fifty, or a hundred tariffs on a single page and that an employee can much more readily find the numbers or applications given on a sheet in determining the tariffs he may desire than he can where cards are used. It is to be borne in mind that quite frequently an employee in search of a rate does not know in which tariff it will be found and, as a consequence, is governed by the class of tariffs and the terms of its general application; the book plan does apparently contribute to his efficiency in such instance. CHAPTER VIII RATE DEPARTMENT Rate Tabulations Salesmen's The Tariff Clerk-Division of Rates: Scope of Work-Quo- The preceding chapters have been devoted to an exposition of tariffs, their installation and filing systems. It is appropriate here to touch upon the employees directly connected with this feature of the department. THE TARIFF CLERK If the file assumes considerable proportions, it will probably become necessary for the concern to employ a tariff clerk to maintain the file. That is, it will be his sole occupation to request publications desired, place the tariff and supplements as they are received, and remove those which are cancelled. If the rate clerk, quotation men, or others in the department find that a desired publication is not in the file, the tariff clerk should be provided with a memorandum indicating the class of publication desired, so that he may arrange to secure a copy of it. This work may be performed by a bright boy or junior clerk, and the preliminary training which he receives in this capacity will go far toward his development as an efficient quotation clerk and, eventually, as a rate man. He may in his spare moments assist the departmental statistician or rate clerk by studying the tariffs and supplements as they are received, and noting changes applicable on the firm's line. DIVISION OF RATES: SCOPE OF WORK The scope of the work of this division is perhaps more comprehensive than that of any other division in the traffic department. Broadly speaking, it is concerned with the charges that are, or may be, assessed on the firm's inbound and outbound products, and this involves consequently past, present, and proposed rate adjustments. In view of this situation, where the size of the department permits, one man should be delegated to make a study of new tariffs and supplements as they are received, and to predetermine the proposed changes in rates as applied to the firm's activities. This man should preferably be the chief rate clerk, or, as in many instances, the assistant traffic manager. He should be a man of considerable experience in rate adjustments, intimately acquainted with the application of tariffs and the various phases of the Act to Regulate Commerce as applied to this feature of transportation. Another man should be delegated to furnish the sales department and prospective customers with quotations of existing rates of transportation, and to figure where requested laid-down costs at destination on materials and supplies for which they may be in the market. Still another man could be provided to audit the transportation bills as they are received, to develop such inconsistencies as may exist, and to recover such amounts as may be warranted. For convenience, these men may be designated the rate clerk, the quotation clerk, and the overcharge investigator. Preferably the overcharge investigator and the quotation clerk should be subordinate to the rate clerk and eligible to his place in the event of his promotion or retirement. THE QUOTATION CLERK Not infrequently the controlling factor in effecting a sale is transportation costs from point of manufacture, or distributing center, to the purchaser's designated point of delivery. As a consequence, road salesmen frequently wire into headquarters to ascertain the transportation cost on shipments of various descriptions. Relation to the Sales Department Such requests, under an intelligent plan of operation, would be handled by the quotation clerk. The request by the sales department or representative should be as comprehensive and accurate as possible. That is to say, if the customer specifies that goods are to be put up in a certain kind of package, in barrels, boxes, or crates, or in units of a specified weight, these details must be incorporated in the request, since the rate of freight is often contingent on the style of package, and in many cases, estimated weights are established which apply instead of actual weights. On the receipt of such a request, the quotation clerk consults the necessary tariffs applying on the shipment, and quite often a half dozen or more schedules may be involved in figuring the charge between various points in this country. On a movement from Chicago to Texas, for example, it is necessary to consult four publications: (1) a territorial directory, to develop the group location of the point of origin or the destination; (2) the classification, to determine the classification rating; (3) the exceptions to the classification published by the southwestern lines, to ascertain whether an exception has been established removing the application of the item from the classification; and (4) the tariff containing the rate, which must also be analyzed for exceptions, commodity rates, or other information of a similar import which might set aside, in some degree, the application of of the issues previously mentioned. Forms for Quoting Rate After determining the rates of freight applicable, the sales representative or prospective customer is then informed of the figure. For this purpose, a form similar to that appearing in Fig. 18 is recommended. This form could be prepared in duplicate by the quotation clerk. The original is, of course, sent to the person making the request. The duplicate should be affixed to the request, and filed with the traffic department records. In the event of question, this affords a check on how the quotation was made, and definitely fixes the responsibility. The form also indicates to the sales department any contemplated advance in rates. This is a happy thought, |