Case Study / Agreement Performance
The right agreement levers can matter more than improving every line. In this UPS agreement comparison, measurable savings came from understanding which parts of the client’s shipment profile actually moved cost.
How the Right Agreement Levers Created Measurable UPS Savings
A diverse parcel profile rarely produces a simple savings story. Monthly cost changes with shipment volume, service mix, residential exposure, delivery area activity, fuel exposure, package characteristics, and international usage.
That is why a blended discount percentage does not fully explain carrier agreement performance. In this case, the value came from understanding which agreement levers mattered most to the actual shipping profile — and which categories were lower-impact tradeoffs.
The Result at a Glance
The completed reporting period showed measurable savings versus the prior agreement baseline. The important story was not only the total savings number, but how the savings were created across different parts of the agreement.
Cumulative savings through the June 2026 reporting period
Overall savings versus the prior agreement baseline
Savings created through package pricing and surcharge/accessorial structure
Results reflect this specific client profile and completed invoice periods. They are not a guarantee of results for any other organization.
The Client Profile Was Not One-Dimensional
The client’s UPS profile included a mix of ground residential, ground commercial, air, international, and recurring surcharge exposure. That meant the savings opportunity was not isolated to one discount table.
Some cost drivers touched thousands of shipments. Others appeared in smaller volumes. Some categories improved significantly, some stayed flat, and a few minor areas moved against the client. That is normal in a real agreement.
The priority was not to improve every line for the sake of presentation. The priority was to improve the levers that mattered most economically.
Savings Came From More Than Package Discounts
In recent completed periods, savings came from both package-level pricing and surcharge/accessorial structure. The mix changed by month because the client’s shipment activity changed by month.
That distinction matters. If an agreement review only looks at package discounts, it may miss a large part of where the savings are actually being created.
Savings mix by month
Monthly savings varied with shipment volume, service mix, and surcharge exposure. The chart groups savings into two public-safe categories: package pricing impact and surcharge/accessorial structure impact.
Figures are rounded and grouped for public presentation. The chart is intended to show savings composition, not disclose individual carrier rate or incentive terms.
The Real Story Was Lever Prioritization
A carrier agreement is a tradeoff structure. Some terms matter more than others because they touch more shipments, more cost, or more recurring exposure.
The value in this case was created by understanding which levers had the most economic impact for the client’s actual shipment profile.
High-impact agreement levers
- Package pricing structure
- Recurring surcharge exposure
- Residential and delivery-area behavior
- Fuel-related cost movement
Meaningful but profile-dependent levers
- Air service usage
- International activity
- Address correction and selected accessorials
- Dimensional and package characteristics
Not every line needed to move
- Low-volume categories
- Flat categories with limited exposure
- Minor negative movements outweighed by larger gains
- Areas tracked for future review
Why a Blended Savings Number Is Not Enough
A blended savings number can be useful, but it can also hide how the agreement is actually performing. Two agreements with similar total savings can have very different cost behavior underneath.
Line-level visibility helps separate the categories that are driving meaningful savings from the categories that are flat, low-volume, or less important to the overall result.
That is why TARS evaluates agreement performance through shipment profile, package pricing, surcharge exposure, invoice behavior, and cost concentration — not headline discounts alone.
Want to understand which agreement levers matter most?
A structured review can help identify where your UPS or FedEx agreement is creating value, where costs are concentrated, and which terms should shape future negotiation priorities.
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