The ability to get your product where it needs to go is a fundamental part of running any successful business. If your organization ships a high volume of items, you’ve likely had to deal with freight claims before. You also probably know what a hassle it can be. From putting the paperwork together to waiting for the claim to be settled, a lot stands between your business and the recovery of any funds associated with a damaged shipment.
It’s for these reasons that an increasing number of businesses are outsourcing their freight claims management to third-party companies such as Visiclaims — a division of Rockfarm Supply Chain Solutions. Below, we look at some of the main benefits of outsourcing your freight claims management and attempt to dispel one of the main concerns businesses have about doing so.
Accidents happen during shipping. The sheer number of products being transported globally today means small businesses have increasingly little leverage when they do. While you have a right to be reimbursed for any loss, big transportation companies are in less of a hurry to pay out claims from small customers who account for a fractional percentage of their business. As a result, too many companies face long delays, unhelpful customer service and plenty of red tape when dealing with freight claims.
A third-party freight claims management company can be a powerful advocate for your business — one that helps expedite claims and gets your money back to you faster. The Visiclaims team knows the system and knows what’s needed to get a freight claim through it. We have managed more than $7 million in claims since 2016 with a 91% recovery rate and an average processing time of 32 days.
When you don’t have to worry about the administrative work of freight claims management, your team is free to focus on other projects. While getting your refund is important, that money isn’t new revenue — outsourcing allows you to focus on growing your business rather than worrying about recouping what has been lost. For a smaller organization, this advantage is critical.
Another benefit of outsourcing your freight claims management is that it gives you access to advanced analytic tools. If claims management isn’t a core component of your business, it can be easy to miss trends that are costing you money. The experts at Visiclaims can turn raw data into actionable intelligence, allowing you to make more informed business decisions.
Understanding the conditions that are most likely to lead to freight claims is essential for adjusting your company’s operations and avoiding these factors altogether. If the product doesn’t arrive at its destination or it arrives damaged, the shipper can request to be financially reimbursed by the carrier. As such, it’s important to have a team of experts in freight claims management who can provide a monthly report about the factors contributing to your company’s freight being lost or damaged.
Though a third-party logistics company may promise greater streams of data and visibility, this data is valuable only if it can be useful to your company and help you identify solutions. When you outsource your freight claims management to experts, you can easily pinpoint patterns from an outside perspective. A large number of claims in a certain region or with a carrier may help you find alternate routes and carriers. This will help you avoid damage claims.
At Visiclaims, we can track the data points that will help you with alternative product packaging methods, carrier-specific mishandling and modal considerations. You select the factors that will offer the most useful insights for your monthly reporting, and if you’re unsure what factors to review, we can help.
We also pride ourselves on the visibility we can provide. You’ll have constant access to your claims by using our cloud-based technology, allowing you to view which references have been tracked for a claim, which step of the process the claim is currently on and the requested value for resolution.
At Visiclaims, our three-tier approach allows you to choose your level of involvement with our invested transportation management system:
Too many organizations think of outsourcing as a one-size-fits-all solution that removes them from the freight claims management process entirely. Visiclaims is different. Use our software to streamline your workflow, count on us exclusively for mitigation and compliance issues or choose a fully managed service package. We’ll work with you to determine the best option for your team. Contact a representative at Visiclaims today to learn more about how we can help.
Related Resources:
*Updated April 2022.
*Originally posted in March 2018.
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Brad’s journey into logistics began as a Marine Officer and transitioned from the LTL docks to the non-asset side within the logistics service provider arena. As a co-founder of Rockfarm, Brad drives our business development efforts and delivery of our promise. An Arizona native, Brad enjoys spending time outdoors in his home state with his wife and family.
“Our approach to the market allowed us an opportunity to push forward in 2008 and enable our mission, “lower the cost to serve” to stand as a cornerstone to our company today.”
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