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Know your shipping spend from four critical shipping reports

As a shipping business, you are always on the lookout for profitability. When shipping parcels from place A to B, you need to know the cost of the shipment. Keeping a tab on the packages shipped becomes difficult for businesses. For this reason, shipping reports are vital for shipping businesses.

The shipping reports give an overview of the shipping costs. And help the shipping business save money. This article will explore the concepts of shipping spend. And the four critical shipping reports that address shippers’ spend, and save money.

What is shipping spend?

The cost incurred during shipping packages is known as shipping spend. Shipping spend includes transportation fees, accessorial fees, warehousing, labor, insurance, etc. Managing shipping costs along with labor and product costs is a balancing act for businesses. Automation and digitalization are helping companies to understand their spend management. Shipping spends management gives visibility to shipping costs. In addition, it provides insights into cost-saving opportunities and strategies for businesses to adopt.

How is shipping spend analysis improving data visibility?

Shipping businesses can manage and optimize shipping operations with the correct data.  Shipping spends analysis starts with collecting data and analyzing it in detail. Data from shipping carriers, customs, shipment count, fuel purchasing system, and more are not enough. In addition, shipping businesses have to analyze real-time data with advanced technology like IoT. Advance technology improves data visibility so that shippers can make informed decisions. The data helps in reducing shipping costs for shippers.

Shipping reports aiding spend management

Proficient software tools aid in analyzing shipping spend. An automated software helps to identify the areas of financial opportunities. Based on a shippers’ key performance indicators (KPIs), the software generates shipping reports. The customized shipping reports shed light on specific shipping details and help in making data-informed decisions. Towards this end, we have detailed the four critical shipping reports that are vital for shipping businesses to understand shipping spend.

1. Annual Summary Report

A summary of all the charges per package for each service is in this report. It calculates the average cost per package for each service.  The report is essentially an analysis report from a particular date range. It includes the shipping spend, the number of packages, cost per package, and the weight of the parcels for each service. For example, for a 1-day service, customers can compare the charges levied in the current year to that of last year.

2. Net Spend Summary Report

An easy-to-use report that highlights a business’ total spends and refund for each service “at a glance”. This report gives the net spend and refunds for each service weekly. It is an essential report for customers. It provides an insight to customers about the total amount spent on each package per week. Customers can manage expenses and save money by using this report.

3. Service Level Summary Report

It provides all the shipping charges by service level. The report covers expenses on the total packages, gross amount, discounts, and discount percentages for each service.  The amount charged without applying any discount is known as the gross amount. In addition, the report explains the average cost, weight, and zone for each service. The average weight is the total package as against the total weight of the package. In addition, average zone means shipping to each shipping zone on average.

4. Service Summary Report

This report gives an overview of all the services the client uses. It provides details like net charges, carrier-published charges, accessorial charges, surcharges, the weight of the package, and the number of packages. Carrier-published charges are the charges to which the shipping carrier has agreed with the shipper. The report analyzes the amount the carrier charges per zone.  Furthermore, it indicates the percentage with which the shipping carrier is increasing their deliveries.

Benefits of shipping reports

Shipping spends analysis is characterized by shipping reports. The information in the shipping reports helps shippers in optimizing their shipping strategy. Further, it improves the visibility of the shipping data. And help shippers root out invalid charges claimed by shipping carriers. Audintel gives customers an overview of their shipping costs with these reports. Audintel provides in-depth shipping spend information. Customers can make decisions with the data received from shipping reports.

Closing remarks: Shipping businesses worry that their expenses do not cost them dearly. With this in mind, shippers try to gain more information about their shipping spend.  However, the process takes a lot of time and money. But, when you partner with a parcel audit company like Audintel, life becomes easy. Audintel provides customized shipping reports that provide spend management solutions to their customers. As a result, customers have critical data insights in their hands to negotiate with shipping carriers concerning their shipping spend. To learn more about shipping reports, contact us at [email protected]. You can also learn about us by visiting our Audintel website or call us at +1 (619) 354 8539.

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Reduce costs and improve efficiency with Shipping Reports

Shipping reports play a significant role in improving the shipping processes. They enhance shipping efficiency. Track parcel delivery in real-time. And lower overhead costs.

Shipping reports contain vital data of all your shipment. This data is a powerful asset that helps improve processes and optimize operations. This data helps you assess the different areas of operations, run reports, and take corrective actions. Efficient operations, favorable fuel, and labor costs determine the profitability of shipping companies. In this context, having thorough shipping reports are essential. They give an overall view of the shipping profile of shippers. In addition, they enhance shipping efficiency. In this blog, we will discuss the way shipping reports are making an impact.

Understanding the shipping process

Ordering products online seems easy. But shipping is a complex process involving different stakeholders, government regulations, the entire supply and distribution channels, and safe delivery. Hidden costs and carrier inefficiencies hamper a smooth operation. The process needs to have transparency for better operational efficiency.

So, how to improve the shipping process?

There are many ways to improve the shipping process. The chief among them are:

  • Streamlining the shipping process
  • Sustainable and attractive parcel packing
  • Offering customers multiple delivery options
  • Researching and choosing reliable carriers
  • Keeping the customers informed about the shipment

Further, shipping reports aid in improving the shipping process.

Shipping reports and their role

Visibility of data is vital to ensure that the shipping process is being executed well. The shipping reports provide a single consolidated view of the complete data. Shippers access the data, analyze and act on it, and make informed decisions. The entire shipping profile of companies is available in these shipping reports. They provide a detailed 360- degree view of the minutest relevant information on each package shipped.

Audintel has various shipping reports that make it easier for our clients to evaluate, optimize and improve their shipping processes.

Some of Audintel’s reports are:

Shipment details report:

This gives detailed information for each package. Information like sender’s and receiver’s addresses, the weight of each parcel, etc., along with the charges, are easily accessible in the report.

Payment report:

This report gives consolidated report details of the payment for each parcel to carriers by shippers. The clients need not visit each carrier’s website to get the payment information. Thus, it expedites carrier payment and saves time. This also makes the comparison between different carriers easy and helps clients evaluate carrier performance at a glance.

Recovery and transaction report:

This report presents details of credits from the carriers. It mentions the number of transactions along with the charges. In addition, there is an indication of the refund amount. Tracking shipping costs is easier with the shipping reports.

An Audit credit report:

This report presents details on a refund for a package. It is filed by an audit company, like Audintel. On the other hand, client credit is possible. So it is when clients file for refunds or get payment from the carriers directly. This report enhances shipping efficiency.

Address correction report:

This is a vital report to identify charges for change in address of the package. Sometimes the rise in expenses is due to incorrect addresses during delivery. This report presents a complete view of such instances.

Exception and reason report:

These reports come in handy to track delays in package delivery. For example, the report captures details such as package delivered after business hours, weather delay, receiver not available at the delivery time.

Late with exception and reason report:

This is a consolidated report for packages that were delivered late and the reasons behind their delays. This report gives insight to the shippers regarding delivery improvement.

Saturday pickup and delivery report:

These reports help shippers evaluate the extra charges incurred for a Saturday pickup and delivery of packages.

Lost and damaged packages report:

These reports present the data on the number of lost or damaged packages during transit. These reports lower the overhead charges for the shippers.

There are many more reports available that give an easy and simplified view of all the complex data available in the shipping reports. The reports can be further customized as per customer needs. The report presents an enhanced shipping efficiency and saves money.

Closing remarks

The shipping experience should be a pleasant one. Not only for the customers but also the shippers as well. Shipping products to customers need to be fast, hassle-free, and on-time, every time. For achieving this objective, shipping reports offer the right insights for analyzing performance, optimizing services, and enhancing customer experience.

If you’d like to know more about Audintel’s best-in-class shipping process management and reports systems, write us today at mail to [email protected] or contact us at +1 (619) 354 8539 or visit our website here.