Claims management

What is freight claims management?

Freight claims management is the process of filing, tracking and resolving claims for losses, damage or delivery failures. It can be automated with a transportation management system (TMS) that records details such as shipment information, damage evidence and supporting documentation.

A TMS can also manage the carrier claim submission process and track recovery progress through settlement or denial. This is an essential process for offsetting the financial impact of carrier service failures that can cost millions annually.

Automated claims processing outputs

Claim valuation

Automated claims processing software can calculate product replacement costs, freight charges for reshipping and any customer allowances granted due to delivery failures. In the US, carrier liability is governed by the Carmack Amendment framework and is typically limited through carrier contracts and tariffs.


Root cause analysis

Automated software can process large amounts of claim data to identify patterns indicating systemic issues with specific carriers, shipping lanes, product packaging or handling procedures. Analytics showing one carrier generating 5x the damage claims of others could influence carrier selection or contract negotiation strategy, for instance.


Recovery tracking

Measuring claim success rates by carrier, claim type and dollar value helps identify carriers with slow payment or high denial rates. This data can inform carrier selection, supporting decisions to avoid carriers where poor claims processing offsets their rate advantages.

How TMS handles the claims processing workflow

Claims processing typically involves these steps:

  • Claims management software is triggered when damage, shortages or delivery issues are reported

  • A claim record is linked to the original shipment data, including freight charges, declared values and details about carrier liability limits

  • Evidence is collected automatically to support the claim, including proof of delivery, product condition images and packing lists

  • The claims management system organizes materials into carrier-specific claim formats, reducing preparation time from hours to minutes

  • Claims get submitted through carrier portals, email or electronic data interchange (EDI) channels, depending on carrier preferences and claim values

  • The system tracks submission dates, claim numbers and carrier responses, making it easier to spot when claims exceed expected resolution timeframes

  • Automated follow-up rules trigger when carriers fail to acknowledge claims or request additional information, helping prevent administrative lapses

How claims management fits into supply chain execution

A claim that takes weeks to file is money the business has already written off by the time it's resolved. Filing it automatically, from the same shipment data the TMS is already tracking, is what turns claims from a back-office cleanup task into something that actually recovers the loss. That speed—connecting a delivery failure directly to the recovery process, rather than treating them as separate workflows—is what supply chain execution means in practice.