A carrier scorecard transporters will accept, and you can allocate business on.
A scorecard that blames carriers for the customer’s closed dock gets ignored. A fair one attributes every delay, scores four things and runs the quarterly review.
Tracked trips, ping frequency, gate matches, data freshness
25%
Compliance
Status updated, POD marked on time
20%
Accountability
Own delays, issues raised, escalations
15%
Every delay needs an owner
A late trip is not automatically the carrier’s fault. Attribute every delay to the shipper (material not ready, late loading), the customer (dock closed, unloading refused) or the carrier (late placement, breakdown), with a reason. A delay with a type but no reason stays pending until someone explains it.
Turning scores into decisions
Score
Band
Typical action
90+
Excellent
More lanes, longer contracts
75–89
Good
Keep share
60–74
Average
Improvement plan
40–59
Poor
Reduce share
Below 40
Critical
Review the contract
Rules that keep it trusted
Calculate from data the carrier can see, and replay any disputed trip with its sources.
Let each carrier see its own trucks and score, never another carrier’s.
Publish the weights before the quarter starts.
Review attribution disputes weekly, not at the quarterly review.
How SCM for Manufacturers scores carriers
SCM for Manufacturers attributes every delayed trip to the shipper, customer or carrier with a reason, and rolls trips into one 0–100 score per carrier: delivery 40%, visibility 25%, compliance 20%, accountability 15%, banded from Excellent to Critical. Carriers see only their own vehicles, enforced on the server. The leaderboard drives allocation and quarterly reviews. Related: OTIF vs fill rate.
Questions
What should a carrier scorecard measure?
Delivery against promise, visibility (tracking and data quality), compliance (status and POD updates) and accountability for the carrier’s own delays.
How do I stop carriers disputing the score?
Attribute every delay to the shipper, customer or carrier with a reason, calculate from data they can inspect, and let them replay any trip.
How often should carriers be reviewed?
Track the score continuously, discuss disputes weekly and use it for allocation at quarterly reviews.