Analytics, KPIs & Performance
Glossary
OTIF, cost per mile, tender acceptance ratio, and beyond. Define the logistics KPIs and performance metrics that matter most to shippers.
Carbon Footprint / Emissions Tracking
See Full Definition ->The measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions generated by freight transportation - increasingly required by customers, investors, and regulators, and calculated based on mode, distance, fuel type, and load efficiency.
Carrier Performance Management
See Full Definition ->The ongoing process of measuring, evaluating, and improving carrier service quality through data-driven scorecards, regular reviews, and accountability mechanisms tied to routing guide position and contract awards.
Carrier Scorecard
See Full Definition ->A standardized report that grades carrier performance across key metrics - on-time delivery, claims ratio, tender acceptance, and cost - to support routing decisions and contract negotiations.
Claims Ratio
See Full Definition ->The percentage of shipments resulting in a freight claim for loss, damage, or shortage - a carrier quality metric that reflects handling care, equipment condition, and overall service reliability.
Cost Per Mile
See Full Definition ->The total freight cost of a shipment divided by the miles traveled - the standard unit-cost benchmark for comparing carrier rates, evaluating lane economics, and tracking rate trends over time.
Cost Per Pound / Cost Per Pallet
See Full Definition ->Unit-cost metrics that express freight spend relative to shipment weight or pallet count - essential for CPG and food & beverage shippers who need to tie transportation cost back to product economics.
Dwell Time
See Full Definition ->The total time a truck spends at a facility from arrival to departure - encompassing check-in, waiting, loading or unloading, and checkout - a key measure of facility efficiency and a major driver of detention costs.
Freight Budget vs. Actual
See Full Definition ->The comparison of planned transportation spend against actual freight costs incurred - the fundamental financial control metric for logistics teams managing to a budget and explaining variances to finance.
Freight KPIs
See Full Definition ->The set of key performance indicators - including on-time delivery, cost per shipment, tender acceptance rate, and claims ratio - used to measure and manage transportation operations against business objectives.
Freight Spend Analytics
See Full Definition ->The systematic tracking and analysis of all transportation costs - by carrier, lane, mode, customer, and time period - to identify savings opportunities, validate budgets, and support strategic logistics decisions.
Lane Analysis / Lane Performance
See Full Definition ->The evaluation of freight performance - cost, transit time, carrier reliability, and volume - on specific origin-destination pairs, used to optimize routing, negotiate rates, and identify underperforming corridors.
Network Analysis / Network Optimization
See Full Definition ->The strategic evaluation and redesign of a shipper's distribution network - warehouse locations, lane structures, mode mix, and carrier allocation - to minimize total logistics cost while meeting service requirements.
OTIF (On-Time In-Full)
See Full Definition ->A composite metric measuring the percentage of shipments delivered both on time and with the complete ordered quantity, widely used as the gold standard for supply chain execution performance.
On-Time Delivery (OTD)
See Full Definition ->The percentage of shipments delivered within the agreed-upon delivery window, serving as the most fundamental measure of carrier reliability and logistics execution quality.
On-Time Pickup
See Full Definition ->The percentage of shipments picked up by the carrier within the scheduled pickup window - an early-warning metric that directly influences downstream delivery performance.
Predictive Freight Analytics
See Full Definition ->The use of historical shipment data, market signals, and statistical models to forecast future freight costs, capacity conditions, and operational patterns - enabling proactive logistics planning rather than reactive decision-making.
Supply Chain Dashboard
See Full Definition ->A centralized, visual interface that consolidates real-time shipment status, carrier performance metrics, cost data, and exception alerts into a single operational view for logistics teams and executives.
Tender Acceptance Rate
See Full Definition ->The percentage of load tenders a carrier accepts versus the total number offered - a key indicator of routing guide health, carrier commitment reliability, and capacity risk on a given lane.
Transit Time Analysis
See Full Definition ->The measurement and evaluation of actual door-to-door freight transit times against committed service standards - used to assess carrier reliability, validate routing decisions, and identify lanes with inconsistent performance.
Transportation Spend as % of Revenue
See Full Definition ->The ratio of total transportation costs to company revenue - the executive-level benchmark that contextualizes freight spend relative to business scale and signals whether logistics costs are growing faster than the business.
