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      Small Parcel & Freight Policies

      Small parcel and freight costs are a tricky business. Here is how ShipCalm supports brands to minimize risks and reduce costs.

      ShipCalm consults with our customers to determine the appropriate carrier, service method & packaging when shipping a customer's order. This is done by looking at a combination of factors, including cost, delivery time and service quality. Once a strategy is determined various technology automation and other best-effort practices are set-up. However, when shipping with a 3rd party carrier there are numerous factors outside of ShipCalm’s control that may make the costs higher than expected.
       
      The purpose of this policy is to outline some of those factors and to provide  transparency as to our Freight and Parcel Policies.
       
      Please note that if you use ShipCalm’s account to ship your packages/inventory,  you are solely responsible for the entire cost of that shipment, irrespective of whether or not you expected the cost charged by the 3rd party carrier to be different. ShipCalm will not assume any financial responsibility for the cost to ship your packages and inventory, even if you allege that ShipCalm is responsible for excess costs and/or charges.  If you reasonably dispute certain freight and/or parcel costs and/or charges, ShipCalm will make best efforts to assist you in resolving these disputes with the relevant 3rd party carrier, but the ultimate and sole financial responsibility for timely payment of the costs and charges, shall remain your responsibility despite the outcome of the dispute.  
       
      Right to Use Customer Owned Accounts:
       
      • Unlike many of our competitors, ShipCalm will always allow the Customer to use their own freight and parcel accounts should they choose to do so. In this way, any shipping disputes can be managed directly between the Customer and carrier.
      • Please be aware that even if you use your own third party shipping accounts, there may be instances where you allege that ShipCalm’s actions impacted the costs and fees charged by the carrier.  This is a risk of doing business with ShipCalm and has been priced into the fees and costs that we charge you.  By signing this document and the MSA, you have agreed to take on that risk and continue to be solely responsible for all freight and parcel charges, fees and costs, regardless of perceived fault. 
       
      Parcel Rate - Best Efforts and Unexpected Fees:
       
      There are many fees and charges that may be assessed by third party carriers subsequent to the original shipping estimate. These fees, charges and surcharges may include, but are not limited to:
      • Fuel Surcharge
      • Residential Delivery
      • Rebill Fees
      • DIM Based Weights
      • Re-Rated Due to Weights & Dims

      These surcharges are dynamic in nature and may be increased by the carrier at any point without warning to you or ShipCalm. The Customer is ALWAYS responsible for these added surcharges, even when disputed.
      • Shipping rates charged by third party carriers may change on a daily basis, even for items with identical details (weights & dimensions, method, address, etc.).  A carrier may charge a rate different from your initial quote for a variety of reasons outside of ShipCalm’s control. 
      • Sub-optimal packaging utilization may also contribute to higher than expected shipping rates.  It is your responsibility to ensure that ShipCalm has the appropriate packaging on hand.  
      • Finally, while ShipCalm does provide a service method optimization tool for selecting the lowest shipping rates, ShipCalm does NOT GUARANTEE that this tool will produce the lowest shipping rate on every occasion. It is common to manually manipulate a one-off transaction after the fact and be quoted at a different rate than what was previously charged.
       
      Data Entry Form Method Selection & Details:
      • There are many technical systems at work to ensure orders are configured with the correct shipping details including, service method, weights and dimensions, and potential 3rd party billing.  It is the CUSTOMER’S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that the data used to ship your packages and inventory in ShipCalm’s warehouse management system is accurate.
      • While ShipCalm may consult with you to create automations or define rate shipping rules, it remains your sole responsibility to audit your orders to ensure these automations and rate shipping rules are accurate and produce the desired outcome.
      • Customers are solely responsible for ensuring that they have provided ShipCalm with accurate 3rd Party Billing account numbers AND that once provided these billing account numbers are being used accurately on each and every transaction.  
       
      3rd-Party Billing:
      • It may be the case that Your retail partners request that you ship packages using their own parcel shipping accounts.  While ShipCalm will make best efforts to comply, often the carrier will not honor such a request and will bill ShipCalm directly instead.  In this case, You would be responsible for these costs.
      • When a 3rd Party parcel shipping account number is not honored by the Carrier, or the data is not correctly configured on the order such that ShipCalm is charged for the shipment, the financial responsibility for shipping remains with the Customer to pay any and all associated freight charges.
      • ShipCalm will use its best efforts to support the Customer’s request for a re-billing event when appropriate, and if credits are ultimately provided, will pass those along to You.  However, any and all additional fees and charges shall be due when billed, and are non-disputable between You and ShipCalm.
       
      Freight Class & 3rd Party Freight Account:
      • The Freight & Parcel Policies set forth herein also apply to Freight (ie: FTL, LTL, Maritime Container, Intermodal, etc) with regards to 3rd Party Billing.
      • ShipCalm follows the shipment and receiving policies of vendor routing guides in order to ensure full compliance. Vendor policy requirements related to inbound shipments to vendors.  If the Customer requests any variance to these policies, the Customer is responsible for any and all additional liability related to the rejected merchandise, including but limited to expense related to the rework of the order to ensure compliance and associated freight costs.
      • 3rd party carriers may also re-rate freight shipments due to weights, dims or freight class, etc. If this happens ShipCalm will use best efforts to support the Customer in negotiating the perceived excess charges.  However, the financial responsibility for shipping remains with the Customer, and therefore You must pay ShipCalm for any and all associated freight charges, regardless of any dispute.  If credits are received from a 3rd party carrier, they will be credited to the Customer upon receipt.
       
      Constantly Audit Your Costs:
      • ShipCalm offers Customers quarterly business reviews that highlight opportunities to save on parcel & freight costs.  Please utilize these meetings to strategize so that we can ensure we are attempting to obtain the lowest parcel and freight costs for your business.
      • Optimization is an ongoing activity.  With close collaboration between you and ShipCalm we can minimize risks and improve overall cost & efficiency.