Freight Fix for Manufacturers & Distributors: Rate Shopping Results

If you're managing outbound shipments for a growing manufacturing or distribution company, you probably deal with this constant tension:

Your customers want faster, cheaper delivery—but your shipping costs keep climbing.

The real problem? You're probably not rate shopping freight effectively.

Let’s dive into how outdated processes hurt your margins—and how the right technology helps you fix it.

The Problem: Freight Costs Are Outpacing Margins

Most operations leaders or shipping managers we talk to at FreightPOP don’t realize how much they’re leaving on the table by not comparing freight rates on every shipment.

Here’s what that usually looks like in practice:

• Your team relies on a default LTL or FTL carrier out of habit

• Your ERP or WMS doesn’t show real-time rates across all carriers

• You spend time on the phone or carrier portals instead of automating

• You lack visibility into which lanes are consistently overpriced

For example, one of our manufacturing customers in Texas found that over 40% of their regional FTL shipments could’ve been moved 10–15% cheaper just by comparing rates daily.

Now multiply that over a full year—and imagine what that could do for your budget.

The Solution: Freight Rate Shopping Built for High-Volume Shipping

Freight rate shopping solves this exact problem by automatically pulling live rates from all your contracted carriers, brokers, and marketplaces—across modes like LTL, FTL, and parcel.

You get to:

• See real-time shipping costs for every load

• Choose the best rate within seconds, not hours

• Avoid carrier lock-in and gain leverage in negotiations

• Book directly in your TMS or ERP with no swivel chair required

For companies shipping 50+ orders per day, that efficiency adds up to significant annual savings and faster fulfillment.

Specific Use Cases We’ve Solved with Rate Shopping

For a Midwestern Industrial Manufacturer

They were shipping hundreds of LTL orders a week, often defaulting to their “preferred” carrier. After implementing rate shopping through FreightPOP:

• They cut average cost per shipment by 12%

• Created automated business rules for carrier selection by region

• Improved on-time performance by switching underperforming lanes

For a B2B Distribution Company

This team relied on spreadsheets and manual quotes. With rate shopping:

• They saved over $150,000 annually in shipping costs

• Decreased order-to-ship time by 30%

• Integrated with their WMS to auto-select best carrier at checkout

How FreightPOP Makes Rate Shopping Practical

You don’t need a dedicated logistics analyst to make this work. FreightPOP’s rate shopping engine plugs directly into your existing systems (like NetSuite, SAP, Acumatica, or ShipStation), pulling in:

• LTL and FTL contract rates

• Brokered spot market rates

• Parcel carrier APIs (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.)

• Regional carrier quotes and niche providers

With custom rules, you can prioritize:

• Lowest cost

• Fastest delivery

• Specific carriers by customer or region

• Consolidated loads or dock schedules

Plus, you get reporting to show your team how much you’re saving—and justify your TMS investment.

Stop Guessing. Start Saving.

Rate shopping isn’t just for parcel or eCommerce giants. If you’re shipping 20+ loads a day and not comparing every option, you’re overspending—and operating with blind spots.

FreightPOP’s all-in-one TMS brings enterprise-grade rate shopping to growing manufacturers, 3PLs, and distributors without the need for complex IT projects or massive budgets.