4 Essential Tips for Freight Claims Management

Where there is freight, there are freight claims.  The paperwork that accompanies any major shipping is burdensome, time-consuming, and expensive to deal with.  Unfortunately, it’s also a necessary part of the process.  A smart operation that engages in shipping will look for any way they can to reduce the amount of time they spend dealing with claims for the sake of their bottom line – and maybe their sanity too.

Four Ways to Decrease Time Spent Filing Freight Claims

1 – Do it right the first time

This may seem obvious, but a huge number of claims are initially rejected, and often for very basic problems like missing information.  The problem is, they will only be rejected weeks or months after initial submission, meaning you will have to spend substantial time digging up the correct information.  A few minutes spent double-checking the paperwork can prevent wasted hours -or days- later.

2 – Have policies for following up with carriers

Don’t rely on the carriers to get everything right all the time.  You should have systems in place which will monitor how much time has passed since a claim was submitted and whether it’s been acted upon.   That way, you can make follow-up calls as appropriate.  Better yet, look to partner with carriers which have online/automated systems for dealing with claims issues.

3 – Improve your customer service

Unhappy customers and clients can ultimately create a real drag on your claims process.  Look to implement systems that make it easier for them to self-serve basic information, while empowering those who deal with customers directly to look up as much information as is feasible.  Getting them off the phone ASAP saves you money.

4 – Hire an Agency to Handle It for You

Why should your own people be spending so much time and effort on work that isn’t even in your area of expertise?  An outsourced third-party logistics provider can streamline every aspect of your freight filing process, among their other services.  They know all the tricks for seeing the paperwork filed correctly, with a minimum of effort and mistakes.  So, in most cases, they can more than pay for themselves through the combination of extra efficiency and reduced errors.

Streamline Your Logistics with Amstan

Whether you only need assistance with paperwork or want to see better returns from your entire logistics investment, contact Amstan Logistics to make it happen.