AJ Hellow @SmallParcelGuy

@ryanspalding Yes

To recap - the 5 sections that determine your effective shipping cost: 1. Base rate discounts - the number you see; not always the one that matters most 2. Fuel surcharge table - the most expensive section most shippers have never read 3. Accessorial fee schedule - 5+ separately negotiable line items, almost all at carrier default 4. Dimensional weight divisor - one number that affects every lightweight package in your profile 5. Contract term + auto-renewal language - the calendar governs your negotiating position The sections most commonly neglected at signing are #2 and #3 - they're not in the main rate card section most ops teams focus on during review. A carrier contract isn't a rate card. It's five separate negotiations happening simultaneously.

ELI5 UPS and FedEx Contracts. Don't get fooled by rate cards. Here are the 5 sections that determine your total shipping cost, and which ones are negotiable: 1. Base rate discounts The section everyone looks at first. Sets your discount percentage off published list rates by service type. The most visible component - and often not the most important one. A carrier can move this section favorably while adjusting other sections to recover the improvement. Headline discount improvement ≠ effective rate improvement. 2. Fuel surcharge table The most important section in most contracts and the most commonly unmanaged. Fuel surcharges apply as a percentage on top of every shipment and reset automatically on a rolling 2-week cycle tied to the carrier's benchmark fuel table. If this section doesn't contain a negotiated fuel discount or fuel cap, you absorb 100% of every index movement upward. It is independently negotiable from your base rate. 3. Accessorial fee schedule Residential delivery, address correction, large package, and peak/demand surcharges are each their own line items in the contract - each with a carrier-published default rate, and each negotiable. Almost every carrier contract is signed with all of these at the published default. For D2C eCommerce brands (high residential volume) and industrial shippers (large package exposure), this section carries disproportionate cost. 4. Dimensional weight divisor One number that affects billable weight on every package in your profile. UPS default: 139. Brands at meaningful volume typically negotiate toward 166+. On a 12×12×10 box: divisor 139 = 10.4 lbs billed; divisor 166 = 8.7 lbs billed. Same package. Same product. Different contract. Most brands are on the default. 5. Contract term and auto-renewal language Determines how long you're locked in and when your negotiation window opens. Auto-renewal clauses trigger 60–90 days before expiration - not at expiration. Missing this window means renegotiating from inside an active contract rather than at renewal. The carrier's negotiating posture is measurably different in each scenario.

Not seeing much of a difference in Opus 4.8 vs Fable. Tools continue to get more functional, they do not seem to be getting any smarter.

@BoringBiz_ Yes

@NotZainAgain @Seanfrank You make memes, you make memes very well

Thanks for the tag! Wrote all about this in the attached article. TLDR is UPS/FDX are (unsurprisingly) capitalizing on fuel price increases by resetting tables at a faster pace than usual. This way, when fuel comes back down, they’re capturing more margin than before. Happy to chat if you’re interested in getting a free audit done on your shipping spend! x.com/smallparcelguy…

AJ Hellow @SmallParcelGuy

3 months ago

x.com/i/article/2029…

5 2 21 3K 1

@NWExplained

@realnaholmes What are we looking at here?

@therealmcnair 3 yards and a cloud of dust

Golf’s longest day is highly underrated TV

There's one structural decision about Rate Shepherd that I've never had a client push back on. We charge nothing until we've driven savings the client would not have found on their own. No retainer. No project fee. No hourly billing. A percentage of hard dollar savings only - after they've been realized on the new contract. If we don't find savings, there's no fee. We absorb the cost of the audit, the negotiation, and the monitoring. Most professional services don't work this way because the risk is real and the upfront cost is high. We designed it this way because the service category is predictable, it's very rare we can't drive 10%+ for a client spending $500K+ with UPS/FedEx/DHL/OnTrac etc. The contingency model puts the risk where the confidence is: on our side. The one objection we do hear is "we don't have time." The time ask is about 4 hours of the ops team over 2–4 months. Rate Shepherd does the rest. What's kept your shipping spend from getting a professional review?

@VPBigCatCorp_ Old lender MD at Webster Bank said he had 2 hole in 1s at Cabot Cape Breton same round. I called bullshit until he showed me the official Cabot instagram with him holding 2 flags with his caddie. He’s like a 4.

@DudespostingWs Did someone say UPS? In all serious, that's elite.

@HammerinHank98 yes of course, but please give me more. how was it, is there a shrine to Mr. Dye etc etc.

@GolfMonthly Me?