The intent of this article is to guide you through the function and components of the Grace Period Discount rules in carrier agreements. This information is intended for any user with a PDF agreement that needs to be loaded into the Agreement Management System.
Organization of rules
Rules are ordered by class type in the following order:
1. Dim Divisor
2. Service Discount
3. Grace Period Discount
4. Earned Discount
5. Minimum Net Charges
6. Surcharge Discount
7. Fuel Discount
It’s important to note that rules are executed from top to bottom. In other words, rules at the bottom are executed after the rules above and can overwrite the rules where overlap exists.
Grace period discount rule
The Grace Period Discount rule calculates the amount of grace period discount applied for each shipment.
Effective Start Date
Relevant for expiration terms on earned discount incentives.
Default: Null
Format: mm/dd/yyyy
Common mistake: Effective Start Date is entered on a date that is after the analysis period date range within CAO View. Ensure that the Effective Start Date does not affect the service discount being applied to the date range of analysis.
Pro tip: These dates relate to the start and stop dates of Earned Discount Rules that are also in the agreement.
Effective Stop Date
Relevant for expiration terms on earned discount incentives.
Default: Null
Format: mm/dd/yyyy
Common mistake: Effective Start Date is entered on a date that is after the analysis period date range within CAO View. Ensure that the Effective Start Date does not affect the service discount being applied to the date range of analysis.
Pro tip: These dates relate to the start and stop dates of Earned Discount Rules that are also in the agreement.
Services
Create a row for each service type where the earned discount applies.
Skip Earned Discount
This option overwrites voids all Earned Discounts billed where a Grace Period Discount is observed.
Note: It’s common to enable this feature.
Packaging Type
Carrier-specific packaging (e.g. UPS Express Letter/Envelope) has a list rate and incentive specific to that package type. Discounts and incentives for such packaging types are managed as separate service type rules.
Default: All Packages
Options: Carrier-specific. Check the agreement page for a given carrier for a full list.
Common mistake: Given the organization of rules within an agreement, the ideal order of rules is to put all packages first, then build secondary rules for each carrier-specific packaging type section. In other words, the general rule that targets All Packages is above the carrier-specific package type rule. This way, the discounts related to a given carrier-specific packaging type overwrites the general rule targeting All Packages.
Directions
Overview: Domestic service types are managed as a single rule on Service Discounts. Service Discounts on international shipments, in contrast, are managed as separate rules by direction. Export and Import.
Default: All enabled by default
Options:
- Import
- Export
- Domestic
Common issue: Carriers commonly invoice customers for domestic service types for international ship from or ship to locations. This problem can be overcome by the selection of All enabled by default for domestic service types.
Discounts
- Min Rolling Average. The lower bound on the revenue band.
- Max Rolling Average. The upper bound on the revenue band.
- Discount. Amount of the Earned Discount.
Next steps
- Go to Earned discount rule in carrier agreements article