There is an urgency to ship medical, protective, and cleaning supplies. E-commerce orders are piling up. There are chances of shipping and invoicing mistakes. A parcel audit is an essential feature when managing the shipping process. In this article, we will explore the concept of parcel auditing. We will also discuss why it is necessary for logistic businesses around the world.
First, we need to understand-What is a Parcel audit?
A parcel audit involves reviewing shipping bills and invoices. It identifies overcharges and service failures by carriers. Many carriers such as FedEx, UPS, DHL promise refunds to shippers. A parcel audit reviews every shipment for errors and service failures.
What do we mean by service failures?
US Shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS, Ontrac, DHL, CanadaPost, Purolator are responsible for shipping the goods. Their failure to do so is what is a service failure. There are several service failures.
Some service failures by carriers include:
- Late deliveries- Delivery beyond the committed time and date.
- Voids- Packages have been billed but not shipped.
- Duplicate charges-Verifies the invoice hasn’t been billed previously.
- Avoidable address corrections-Charges for trivial address correction.
- Incorrect dimensional weight charges- Wrong measurements of the parcel.
- Account validation – Validates that all shipments considered for payment are tied to an existing customer account number.
- Proof-of-Delivery – Identifies instances where there’s no POD or an invalid POD.
- Zone validation – Uses postal codes to validate carrier zone assignment.
- Erroneous rates- The shipping carrier has not given the correct discount.
Logistic businesses can claim refunds for service failures from carriers. They can reduce shipping costs.
Parcel auditing
In the early days, there was manual parcel auditing. It required employees to identify all billing errors. They had to review several invoices. The review of excessive paperwork was tedious. Shipping companies had to hire auditors to do this labor-intensive work. It was a time-consuming process to gather information. It was not cost-effective for companies in the long run. Adopting parcel auditing software was the way forward.
Software-assisted parcel auditing
There was a need to optimize shipping operations. It was due to an increase in shipping volumes. Shipping companies have started adopting software technology. It is maximizing their profits. On the other hand, shippers can review their invoices digitally. Enhancement of shipping methods is possible. This is by analyzing the data readily available.
A Parcel audit benefits logistic business
Parcel auditing is essential for logistic business operations. These audits help in saving costs for shipping companies. Businesses can monitor the complexity of managing fees, agreements, and guarantees. Parcel audit processes reduce overall shipping costs for companies. Shipping costs are reduced to about 20% by claiming eligible refunds from carriers.
Additional benefits
Reviewing data from parcel audits can lead to huge savings. It helps shippers to understand any inefficiencies in their systems. These audits identify additional surcharges to companies. However, in-house auditing is expensive based on shipment complexity. When logistic businesses want to save time and money, they outsource. Businesses such as Audintel are providing parcel audit services.
How do these parcel audit services work?
The business offering these audit services understands the needs of a shipping company. They create an online login for them. Then link it with the carrier’s systems. There is real-time parcel tracking till their point of delivery. There is a generation of an invoice when there is a service failure. Next is an automatic invoice audit. Then there is a submission of an automatic claim. The audit team contacts the carriers with the claim. The shipping company gets a quick refund. The entire process involves a software tool working in the background.
Parcel auditing and technology
Parcel audit services have a dedicated database for each shipping company. They provide an overview of the shipping information. It ranges from the origin, destination, charges, etc. Parcel audit companies use Interactive, AI-powered dashboards. An automated BI platform helps in identifying overcharges. They help in analyzing problematic areas and improve negotiations with carriers. After a parcel is shipment, there is an audit at each level. There is proof at each service level.
What are the advantages of using Parcel audit services?
The services provided by a parcel audit company include:
- E-connectivity with the carrier and parcel invoicing system
- Transparency in shipment operations
- Tracking each parcel with accuracy
- Interacting with carriers for resolving any disputes
- Check on any violation of guaranteed service agreements
- Identifying any overcharges made by the carriers
Parcel audit services provide support to logistic companies. Their exhaustive auditing processes help shippers to reduce costs.
Summary
Customer satisfaction is paramount for the logistics industry. A customer has the choice to change the company based on a bad experience. The loss of a customer is painful for shippers. A parcel audit is an answer to each charge and refund. It is vital for real-time confirmation of billing errors. Logistic companies can reduce shipment spend by doing a parcel audit. For further queries, please visit Audintel or mail to info@audintel.com.