Category: anafthal

Michelle Soper / February 7, 2023

Let’s face it – shipping is getting expensive at the same time as consumer pressure is rising for it to be free. Your business needs the right solutions to balance your profits and losses – and without careful optimization, shipping could be one of your biggest pain points.  

In this article, we’re looking at one of the solutions that is increasing in popularity for freight 150lbs and over – Less-Than-Truckload (LTL). 

What is LTL? 

When shipping ground domestic in North America, you essentially have three options: 

• Small package/parcel shipping (SPS) 
• Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) 
• Full Truckload (FTL) 

For goods under 150lbs, you are likely using SPS services, most commonly offered by providers like UPS or Fedex. FTL is for a shipment of goods that use the space of an entire truck-trailer. LTL is the balance in between; it’s a solution for goods between 150-15,000lbs, that do not take up the space for an FTL shipment to be necessary.

How does it work? 

Rather than paying per parcel, like in SPS, or for the full truck, like in FTL, the shipper in LTL shipments pays for the space its goods take up on the truck. The rest of the cost of the truck trailer is divided among shippers paying to have their goods transported. LTL operates on a ‘hub and spoke model’ where local terminals are the spokes and larger central terminals are the hubs or distribution centers.   

 Rates are typically dependent on several factors: 

• Location and distance of shipment. 
• Type of goods; perishable, hazardous, or fragile materials are likely to cost more.  
• Dimensions of goods, particularly the weight.  
• Whether or not the shipment needs to be expedited. 

Why choose LTL? 

There are several benefits of choosing LTL as a solution. These include: 

• Cost reduction – rather than paying for an unoptimized FTL load, LTL allows you to split the cost of freight, and lower your overall warehousing expenses.  
• Increased security for your goods – since most LTL shipments are tightly packaged onto pallets before being loaded, they are often more secure in the shipping process than when using other methods.  
• Environmental considerations – optimizing a truckload among many shippers is less wasteful than several separate shipments.  
• Faster delivery times – instead of waiting for a full truckload to send out shipments, you can ship goods to customers much faster, improving their experience.  

Likewise, some providers offer additional perks for LTL customers, such as inside pickup and delivery, advanced tracking, and dedicated support and expertise from the LTL provider.  

In conclusion… 

If your business regularly ships goods, and those goods weigh over 150lbs, you might be overspending if you don’t have an LTL solution implemented. If you’re only using FTL, and either waiting until you have a full truckload, or sending shipments in underutilized trailers, you’re wasting money.  

Terri Braun / January 25, 2023

If you haven’t already, you should check out Unipco Purchasing Program. It is Canada’s only 100 percent member-owned independent foodservice buying group, dedicated to helping independent operators improve their profitability and save time.

Cal Wilson / November 10, 2022

On behalf of all of Schooley Mitchell, we’d like to extend a huge congratulations to Axel Nafthal on receiving a special recognition award for publishing! Thank you for all your hard work this past year!

Cal Wilson / August 31, 2022

Schooley Mitchell consultant Axel Nafthal was recently featured in his local paper, the Annapolis Valley Wire. For the full publication, read here.

Helping companies save money

Schooley Mitchell identifies ways to cut business costs.

by Joey Fitzpatrick

When asked what he does for a living, Axel Nafthal has a very clear and positive elevator pitch.

“I deliver good news to my clients,” he says.

Just as consumers often pay more than is necessary for telecom and other services, so too do businesses. Natfhal works with companies to identify potential areas of savings in the various costs of doing business.

His lengthy career in the food industry prepared Nafthal with the skills of negotiating beneficial terms on behalf of clients. Nafthal worked with food manufacturers, and then later as a broker, negotiating promotional deals between manufacturers and grocery retailers.

“It’s a very competitive and challenging business,” he says of the food sector. “It was fun, but I was not sorry to see that part of my career come to a close.”

In 2016, he became a Kentville-based franchisee with Schooley Mitchell. Similar to a contingency model in the legal world – in which a lawyer represents a client and is only compensated if and when there is a successful settlement – so too is the Schooley Mitchell Model risk-free for the client.

“We help implement cost-effective solutions and cost recovery measures at no cost to the client,” Nafthal points out. “I don’t sell a product or service. I identify areas of potential savings and if the client accepts my recommendations then I share in those savings for an agreed-upon period of time.”

He works with clients of all sizes, most being in small to medium range, with somewhere between 20 and 150 employees.

“There are a lot of companies out there that can use help in cutting down their costs,” he says. “With a smaller company I might be able to save them a few thousand dollars a year, but with a larger client that might in the hundreds of thousands.”

As the largest independent cost reduction consulting company in North America, Schooley Mitchell has extensive research and analysis capabilities. The company has produced more than $450 million in savings for clients across North America.

Schooley Mitchell’s initial focus was in the telecom area, but has since expanded to include merchant services, shipping and courier, waste, electronic logging devices, eSignature, utilities, and fuel.

“We will look at a client’s monthly statements from their current provider,” Nafthal explains.

He will then begin negotiations, first with the incumbent provider.

“We will also go into the marketplace and speak with competing providers to find the best rates for the same or improved service,” Nafthal says. “In most cases, we can find savings by keeping the client with their current provider.”

After a four-to-six week analysis, Nafthal will present his client with a range of options. In about 20 percent of cases, he says, the client is already optimized, with no further savings to be had.

“Even if the client is already optimized they still receive a detailed report at no charge,” he explains. “But 80 percent of the time there are savings to be had.”

View article as PDF.