A parcel audit, which can also be referred to as “small parcel auditing,” is an in-depth review of invoices from a carrier. Parcel audits are performed to identify incorrect or duplicate charges, as well as other inaccuracies that can raise a company’s parcel shipping prices. The parcel shipping auditing process makes sure that you are being billed correctly for the service level you received. A good parcel audit will find any billing errors in your parcel invoices and make sure you receive refunds where applicable.
Lower transportation costs with parcel audits.
High-volume shippers benefit from a parcel audit to make sure they are shipping at the right service level; this will generate measurable savings. Brands must also protect their last-mile promise by delivering on time and on budget. So, are you being charged correctly by your carriers? Are there unknown assessorial charges? Are your packages being delivered on time? Reduce transportation spend with smart parcel audit services.
Get the right parcel audit partner in your corner today.
It is important to keep your carriers honest with Körber’s performance, rate and billing audits. We perform a comprehensive review of your contracts making sure they align with service guarantees, level of service, pricing and performance. Benchmarking is a core competency for Körber and a central component of our strategic sourcing services. Take back control and command of your transportation spend. It is a complex and time-intensive procedure to perform in-house, Körber’s experience and expertise provide stress-free insights into your transportation and logistics activities that will help you make the right decisions for your business.
Invoice audit & automation
As ecommerce continues its growth, the need for tools to report, audit and control package spend is paramount. The management of carrier relationships and delivering on customer expectations must be met. Körber’s in-house team of experts can help.
Business intelligence
In an era where companies have access to endless amounts of data via carrier invoice feeds and transportation systems, the universal challenge is integrating all the disparate data sources and transforming the results into dashboards that allow for agile decision-making. Selecting the right transportation business intelligence partner is critical to bridging this gap.
Parcel audits look for “service failures” from major carriers to make sure that contract terms are being met. The carrier is responsible for shipping the goods correctly and on time. When they fail to meet contract terms, it constitutes a service failure. Below are a few examples of service failures that could be costing your company money:
- Late deliveries – Deliveries that did not arrive by the promised time and date
- Duplicate charges – Charges that have previously been billed
- Voids – Billed packages that were not shipped
- Proof of delivery issues – Instances where there was an invalid or no proof of delivery
- Incorrect charges based on weight/dimensions – Incorrect charges caused by incorrect parcel measurements
- Frivolous address corrections – Charges caused by unneeded address corrections
- Non-applied discount – Discounts that were agreed upon were not applied by the shipper
- Zone validation – Checks postal codes to validate the carrier zone assignment
- Account validation – Ensures that any billed shipments are currently tied to an existing client account
Unfortunately, these service errors are very common across the parcel shipping industry. A good parcel audit checks for all these errors in service to make sure your company is not paying more than necessary for delivery services.
In the early days of parcel auditing, companies mostly relied on manual services to track shipments. Manual auditing is not a reliable or cost-effective option. Parcel audit companies rely on parcel audit software as a cost-effective way to track parcel shipments and catch costly billing errors. Some smaller companies may choose to buy software and conduct parcel audits in-house, but this is costly and generally ineffective at finding savings. Most larger companies tend to hire a parcel auditing company to do this work for them. In addition to finding mistakes and getting refunds, parcel auditing services tend to save companies money because they are a cheaper alternative to performing audits in-house.
Most parcel audit companies have a dedicated database for all major carriers. They provide these carriers with an overview of shipping information, including charges, destination, etc. Parcel audit companies generally use interactive dashboards powered by AI. Automated BI platforms are also often used to help identify overcharges. Parcel audit software will spot areas where you are being overcharged, which can give you leverage when negotiating with carriers. After a parcel is shipped, it is audited at each step of the process.
If the software finds a service failure, an invoice is automatically generated. Next, the invoice is automatically audited, and a claim is created. Then, the auditing team contacts the carrier with the claim. The software tool streamlines this entire process, lowering costs and eliminating human error.
Parcel audit companies can save you time, money and headaches. The benefits of outsourcing your parcel auditing process include:
- Experienced teams that will optimize the process
- Provide overall transparency for your shipments
- Accurate tracking of every parcel being shipped
- Dispute settlements with carriers on your behalf
- Identify violations of service contracts and agreements
- Find any overcharges before the money is lost
- Real-time connectivity with both the parcel invoice system and the carrier
- Streamlined auditing processes lower auditing costs
- Reporting to show return on investment
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