On narrow screens, scroll each worksheet table horizontally to reach every column. Keyboard users: focus the table region and use the left and right arrow keys.
The problem
An average shipping cost hides the package-level inputs that determine whether a demand surcharge applies. This worksheet turns current carrier terms into a controlled decision. It does not calculate contract pricing, guarantee savings, or replace carrier terms.
Decision criteria
| Criterion | Question | Required evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Which current carrier window contains the tender date? | Carrier source and applicable account terms |
| Promise | What is the latest acceptable delivery date? | Storefront or marketplace promise |
| Package | What dimensions, weight, packaging, and handling traits will be rated? | Measured carton and billed history |
| Eligibility | Which services may carry the package? | Contract, destination, product, and marketplace rules |
| Destination | How does the carrier classify it? | Validated carrier/service data |
| Volume | Does an account-specific volume rule apply? | Current definition and billed-package history |
| Cost | What is the comparable charge for each eligible option? | Same-currency current quotes and applicable fees |
| Risk | What could break the promise or create an exception? | Cutoff, capacity, inventory, and handoff records |
| Owner | Who may change packaging, routing, promotion, or promise? | Named operating owner |
| Proof | How will the outcome be reconciled? | Quote, shipment, invoice, and tracking records |
Method
1. Pin the source
Record the carrier, source title, effective date, retrieval time, public URL, retained-source hash, applicable contract reference, and reviewer. A mutable page without a retrieval record is not a stable source.
2. Build the date-window table
Create one row per applicable surcharge group and effective window. Do not assume all fees begin on the same date.
3. Build package cohorts
Group packages only when they share the traits that drive the decision:
origin + destination class + service + billed dimensions band + billed weight band + packaging type + tender week
Split material outliers into their own cohort.
4. Filter eligibility before price
Remove any service that fails the customer promise, destination coverage, package or product restriction, contract authorization, required tracking, warehouse cutoff, or marketplace rule. Compare prices only within the eligible set and in the same currency.
5. Rank controllable actions
- Correct bad dimensions or classifications.
- Change packaging only after checking product protection and total cost.
- Select another eligible service only if it preserves the promise.
- Change tender timing or promotion only with the required cross-functional approval.
- Change the customer promise only through the authorized storefront or marketplace process.
- Escalate contract or network changes separately.
6. Reconcile after shipment
Compare the planned quote, selected quote, purchased amount, billed amount, surcharge reason, tender date, and delivery result. Assign unexplained variance to an owner.
On narrow screens, scroll the diagram horizontally to read all labels. Keyboard users: focus the diagram region and use the left and right arrow keys.
Worksheet
A. Source register
| Source ID | Carrier | Source/revision | Retrieved UTC | Effective window | Public URL | Retained hash | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SRC-001 |
B. Package exposure
| Cohort ID | Tender date | Origin | Destination class | Service | Pieces | Billed dimensions band | Billed weight band | Trigger | Evidence quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PKG-001 |
C. Decision comparison
| Cohort ID | Option | Eligible? | Exclusion reason | Comparable charge | Promise met? | Change | Owner | Approval needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PKG-001 |
D. Outcome reconciliation
| Cohort ID | Planned | Purchased | Billed | Variance | Surcharge reason | Delivered | Exception | Corrective action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PKG-001 |
Hypothetical worked example
Hypothetical only. These figures are invented to demonstrate the method. They are not public rates, customer data, or a result.
A brand plans 1,000 packages in a week:
| Cohort | Pieces | Traits | Initial option | Review reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 920 | standard cartons, residential | Ground service | current date-window terms |
| B | 80 | long cartons near a handling threshold | Ground service | billed dimensions vary |
The team does not apply one average surcharge to all 1,000 packages. It validates Cohort A against current terms and eligible services. For Cohort B, it first reconciles planned and billed dimensions, then asks Packaging whether an approved carton change preserves product protection.
A valid decision could be: retain the existing service for Cohort A; correct master dimensions for some Cohort B packages; test an approved carton for the remainder; and make no routing change until current quote evidence exists. Zero expected savings is acceptable. The worksheet’s job is to make the decision auditable.
Buyer review checklist
- Current carrier source and applicable contract pinned.
- Tender date, not order date, used.
- Planned and billed package data reconciled.
- Eligibility filtered before price.
- Account-specific volume rules verified rather than assumed.
- Hypothetical figures labeled.
- Packaging, promise, and routing changes have named owners.
- Purchased and billed outcomes reconciled.
- Assumptions and exclusions visible.
- Exact worksheet revision independently reviewed.
Relevant next step
Run the worksheet on one representative week and one high-severity package cohort. If your systems cannot connect the promise, package, eligible options, selected service, billed charge, and delivery result, record that gap before proposing a savings target.
Primary source
- UPS — Shipping Costs and Rates, current public notice for updated demand-surcharge information. Check the page, its linked applicable document, and your current account terms before making shipping or routing decisions.