Internal freight audits and payment solutions for spend control

 Are you struggling to control your freight spend? Get started with your invoices and use insights to optimize costs.

Tomorrow’s consumers may not spend much time marveling over the logistics process that achieves greater resiliency, limits costs, and increases efficiency. Imagine a carrier refusing to pick up freight as the shipper goes beyond the credit terms and to add salt to injury, the carrier will report slow and no pay issue to the credit industry. This is where freight audit and pay services come in.

Freight audit and pay services have come on the horizon as the core engine for reconciling and verifying transportation invoices. Discrepancies can drain cost-savings and dent working capital; freight audit services can save shippers money by avoiding overpayment, detecting errors, and managing transportation spend.  
 
Transportation and logistics providers are grappling with the pressure and preparing themselves with robust freight audit and payment services. The need to track performance, examine expenses, and assess data to gain complete end-to-end visibility into transportation costs becomes even more critical. As global shippers evolve to meet future demand,  freight audit and payment are expected to be on the cusp of innovation and technology advancements. 

Win today’s race while running tomorrow’s: Freight payment automation 

A 2022 survey from Deloitte claimed that 48% of survey respondents expect data to improve visibility into assets and goods in the next three years. The study also found that 35% believed data will enhance workforce optimization. 
 
While freight audits may not be expensive, companies spend money on outdated IT systems, siloed databases, and manual invoicing systems. Shippers are banking on automation to overcome vulnerabilities in their supply chains.

• Automation of freight audits puts wind on the sail, helping logistics managers streamline workflow and identify invoice errors. Freight payment automation has enabled the ability to identify invoice errors faster and optimize manpower utilization. 

• The innate ability of the automated freight audit payment (FAP) system to track freight vouchers, invoices, freight carriers, surcharges, and the billing performance review of freight forwarders fuels transparency in the supply chain.  

• Companies can save billions of dollars with freight audits, foster data governance practices, gain visibility into unexpected surcharges and accessorial fees, and optimize logistics costs.

• Automation represents the vertex of advancements by saving costs, reducing errors, and streamlining freight spend management. It has simplified the freight audit process through automated document management, data entry, greater supply chain efficiency, and enhanced accuracy. For instance, automation in the freight audit process encourages on-time payments to carriers, enabling carrier discounts and robust relationships with carriers/suppliers. 

Logistics cost management 

Logistics cost management has come to the fore as an ally for companies involved in shipping and transportation activities. Nevertheless, freight payment solutions are the silver lining amidst the cacophony of error-prone workflows, unprecedented shipping volume, geopolitical developments, and increasing international trade.

The following dynamics shed light on why investing in freight audit and payment automation is a strategic priority.

• Optimized freight audit and payment processes help companies ensure expenses are in line with profitability goals and financial planning. To illustrate, freight auditing can help organizations control their transportation budget through predictable and accurate freight costs. Moreover, automation of freight invoice auditing negates the administrative burden on staff and reduces the chances of human error, leading to cost savings.

• Shippers seek advanced AI-based freight cost management software for faster freight invoice reconciliation, price monitoring, and invoice automation. Data-driven solutions have become sought-after to underpin freight spend visibility, boost vendor relationships, and optimize transportation budgets, which puts the shipper-carrier relationship at risk given the outdated IT systems and payment delays by third-party service providers. 

• Forward-looking shippers are cashing in on in-house freight auditing with emerging technologies to underscore regulatory compliance, reduce carbon footprint, and optimize logistics cost management. For instance, an in-house freight audit can help companies remove carriers with invoicing errors from participating in the next cycle of freight procurement as part of their sourcing strategy. 

Discover AI-powered freight audit and payment with Pando.ai 

With rising discrepancies in carrier invoices and freight overpayments, more organizations are transitioning to in-house freight audit and payment systems using automation platforms like Pando.ai.

With Pando.ai, take 100% control of your freight spend management with  

• AI and ML: AI/ML around OCR-based invoice ingestion, carrier invoices, anomaly detection, and automated recommendations for dispute resolution. 

• Freight spend analytics: Leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics to gain insights into freight spend management. 

Do you want to take control of your freight spend management? Scheduling a demo with one of our experts today.