Like many companies, this (confidential) customer started to realize they were in the dark when it came to what was really going on with their supply chain. They were relying on partners to provide them with data about where their shipping containers were at any given point in time, and to act on their behalf.

What they discovered was that those partners either didn't have the necessary data, or the data they had wasn't accurate. The partners didn't know when containers were ready to be picked up, or when they needed to be returned. This was resulting in millions of dollars per month in demurrage and detention charges.

Because the customer was wasting millions of dollars per month on these demurrage and detention charges, they decided to search for a demurrage management system to help with one of their biggest supply chain visibility problems.

The challenge was how to ensure they would have the best container milestone data possible.

They needed more than just accurate ETAs. They needed accurate data around “Last Free Days” and “Container Availability” for both ocean and rail terminals around the United States. They also wanted to integrate with their warehouses and Yard Management system to get a view of the full container lifecycles.

Even more challenging, how to do that when every carrier and terminal has different terms and rates around demurrage and detention. And in some cases, the company has their own custom contracts. A standard one-size-fits-all solution wasn't going to work for them.

When they asked if Freight’s Container Lifecycle Management™ Platform (“CLM Platform”) could help, the answer was, “let's figure it out”.

Working with their account management team, their contract specifics were broken out by carrier, lane, terminal, equipment type and other determinants pertinent for accurately calculating each container’s Last Free Day (LFD) on and off port. then calculates any fees incurred and accurately attributes them to the exact days they were incurred.