SMC3 upgrades LTL pricing-system software

Freight-pricing software firm SMC³ Inc. today released an upgrade to its CzarLite pricing system, saying the new version would give shippers, logistics service providers, and carriers a new neutral benchmark choice when negotiating less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping rates.

Dubbed "CzarLite XL," the software platform is based on a model of the complete LTL marketplace that Peachtree City, Ga.-based SMC³ created by analyzing 116.8 million freight bills from 33 of the largest LTL carriers. That data backbone could help users to streamline operations and lessen the growing burden on overworked transportation management system (TMS) solutions, the company said.

CzarLite XL also simplifies the complex process of calculating LTL shipping rates by using a reindexed base rate. The approach replaces an outdated system that relied on artificially high base rates that shippers and carriers routinely slashed with steep negotiated discounts, according to an SMC³ whitepaper titled "The Case for a Re-Indexed LTL Benchmark Pricing System."

By getting rid of the discount system, the new math produces a comparable net rate while allowing shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to avoid the arithmetic demands of using their TMS platforms to calculate discounts out to five decimal points, the company said.

"While our signature CzarLite product continues to be the most reliable and trusted base rating tool in the industry, SMC³ continues to innovate as the industry changes and shippers and carriers demand new rating tools. CzarLite XL is just one way SMC³ is bringing value and options to the industry," SMC³ CEO Jack Middleton said in a statement.