Charge Configurations

🔔 Note: this article is part of the CartonCloud Academy - TMS Charging Trail. Please ensure you have read Charging Methods first. 🎓

Allow Zero Charge

Now that we have covered how to create a transport rate and the different types of charges you can create, we will now take a look at the charge configurations you can apply when you create your rates. Charge configurations are like rules which you can apply to your rates to dictate how the rate will be calculated.

The first charge configuration we will look at is, allow zero charge. By default, if a consignment charge comes out as $0 a charge error will be triggered. This default behaviour is designed to prevent consignments from being undercharged. However, by enabling ‘allow zero charge’ against a rate the charge error will not appear if the consignment charge is $0, allowing for further customisation and flexibility.

Follow along with Tony as he explains what allow zero charge is and how to enable it on your transport rates.

Maximum and Minimum Charge

The next two charge configuration we will look at is called maximum charge and minimum charge.

Maximum charge allows you to apply a maximum value to the transport rate to ensure the charge never exceeds a defined value. If the charge exceeds the defined value then the maximum charge will be applied. On the other hand, if the charge is less than the maximum value, then the charge calculation will remain as is.

Minimum charge allows you to apply a minimum value to the transport rate to ensure the charge reaches a certain defined value. If the total charges for the transport rate do not meet the minimum defined value then the minimum charge will be applied.

Follow along with Tony as he explains what Maximum Charge is and how to apply it to your transport rates.

Use cases for maximum charge

The Maximum Charge functionality ensures that a charge never exceeds an unreasonable dollar amount. This is extremely useful if you charge by a value percentage, such as the invoice value of a Consignment. Depending on the value of the product, the charge can fluctuate significantly between different Consignments, creating the need for a cap to be applied to the charge.

For example, if you have two Consignments for a customer and one has an invoice value of $50, and the other is $3000, there will be a significant charge discrepancy between the two products.

Percentage Invoice Value Charge = 20% of the Invoice Value

Consignment 1: Invoice Value = $50

Consignment 2: Invoice Value = $3000

Consignment 1 Invoice Value Charge = 50 x 0.20 = $10

Consignment 2 Invoice Value Charge = 3000 x 0.20 = $600

If a Maximum Charge of $100 is utilised for the above example:

Consignment 1 Invoice Value Charge = 50 x 0.20 = $10

Consignment 2 Invoice Value Charge = $100 (Charge is greater than $100, so the Maximum Charge is applied)

Use Highest Charge and Charge Group

The next charge configuration we will cover is ‘Use Highest Charge’ and ‘Use Highest Charge Group’. Use highest charge allows you to dictate what charge will be applied depending on the charge that returns the highest value.

Follow along with Tony as he explains what use highest charge and charge group is and how you can apply it to your transport rates.

Nick from Coffee Warehousing and Distribution is pleased to be using this charge configuration in his transport rates as previously his team had to manually compare which rate returned the highest charge and use that rate to charge the consignment. By using ‘Use Highest Charge’ or ‘Use Highest Charge Group’, Nick and his team won’t need to make manual calculations and will be able to build more than one charging method option into the transport rates.

Conversions

As you have learnt throughout this module, there are a number of different charging configurations available, allowing you to create the transport rates that best suit your customers and operational needs. In addition they eliminate the need for manual calculations, saving you and your team time and increasing charging accuracy. Another charging configuration which is useful is the ability to set up conversions within your transport rates. You can set up cubic or pallet conversions and charge by the weight or by the pallet, giving you greater flexibility when creating your charges.

Follow along with Tony as he explains how to set up conversions in your transport rates and how they work.

Charge Weight: allows you to charge per weight (adds this option to the per charge drop-down menu) and provides a cubic configuration at the top of the charge group. 10c kg - lead, pillows - add in a cubic conversion

Charge Pallets: allows you to charge per pallet (adds this option to the per charge drop-down menu) and provides a pallet configuration at the top of the charge group.

Fee Category

Fee categories provide a way to create customised labels for transport rates. Once you have created a fee category you can then apply this label to the rate when you are building it. This makes it clear what the charge is for, avoiding confusion for both your team and the customer.

Follow along with Tony as he explains what a Fee Category is and how to create them in your account.

Fee categories are going to be very useful for Nick, as Coffee Warehousing and Distribution use a number of different charges to charge their customers consignments. Having the visibility on what each charge relates to will be beneficial to both Nick and the team and his customers.

🎉 Congratulations! You have completed the WMS Charging CartonCloud Academy Trail.