Fuel Recovery Implementation Guide | Getting Started With Breakthrough

What Does it Take to Implement an Industry Leading Fuel Management Strategy?

You received a detailed fuel management analysis and discovered what a year of savings on Fuel Recovery could look like for your organization. Now, you are ready to move forward to start reducing costs, creating fair partnerships, and improving your transportation network efficiency and sustainability.

In this guide, we will explain the next steps in your Breakthrough journey for a clear and concise implementation experience. Throughout the process, your Client Account Manager (CAM) and Director of Client Partnerships (DCP) will maintain communication on information requests, meetings, and strategies to optimize your experience with FELIX.

The implementation process is simplified into four steps. Dependent on the size, scope, and complexity of your company, some steps may be combined, and the duration of the process may be longer or shorter. We have implemented clients in as little as three weeks, but the typical timeline is between two to three months.

1. Kickoff and Ongoing Communication

The first meeting will establish a strong foundation for a successful implementation experience. During the meeting, your DCP will introduce you to your dedicated Breakthrough support team, discuss your path to implementation, and align on timing. Your organization has two options for implementation, through RFP or through conversion.

To be prepared for this meeting, identify your implementation team consisting of a Project Sponsor, Project Lead, IT Lead, Testing Lead, and Finance contacts. Contacts can hold multiple roles and have different levels of involvement. If you have questions about the responsibilities and time commitment of each team role, please contact your CAM.

The next meetings will dive into your fuel program. The Breakthrough Technical Lead will connect with your IT Lead to:

• Determine Scope and Parameters . Not only will we talk about the MPG and base rate at which you’ll set your truckload and intermodal programs, but we will also discuss things like deadhead and out-of-route miles, which currencies to use and when, and where you house data for inbound, outbound, and interplant shipments.
• Establish the Data Exchange . We will discuss the shipment data exchange process to understand “current state” before we begin working with your TMS. Our goal is to ensure that the exchange of data between your system and Breakthrough has minimal impact on your daily processes.

Our technology can communicate with any system currently being used by your organization. Breakthrough commonly connects via AS2, SFTP, and Web Services. Additionally, we accommodate diverse file configurations. Breakthrough translates your file format to meet our data requirements for a seamless data transfer. We aim to have a minimal impact to your daily technical processes. At the end of this meeting, we will schedule weekly calls to stay on track with your timeline.

Throughout the implementation, we will connect to discuss your goals and strategic initiatives and update you on the status of implementation. These meetings will tailor your fuel recovery dashboard to establish baseline consumption, eliminate inaccurate fuel surcharge programs, and identify accurate reimbursements between you and your carriers. Additionally, we will establish connection type and file transfer timing, solidify parameters, determine freight that is in and out of scope, and execute testing. Each meeting may require some or all implementation team members depending on your preference.

2. Carrier Communication

Informing your carriers you are switching to Breakthrough is a key step in maintaining relationships. Once you make the announcement, we will work with your carriers to train them on the Breakthrough fuel program and field questions. We can be either highly or minimally involved in this step depending on your preference.

With the right approach, change management becomes less of a pain point. A majority of carriers understand Breakthrough’s value and the benefit of Fuel Recovery.

3. Go-Live

Once the technology is connected, systems have been tested, and carriers are informed – you’re ready to go-live. Once your program goes live, savings begin! Clients have recouped their implementation costs in as little as a few days – depending on the scope and volume of their transportation network. The Breakthrough team will monitor the network, communicating with your organization daily through a period of hypercare to confirm the accuracy of the platform and address questions. This period typically lasts 1-2 weeks, depending on the complexity.

4. Advisor Meetings

You’ve officially ditched the DOE and are now reimbursing your carriers using a market-based approach that leverages real-time, lane-level data to calculate exact fuel reimbursements. In the background, Breakthrough will continue to communicate with your TMS and carriers to field questions on an as-needed basis.

Now, you can turn your sights onto what is next! Your CAM will schedule advisor meetings to review your dashboard, address questions, and present opportunities to reduce cost, consumption, and emissions within your transportation supply chain. From these discussions, your DCP and CAM will be able to suggest recommendations to optimize your transportation network. Continuous improvement and potential savings opportunities include:

• Adjust to a zero-base rate calculation to capture the full benefit of managing fuel.
• Mode optimization and conversion to intermodal to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency.
• Increase fuel efficiencies in fuel calculations to better reflect carrier realities.
• Monitor network performance to identify deviations from the plan and recommend corrective action.
• Identify best-fit carriers and benchmark competitive linehaul rates in real-time.

Breakthrough is the only end-to-end transportation solutions provider empowering shippers with data, technology, and market knowledge to reduce cost, create fair partnerships, and improve transportation network efficiency and sustainability. Breakthrough offers a transportation portfolio of energy, freight, and sustainability solutions. Ask your CAM about our Capac-ID, RFP, and CleanMile solutions. With Breakthrough, you can strategically manage the full scope of your transportation network.

For more information about Fuel Recovery or any other Breakthrough services, contact us!