- A stronger basis for future network decisions
The outcome demonstrates what is possible when LTL is managed as a complete network rather than a collection of individual shipments.
Why the KBX Approach Is Different
KBX brings a shipper-first mindset to freight management. Our role is not simply to move freight or conduct a bid. We work alongside customers to understand their goals, lanes, constraints, and cost drivers, then build strategies designed to improve the network over time.
That approach combines data-driven optimization, collaborative consulting, technology-enabled execution, risk management, and scalable support.
KBX’s freight management capabilities include multimodal transportation, network design, capacity optimization, load planning, scheduling, routing, and domestic and cross-border execution.
For LTL shippers, that means looking beyond the headline discount and asking more valuable questions:
- Is our carrier base aligned to the freight we actually move?
- Is pricing competitive on our highest-volume lanes?
- Which accessorials are creating the greatest cost exposure?
- Are our freight classifications and descriptions consistent?
- Do our contracts support a standardized operating model?
- Can our team clearly explain why our total LTL cost is changing?
The answers can reveal opportunities that a traditional rate comparison may miss.
Build an LTL Network That Performs Better
A well-managed LTL program should do more than produce competitive rates. It should give the shipper greater control, clearer cost visibility, simpler execution, meet service expectations and the flexibility to adapt as the business changes.
That requires a willingness to examine the details, challenge the existing network, and a desire to connect procurement decisions to operational performance; along with a resource that has the expertise, tools, and bandwidth to do so.
KBX helps shippers turn LTL data into better decisions, stronger carrier strategies, and more efficient transportation networks.
Ready to take a closer look at your LTL network?
Talk to the KBX team to identify opportunities to control costs, simplify execution, and improve performance.