Lower transportation costs with parcel audits.

A parcel audit, which can also be referred to as “small parcel auditing,” is an in-depth review of invoices from a shipper. 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 needed.

Parcel audits look for “service failures” from major shippers to make sure the terms of a contract are being met. The shipper 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 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 shipping services.

In the early days of parcel shipping auditing, companies mostly relied on manual auditing services to track shipments. Unfortunately, manual auditing is no longer a reliable or cost-effective option. Parcel audit companies now 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 increasingly costly. 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 shipping audit companies have a dedicated database for all major carriers. They provide these carriers with an overview of the shipping information, including charges, destination, etc. Parcel audit companies generally sue interactive dashboards powered by AI. Automated BI platforms are also often used to help identify overcharges. A good parcel audit software will spot any 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 next step of the process. This allows companies to track their packages through every stage of the shipping 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 can easily contact the carrier with the claim. The software tool working in the background streamlines this entire process, lowering costs and eliminated human errors.

A good parcel audit company can save you time, money and headaches. The benefits of outsourcing your parcel auditing process include:

1. Overall transparency for your shipments
2. Accurate tracking of every parcel being shipped
3. Dispute settlements with carriers on your behalf
4. Identifying violations of service contracts and agreements
5. Quickly finding any overcharges before money is lost
6. Real-time connectivity with both the parcel invoice system and the carrier
7. Streamlined auditing processes lower auditing costs