Freight cost optimization · Lever 6 of 10
Many freight costs are set before an order ever reaches the dock. How often customers order, how small the orders are and when they're released decide how full your trucks can be. We help you plan orders so freight costs less.
Order and scheduling optimization connects sales, customer service and logistics. It covers order minimums and frequency, when orders are released to the warehouse, and how delivery appointments are booked with retailers and distributors.
Better scheduling also means fewer late deliveries, missed appointments and rescheduling fees. See trade and deductions optimization.
Lever 6 of 10. From your 12 months of invoices and rate files, we look at:
Public research
EPA SmartWay® guidance advises shippers to "review your own internal policies for lead times, minimum order size, and how you build loads now", citing Stonyfield Farms, which raised its required lead time and minimum order size to ensure full shipping containers (EPA-420-F-19-014, 2019, pp.1–2).
EPA's 2023 overview adds that consolidating orders into larger, less frequent shipments means "reduced frequency of orders can reduce shipping costs" (EPA-420-F-23-003, 2023, p.2), while partially loaded trucks shipped "in the interest of expediency" raise fuel use and shipping costs (EPA-420-F-19-011, 2019, p.2).
Source: U.S. EPA SmartWay publications (2019, 2023). The examples and figures are EPA's, not Maximizer Team results. Maximizer Team is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. EPA.
We track order size, shipments per order, cost per case and appointment-related fees against the baseline on your paid invoices. Retailer fines avoided are reported in the trade and deductions category, not added to freight cost savings.
Why us
Benchmark · Implement · Verify
Small, frequent and last-minute orders lead to partly empty trucks, more LTL shipments and rush freight. Planning orders and ship days lets more freight travel together at a lower cost per case.
They don't have to. We look at each customer's order history and suggest minimums and incentives your sales team can support, starting where the savings are largest.
Yes. Booking appointments early and planning loads to hit each retailer's delivery window cuts late, missed-appointment and rescheduling fees. Disputing and recovering fines is part of our trade and deductions optimization service.
A set schedule of ship days by region or customer. It lets orders for the same area travel together instead of on separate trucks.
The 14-day freight savings review is free. There's no upfront fee. If you go ahead, we're paid only from savings verified on your invoices. Recovered deductions are tracked and reported as their own category of verified savings.
No. Maximizer Team is an independent freight savings advisor. We don't haul freight, sell capacity or take carrier commissions, so our advice isn't tied to any carrier.
Yes. We flag expedited and premium shipments in your invoices and trace them back to order timing, so you can see how much rush freight costs and which customers or order patterns cause it.
Yes. When orders for the same customer or region ship a day apart, they often move as separate LTL shipments. Lining up ship days can combine them into one larger shipment, which often prices lower per pound or fits volume LTL or shared truckload.
Start with a short intro call. Then send us 12 months of freight invoices. In 14 days you'll get a free written review of your biggest freight savings opportunities across all 10 levers, including this one.
Get my free freight reviewNo upfront fees. Paid only from savings verified on your invoices. NDA available.