TMS IS COMING TO BEALLS DEPARTMENT STORES (Transportation Management System)

Over the next several months, Bealls Department Stores will be implementing an inbound transportation management process that will improve our visibility to inbound shipments, reduce transportation expenses, and streamline the inbound shipping interface that we have with our vendor community.  We have partnered with Sterling Commerce for both a transportation management solution as well as a customized web-based vendor portal application which we will use to interface with the vendors.  The vendor portal will permit seamless communication between the vendor and Bealls Department Stores for the routing and scheduling of inbound transportation movement.  In order to implement the project, we need the participation of all of our vendors to collect critical business information that will support the solution.

Here is a brief recap of what you can look forward to:

The current inbound vendor process will be replaced with an online Vendor Portal (Web Forms) for vendor to enter pickup and routing requests directly into TMS system.

The work flow for collect orders will vary from the process for pre-paid shipments as follows:

            Collect Orders:

§         Vendor submits Request for Routing Instructions via Vendor Portal, including

§      Order Characteristics (weight, cube, pallet count, carton count)

§      Ready To Ship Date

§          Beall’s Transportation determines routing method and carrier

§          Beall’s tenders shipment to Carrier

§          Upon tender acknowledgement, vendor is notified of routing instructions via Vendor Portal / Email

§          Carrier (TL) contacts vendor for pickup appointment

 Prepaid Shipments:

§         Vendor submits Routed Order Acknowledgement via Vendor Portal, including

§      Carrier Information

§      Shipment Characteristics (weight, cube, pallet count, cartons)

§      Ship Date

§          Beall’s Transportation has visibility to inbound shipment

While the initial phase of this program will utilize the referenced web-based vendor portal application, it is our plan to add other data interface options in a subsequent phase of the project. When those options are made available, vendors will be permitted to convert from the vendor portal application to EDI data transmission.

As we roll this program out to the vendor community, our plan is to establish a short “pilot” with several vendors and then to rapidly deploy the solution to the rest of the community.  Your organization will be contacted in advance of your “go live” date for training and coordination.  In the event that you have any questions regarding this request for information or the inbound program, please contact 941.744.4658.

• Our goal is to have our entire vendor community up and running on the new system by the end of 2008.

Beall’s Department Stores

Routing Guide

Issued August 1, 2008 (November 3rd Update)

Effective: August 15, 2008 – January 31, 2009

This Transportation Routing Guide is valid only for purchase orders issued by:

Beall’s Department Stores

The instructions contained in this guide are only valid for purchase orders shipped:

August 15, 2008 through January 31, 2009

Please use the previous guide for all shipments prior to August 15, 2008.

This guide supersedes all previous Routing Guides and exception routing issued by Beall’s Department Stores.

Our goal is to minimize transportation cost, while expediting the flow of merchandise to the floor. To that end we seek, where possible, full truck loads directly from the vendor’s facility to our distribution center.

• Beall’s will only accept one shipment per Purchase Order. Any backorder shipments will be subject to a charge back. The original shipment must have color and size integrity or is subject to return or charge back.

• All changes within this routing guide are identified in red.

General Information

• Only Beall’s Transportation Department can authorize changes to routing instructions.

• Buyers cannot authorize routing and should not be contacted for routing instructions.

• Vendors may call for routing instructions prior to the start of the shipping window. It is the vendor’s responsibility not to ship prior to the start of the shipping window.

• If a vendor calls the Transportation Department and receives routing instructions, the vendor is still required to comply with all of the listed requirements within this Routing Guide.

Our next update to the Routing Guide will be February 1, 2009

Beall’s Department Stores Routing Guide is available on our web site at www.beallsinc.com Go to “for vendors” and then click on “Bealls vendor relations”, select Transportation Routing Guide. 

Beall’s Transportation Routing Guide

Table of Contents  

Routing Key Points

• Due to new internal operations, it is critical that the Beall’s style number or Manufacturers style number is on all cartons whenever possible as defined in Section IV “Packing and Marking Requirements” of the main web page.

• Beall’s will only accept one shipment per Purchase Order. Any backorder shipments will be subject to charge back. The original shipment must have color and size integrity or is subject to return or charge back.

• When completing freight terms on the VICS bill of lading for any shipment (except small package shipments) within the commercial zone, the vendor must complete the “Freight Charge Terms” by marking  “Prepaid” and in the “Special Instructions” section write “Prepaid to consolidator, collect beyond.”

• Shipments exceeding any of the volume requirement criteria of either 7,999 lbs., 1200 cubic feet, all commodities above 125  or seven (7) pallets or more from any location require the completion of a “Volume or Truck Load Routing Request” form. The vendor needs to either e-mail or fax this form to the Beall’s Transportation Department for routing instruction 48 hours before desired ship date. Shipments greater than 7,999 lbs. or meeting any of the Volume Request criteria does not automatically qualify the shipment as a “Truckload”. The Beall’s Transportation Department will determine if your shipment is a truckload shipment.

• Vendors may call for routing instructions prior to the start of the shipping window. It is the vendor’s responsibility not to ship prior to the start of the shipping window.

• Beall’s current return policy is that any merchandise that is refused by Beall’s receiving docks will be shipped freight “Collect” back to the vendor on Beall’s designated LTL carrier. These shipments are refused and sent back to the vendor without obtaining any return authorization.

• When completing the “Carrier Information” section in the VICS bill of lading, Beall’s will accept the carton quantities in either the “Handling Unit” or “Package” section. If your shipment is palletized enter the pallet quantity under the “Handling Units” and the carton quantity under the “Package” section. The total weight must include the pallet weight.

• The FOB Point (city and state), if “SEE GUIDE” is not indicated, should be the actual point of origin for all shipments made to Beall's Department Stores.  Failure to ship from the FOB point specified in the PO can result in a non-compliance penalty.  Our Buyers must be made aware of any changes to normal shipping points as soon as your company knows them.

Are you using the right transportation routing guide for your purchase order?

The Beall’s Department Stores purchase orders range between 0100000 and 0699999. If your purchase order falls within this range, you will want to use this Routing Guide. If your purchase order falls outside of this range, do not use this routing guide. Please refer to the Beall’s Outlet Routing Guide, which is available on our Internet site at www.beallsinc.com under “for vendors” and click on “Outlet Vendor Relations”.

Where are you shipping? The purchase order information should be used in determining if the shipment is to be routed to the distribution center or is a direct to stores shipments. This guide has been separated into sections based on geographical areas and then by weight breaks. 

• If you are shipping less than 151 lbs. (actual or dimensional weight), ship using United Parcel Service. (See “Shipments Weighing 150 lbs. or less” in your shipping location for details). 

• If your shipment weighs between 151 lbs. and up through 7,999 lbs, is less than 1200 cubic feet, has a  commodity above 125 and/or is less than seven (7) pallets, follow the guidelines in sections IV, V or VI (based upon your shipping location).

• If your shipment exceeds 7,999 lbs, 1200 cubic feet, has a commodity above 125 or is seven (7) pallets or more, you must complete and e-mail or fax a “Volume or Truck Load Routing Request” form to our Transportation Office for routing.

Do you have questions regarding your Bill of Lading?

• All vendors must use a VICS bill of lading (except shipments sent via small package carries, e.g. UPS, FedEx, etc.). 

• Detailed information regarding the completion of a VICS bill of lading is listed within each section based upon the vendor’s shipping location.

Defining Commercial Zone

Commercial Zone = Shipments originating within this area are at the vendor’s expense from their dock to Beall’s consolidator.

Distribution Center Shipments

Shipments Weighing 150 lbs. or less (actual or dimensional weight), utilize United Parcel Service

• Ship to:

  Beall’s Department Stores

  1806 38^th Avenue East

  Bradenton, FL. 34208

• From any U.S. origin, ship Freight Collect via UPS. Contact the Inbound Transportation Department for UPS account number.

• Do not ship 3^rd Party Billing, Consignee Billing or UPS Hundred Weight.

• Beall’s requires that first and second reference fields are utilized for Beall’s information only and that the vendor may use the third, fourth and fifth reference fields for their own data. The purchase order number must be in the first reference field and the store number in the second reference field of the UPS shipping label. Complete the first reference as “PO1234567” and the second reference as “ST83”, if you are completing the UPS bill of lading manually, enter this data on the first address line.

• If you are unable to ship via UPS due to size restrictions and ship through the consolidator, you must put the carton dimensions on your bill of lading. Please see “Shipments Weighing 151 lbs. up to 7,999 lbs.” within this section for instructions.

UPS Size Limits for packages

UPS has established specific size limits for the packages that you send with all UPS services. The restrictions below only pertain to individual packages.

• Packages can be up to 165 inches (419 cm) in length and girth combined
• Packages can be up to 108 inches (270 cm) in length

How to measure your package size

To measure ground packages use the following formula:

Length + 2x Width + 2x Height

Step 1. Determining Length

• Measure the longest side of the package, rounding to the nearest inch. This is your length.

Step 2. Determining Girth (2x Width + 2x Height)

• Measure the width of the package, rounding to the nearest inch.

• Multiply this number by 2. Measure the height of the package, rounding to the nearest inch.

• Multiply this number by 2. Add these two numbers together. This is your girth.

Step 3. Add the length and the girth together. This is your package measurement.

How to determine dimensional weight

Compare each package's actual weight to its dimensional weight. The larger of the two weights is the weight you would use to route your shipment.

Shipments Weighing 151 lbs. up to 7,999 lbs., and not exceeding 1,200 cu. ft. utilize City Garment Carriers

All shipments from California between 151 lbs. and 7,999 lbs. (actual or dimensional weight), less than 1200 cubic feet, with a commodity above 125 and less than seven (7) pallets are to be routed to our consolidator City Garment Carriers. If your shipment exceeds any of these measurements please refer to Shipments over 7,999 lbs.

Vendors are required to combine all LTL shipments from the same location with the same destination to no more than 2 LTL shipments per week (Monday - Friday) on non-consecutive days.

When vendors are scheduling a pick up with the consolidators and the time the shipment is ready for pick up is after 12:00 p.m., the consolidator will consider the next business day as the first available pickup day for that shipment.

Freight Charge Terms:

Completing the VICS bill of lading, the vendor must make a notation in the section “Freight Charge Terms”. Beall’s will not accept this portion blank.

• Shipping from within the Commercial Zone on the vendor’s truck or 3^rd party carrier, terms should be marked in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Prepaid” and in the “Special Instructions” write “Prepaid to consolidator-collect beyond.”

• Shipping from within the Commercial Zone, the Consolidator is making the pickup on their truck, terms should be marked in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Prepaid” and in the “Special Instructions” write “Prepaid to consolidator-collect beyond.”

Shipments within the Commercial Zone

General requirements for Beall’s Department Store shipments within the Commercial Zone.  (Zip Codes 900-930)

• Vendors must call to schedule a pick up or delivery no less than 48 hours prior to the shipment ready date and time taking into consideration weekends and holidays.

• The vendor has the responsibility to arrange for the shipment to City Garment Carriers (consolidator).

• Within the commercial zone vendors may use City Garment Carriers, their own truck or a 3rd party carrier to make deliveries, but must schedule a delivery appointment with the consolidator.

• If a vendor selects to use their own truck or a third party provider to make deliveries to the consolidator, the date the merchandise is delivered to the consolidator is the official pickup date for Beall’s.

• The consolidators will not accept shipments sent via small package carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.).

• Vendors may call for routing instructions prior to the start of the shipping window. It is the vendor’s responsibility not to ship prior to the start of the shipping window and to ensure that the consolidator picks up within the designated shipping window.

• If the consolidator does not make the pick up on the scheduled day or if you have any problems with the service from our designated consolidator, call the Beall’s Transportation Department immediately.

• Vendors in the Commercial Zone are responsible for freight charges to move the shipments to the consolidator'. Therefore vendors who choose to use our consolidator’s trucking services are required to pay our consolidator. Not doing so will result in a charge back from Bealls inclusive of full freight plus a $275.00 administrative fee.

Within the Commercial Zone: Bill of Lading Requirements for City Garment Carriers

A VICS bill of lading is required on all shipments. All vendors should only provide a VICS bill of lading, any vendor bill of lading is unacceptable.

Do not prepare a manifest or master bill of lading for total purchase orders.

Bill of lading must state the following:

• Ship from:

Company name and shipping address

• Ship to:

  Beall’s Department Stores        

  C/o City Garment

  2000 E. University Drive

  Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220

• List all purchase orders on one VICS bill of lading,

• Provide carton count by purchase order, if you are shipping pallets, you must give the number of cartons on your bill of lading.

• Provide weight by purchase order,

• Provide department number by purchase order (write in the section of “Additional Shipper Info”),

• Vendor must complete the information in the “Carrier Information” section of the VICS bill of lading, including handling quantity & type, packaging quantity & type, weight, commodity description and Class.

• Commodity descriptions on the shipper’s VICS bill of lading must conform to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) and Uniform Classification requirements.

• Freight terms for any shipment within the commercial zone, the vendor must mark under the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Prepaid” and in the “Special Instructions” section write “Prepaid to consolidator, collect beyond.”

Documentation Exchange

• City Garment requires the original VICS bill of lading and one copy per purchase order of the VICS bill of lading. The pickup driver must sign the original and all copies.

• City Garment on dock deliveries will sign your VICS bill of lading, as well as issue a signed dock receipt.

Shipments Weighing 8,000 lbs. or more, Truckload Shipments

Shipping Criteria

If your shipment meets any of the following criteria: Exceeds 1200 cubic feet Weights 8,000 lbs. or more Has a commodity above 125 Seven (7) pallets or more You must e-mail or fax the “Volume or Truck Load Routing Request” form to our Transportation Department 48 hours before your shipment is ready for pickup. The Beall’s Transportation Department only recognizes requests that are sent in on the “Volume or Truck Load Routing Request” form. You will be advised by return e-mail or fax of authorization, routing instructions and requirements.

If the shipment is determined to be a volume or truckload quantity by the Beall’s Transportation Department:

• Shipper is responsible for the carton count, loading, securing and sealing the trailer.  Beall’s authorized carriers do not require their drivers to count or assist in truck loading.  Truckload shipments are to be sorted and loaded in the order specified by our Transportation Department.

• All truckload shipments must be sealed with a metal bolt seal only.  Seal number and trailer number including all alpha and numeric characters must be noted on the bill of lading. Beall’s Department Store Distribution Center will not accept deliveries without a metal bolt seal.

• Metal bolt seals can be purchased through American Casting 800.342.0333 or E.J. Brooks Company 800.458.7325.

• Shipper must fax a copy of the bill of lading to the Beall’s Transportation Department after the driver has signed for pick up.

• Vendors must include the quote number within the commodity description section of the VICS Bill of Lading.

Bill of Lading for Truckload Shipments

A VICS bill of lading is required on all shipments. All vendors should only provide a VICS bill of lading, any vendor bill of lading is unacceptable.

Bill of lading must state the following:

• Ship from: Company name and shipping address.

• Ship to: Beall’s will provide the “Ship to” address.

• List all purchase orders on one VICS bill of lading.

• Provide carton count by purchase order number, if you are shipping pallets, you must give the number of cartons on your bill of lading.

• Cubic feet by purchase order.

• Provide weight breakdown by purchase order number.

• Department number by purchase order (write in the section of “Additional Shipper Info”).

• Vendor must complete the information in the “Carrier Information” section of the VICS bill of lading, including handling quantity & type, packaging quantity & type, weight, commodity description, NMFC number and Class.    

• Commodity descriptions on the shipper’s VICS bill of lading must conform to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) and Uniform Classification requirements.

• Freight terms must be marked on the VICS bill of lading in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Collect.”

• Seal number and trailer number including all alpha and numeric characters must be noted on the bill of lading.

• The total weight in the carrier information section must include the pallet weight

• Vendor must notate under special instructions the carrier's appointment time, arrival time, departure time.

Air Shipments

Beall’s, Inc. will accept collect air shipments only when the following conditions have been met:

• You have negotiated with the buying office, and

• Contacted the Beall’s Transportation Department to obtain shipment authorization and carrier information.

• Prepaid air shipments do not require air authorization from our Transportation Department. Do not ship freight prepaid and add freight charges to the merchandise invoice.

Direct to Store Shipments

Please see section VII, for detailed shipping instructions.

Distribution Center Shipments

Vendors are required to combine all shipments from the same location with the same destination to no more than 2 LTL shipments per week (Monday - Friday) on non-consecutive days.

If your shipping point is one of the states listed below, utilize this section of the routing guide.

Shipments Weighing 150 lbs. or less (actual or dimensional weight), utilize United Parcel Service

• Ship to:

  Beall’s Department Stores

  1806 38^th Avenue East

  Bradenton, FL. 34208

• From any U.S. origin, ship Freight Collect via UPS. Contact the Inbound Transportation Department for UPS account number.

• Do not ship 3^rd Party Billing, Consignee Billing or UPS Hundred Weight.

• Beall’s requires that first and second reference fields are utilized for Beall’s information only and that the vendor may use the third, fourth and fifth reference fields for their own data. The purchase order number must be in the first reference field and the store number in the second reference field of the UPS shipping label. Complete the first reference as “PO1234567” and the second reference as “ST83”, if you are completing the UPS bill of lading manually, enter this data on the first address line.

• If you are unable to ship via UPS due to size restrictions and ship through the consolidator, you must put the carton dimensions on your bill of lading. Please see “Shipments Weighing 151 lbs. up to 7,999 lbs.” within this section for instructions.

UPS Size Limits for packages

UPS has established specific size limits for the packages that you send with all UPS services. The restrictions below only pertain to individual packages.

• Packages can be up to 165 inches (419 cm) in length and girth combined
• Packages can be up to 108 inches (270 cm) in length

How to measure your package size

To measure ground packages use the following formula:

Length + 2x Width + 2x Height

Step 1. Determining Length

• Measure the longest side of the package, rounding to the nearest inch. This is your length.

Step 2. Determining Girth (2x Width + 2x Height)

• Measure the width of the package, rounding to the nearest inch.

• Multiply this number by 2. Measure the height of the package, rounding to the nearest inch.

• Multiply this number by 2. Add these two numbers together. This is your girth.

Step 3. Add the length and the girth together. This is your package measurement.

How to determine dimensional weight

Compare each package's actual weight to its dimensional weight. The larger of the two weights is the weight you would use to route your shipment.

Shipments Weighing 151 lbs. up to 7,999 lbs., and not exceeding 1,200 cu. ft. utilize National Retail Transportation (NRT)

All shipments from Northeastern states between 151 lbs. and 7,999 lbs. (actual or dimensional weight), less than 1200 cubic feet, with a commodity above 125 and less than seven (7) pallets are routed to our consolidator NRT If your shipment exceeds any of these measurements please refer to Shipments over 7,999 lbs.

When vendors are scheduling a pick up with the consolidators and the time the shipment is ready for pick up is after 12:00 p.m., the consolidator will consider the next business day as the first available pickup day for that shipment.

Freight Charge Terms:

Completing the VICS Bill of Lading, the vendor must make a notation in the section “Freight Charge Terms”. Beall’s will not accept this portion blank.

• Shipping from within the Commercial Zone on the vendor’s truck or 3^rd party carrier, terms should be marked in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Prepaid” AND in the “Special Instructions” write “Prepaid to consolidator-collect beyond.”

• Shipping from within the Commercial Zone, the Consolidator is making the pickup on their truck, terms should be marked in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Prepaid” AND in the “Special Instructions” write “Prepaid to consolidator-collect beyond.”

• Shipping from outside of the Commercial Zone, terms should be marked in the “Freight Charge Terms” as “Collect.”

Documentation Exchange

• Two options: 1) Have the NRT driver sign your completed VICS BOL and then the vendor will make one copy per purchase order of the signed BOL, or 2) Have the VICS BOL original plus one (1) copy per purchase order and the NRT driver will sign the original and all copies.

• NRT will sign and issue a dock receipt when they accept a vendor’s delivery. NRT will not sign the VICS bill of lading.

National Retail Transportation’s Terminal Contact Information

Pickup requests should be made through the NRT website http://vendors.nrsonline.com or by calling 201.330.3635. First time users will need to create an account by choosing the “Request An Account Here” link. For assistance with problems or questions with registration call 201.863.3200 and choose option 4. Direct all other questions or comments to customerservice@nrsonline.com

Commercial Zones Zip Code

Non-Commercial Zone Zip Codes

Shipments Within the Commercial Zone

General requirements for Beall’s Department Stores shipments within the Commercial Zone.

(New Jersey Zip Codes 070 - 079, and 088 – 089)

(New York Zip Codes 100 - 116)

(Connecticut 068 - 069)

• Vendors must call to schedule a pick up no less than 48 hours prior to the order's cancel date date. All deliveries must be called in 24 hours