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Carrier Contract Management

Carrier contract management that answers a rate, fuel or free-time question with the clause, the document, the date and the signatures behind it.

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See one detention short-pay traced to its signatures ↓

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The problem

The rate in the TMS was keyed from a page only the carrier signed

A carrier agreement arrives as a pile: the base agreement, amendments sent for countersignature, the carrier's rules tariff, rate sheets and offers that live only in an email thread. Procurement keys the award into the TMS rate table the day it is agreed, and the signature page follows weeks later, or never.

When an analyst works a short-pay, an auditor tests a payment or a planner asks how long a truck can sit at a retailer DC, the question goes to the contracts manager. That manager opens each document in turn, recalls the order-of-precedence clause from memory and answers by email, often from the TMS row. The next person asks again and gets a different reading.

Then a carrier statement disputes a run of detention lines, and the reading everyone used turns out to rest on an amendment nobody at the shipper countersigned.

Built forContracts managersFreight audit analystsProcurement managersTransportation planners

The Problem Today

A carrier's terms are spread across an agreement, its amendments, a rules tariff and email, so nobody can say quickly which ones held on a given day.

39.3%: of stops where drivers reported detention, in a 2024 study published
180 days: a shipper has by statute to dispute a trucking bill published

Opened one at a time today

Agreements
Amendments
Tariffs
Rate emails

Rates keyed before signingThe TMS row rests on a page the shipper never countersigned
Three readings of one clauseEach person hunts the pile and lands on a different answer

The Solution

Each carrier becomes a ledgerEvery term with the document behind it, its signatures and what was paid
Any day can be replayedPick a date and only the terms in force that day show
Signatures tested firstA challenger checks both signers, precedence and emails before anyone relies on it
Carriers answer in fieldsStructured requests out; only fields and the signed page come back in

Built-in controls

Counsel agrees as second person on each reading
A person reads any free-text note from a carrier
Privileged notes stay out of requests and exports

What You Get

Analysts, auditors and planners get the governing clause, its signatures and its date in one answer, and the contracts manager rules once.

Rulings kept as readingsApproved by a second person, then applied to later answers
Notice windows in viewRenewals, one-side signatures and emailed rates dated and owned
Paid lines follow the rulingDisputed lines go back to freight audit at the chosen reading

Features

Carrier contract management features, from an unsigned amendment to a ruling

Freight audit analysts, the contracts manager, counsel and the VP of logistics use them to settle a detention short-pay from the signed documents.

demoSample data: the shipper, its carriers, their staff and each amount shown.

01Obligations ledger
Carrier agreement terms sorted by signature state, unsigned terms first
- Terms not signed by both, at the top. One-side amendments and email-only rates show their age and what was already paid against them, before a carrier statement disputes it.
- The source document beside each value. Base clause, amendment, tariff item or email sits next to the term, so an analyst opens the page instead of emailing the contracts manager.
- A signature state on each row. Signed by both, one side, email only or waiting for the carrier separates what was keyed from what was agreed.
02As-of answer
Detention free time answered as of a past date, then challenged
- Ledger rewound to any date. Pick a day on the rail and the terms in force that day replace today's, so a short-pay is read against the contract as it then stood.
- Agents working in a visible relay. Each station shows what it read, what it concluded and its confidence, so the analyst can see how an answer was built.
- An auditor's questions put to each answer. Signatures, precedence, emails and scope are tested, and a draft that leaned on the TMS table is withdrawn and restated from signed pages.
03Signature page
Amendment signature blocks read, and a blank countersignature flagged
- Signature pages shown as filed. Signer, title and date are highlighted on the page itself, so a carrier's signed copy is not mistaken for an executed amendment.
- Blank blocks flagged at import. A missing name, title or date is flagged on the ledger the day the document is read, long before a carrier statement disputes the lines paid against it.
04Rate email
Carrier rate emails held apart from the contract until a person reads them
- Emails rendered with headers and highlights. The contracts manager reads the exact words the agents read, including a countersignature deadline after which the carrier's offer lapses.
- Free text marked not compared. Nothing in an email becomes a term by itself, so an emailed rate or promise cannot slip into the ledger unnoticed.
05Money both ways
Paid detention lines re-priced under each contract reading before the ruling
- Each paid line priced under both readings. The contracts manager sees what is owed either way, line by line, so the ruling is made with the money in view.
- Options listed with no recommendation. Each option names what it needs, from counsel's agreement to the carrier's signature, and the agents favor none of them.
- Assumptions labeled and editable. Forward savings rest on inputs the analyst can change and confirm, so an estimate cannot pass for a finding.
06Ruling
Contract conflicts ruled by the contracts manager with a reason code
- Ruling opens after the sources are read. The signature page and the carrier's email must be opened first, so nobody rules from a summary.
- Reason code plus the ruler's words. The record keeps why the term does or does not apply, ready for the next question and the next audit.
- A revised effective date set in the ruling. Countersigning from a new start date is part of the decision, so the amendment drafted next matches it.
07Second person
Counsel agrees as second person on each contract reading
- Maker and checker on one record. The contracts manager rules, counsel agrees or sends back, and the button refuses anyone checking their own ruling.
- Counsel's note kept privileged. It stays with the ruling and is listed as excluded from carrier requests and evidence exports.
08Countersignature
Revised amendment countersigned by the VP of logistics after opening it
- Signing authority set by carrier spend. Amendments for carriers above the spend threshold in settings wait for the VP, and the record states what that signature means.
- Sign enabled once the page is opened. The VP signs only a page already opened, and the carrier's fixed-field request is sent from that signature.
09Ledger after
Ledger split by date after the ruling, waiting on the carrier's signature
- Terms dated from the ruling. Rewound to any day, the cell shows the old term until the new effective date and the revised one after it.
- Revised terms held as waiting for the carrier. Until the carrier returns its signed page in fixed fields, the new term is never shown as signed by both.

Who runs transportation contract management at the shipper

Four desks ask the ledger questions; only the contracts manager rules on what the clauses cannot settle.

Transportation contracts managers

Rule on contract wording and draft amendments and countersignatures across the carrier book

Unsigned terms listed with their age
Money both ways before each ruling
Rulings kept as readings once approved

Freight audit analysts

Work short-pays and carrier statements against what was actually signed

The clause, document and date in one answer
Each paid line's delivery record from the re-pricing
Disputed lines returned to audit at the chosen reading

Transportation procurement managers

Run mini-bids, key awards and handle renewals and emailed rate offers

Emailed rates held as email only until confirmed
Notice windows dated, with an owner
Rate rises accepted or declined with a reason

Transportation planners

Book appointments at retailer DCs and plan around free time

Free time at a DC with its clause
Detention terms by carrier as of the delivery date
An answer before the appointment is booked

Around the ledger

Confirmations, renewals and readings behind each carrier rate agreement

The other screens the contracts desk works from on the same morning.

Carrier confirmation sent in fixed fields: effective date, signer name and title, signed page, due in five business days, counsel's note excluded — **Carrier confirmation request**The revised amendment goes to the carrier as fixed fields: accept the date or propose another, signer name and title, signed page. Counsel's note is listed as excluded.

Carrier agreements list with spend a year, term end, notice date, amendment count and open items for truckload, LTL and ocean carriers — **The whole carrier book**142 agreements, 611 amendments and 38 rules tariffs, with spend, term end, notice date and open items for each carrier.

Expiry and renewal list: one-side signatures, emailed rates due back and notice windows closing, each with its carrier and owner — **Expiry and renewal**One-side signatures, emailed rates and renewal notice deadlines in date order, each with an owner. Giving notice stays with procurement and the contracts manager.

Readings kept: one proposed from the new ruling and waiting for a second person, two in force with their use counts, one rejected — **Readings learned from rulings**A ruling becomes a proposed reading that waits for counsel or the procurement manager. Readings in force show how many answers used them; rejected ones show why.

Question log: 65 asked today, 58 answered with sources, 5 challenged to a person, and three earlier answers ready to re-ask — **Questions asked today**Who asked what, answered with sources, challenged to a person or failed with a person named. Answers that relied on the overturned amendment can be re-asked together.

Audit trail of the morning: documents opened, the ruling, counsel's agreement, the VP's signature and the carrier request, with times — **Audit trail**Each opening, ruling, agreement and signature with when it happened, why, and what the signature meant, exported as CSV or an evidence binder.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Four signatures stand between a carrier's amendment and the ledger

Each one is given only after the signer has opened the page it rests on.

Transportation contracts manager

Sees: The signature page, the carrier's email and the money under each reading
Signs: The ruling on what the clauses cannot settle, with a reason code

Associate general counsel

Sees: The pages behind the ruling, with the amendment clause
Signs: Agreement as second person, or a send-back with reasons

VP of logistics

Sees: The revised amendment, opened in full
Signs: Amendments and rate changes for carriers above the signing threshold

Transportation procurement manager

Sees: The emailed rate and the carrier's confirmation in fixed fields
Signs: Acceptance or decline of a carrier's rate rise, before the VP signs

The agents

Eight agents read and price the pile; none says if an amendment binds

Each reads, places, prices or watches, and hands what the clauses cannot settle to a named person.

Document reader

Reads agreements, amendments, rules tariffs, rate sheets and emails for clauses, effective dates and signature blocks.

Never treats a blank signature block as signed
Never turns email free text into a term

Ledger keeper

Places each obligation on the carrier's ledger with its documents, dates and signature state, applying the precedence clause as written.

Never mixes one carrier's terms into another's ledger
Never applies a reading before it is approved

Answer writer

Answers plain questions with the clause, the document and the date.

Never answers from the TMS table alone
Never gives a legal conclusion

Auditor's question

Challenges each answer on signatures, precedence, emails, scope and dates, including the agents' own drafts.

Never settles what the clauses cannot settle

Invoice rehearsal

Re-prices paid lines under each reading, with its assumptions shown.

Never changes a payment
Never recommends a reading

Confirmation agent

Sends carriers structured requests for lanes, rate, dates and signer, and reads back only those fields and the signed page.

Never sends without a person
Never reads free text into the ledger

Renewal watch

Watches term ends, notice windows, one-side signatures and emailed rates not yet confirmed.

Never sends a notice to a carrier

Reading keeper

Proposes readings from rulings and shows where each would apply.

Never applies a reading before a second person approves it

Questions contracts managers ask about carrier contract management

What is carrier contract management?

Carrier contract management is keeping each carrier agreement, its amendments, rules tariff and rate emails in a form that says what was in force on a given day. Here each term carries its document, dates and signature state, and each answer cites the signed page.

Does it replace freight rate management in our TMS?

No. The TMS keeps rating and tendering loads. The ledger shows which document stands behind each keyed rate, and flags a row keyed from an amendment one side never signed.

What happens with an amendment only the carrier signed?

It shows as claimed by one side from the day it is read. When a question depends on it, the lines paid against it are priced both ways and the question goes to the contracts manager by name, with counsel as second person.

Can a carrier change a rate by email?

An emailed rate shows as email only. The carrier confirms the fields and returns a signed page, the procurement manager accepts or declines with a reason, and the VP signs before the ledger changes.

What happens to answers given before a ruling?

The question log lists the answers that relied on the old reading, and an analyst re-asks them together so a stale answer does not stay in someone's inbox.

Who sees counsel's notes?

Only people inside the company. Counsel's notes stay with the ruling and are listed as excluded as privileged from carrier requests and from evidence exports.

Does it cover LTL and ocean agreements as well as truckload?

The agreement list holds truckload, brokered, LTL and ocean service contracts. Each carrier has its own ledger, and one carrier's terms never answer a question about another.

Freight Procurement & Audit