A Parcel Audit Can Save You 20% on Shipping—Here’s How
Aaron Stahl / Small Parcel / September 4, 2024
In 2022, U.S. shipping revenue reached a staggering $198 billion, and by 2028, that number is projected to soar to $284 billion. It’s clear that shipping giants like the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Amazon Logistics, UPS, and FedEx, which handle 98 percent of all domestic shipments, are thriving.
These companies dominate the market, but their success doesn’t come without flaws. Every year, businesses are hit with hidden costs from billing errors, late deliveries, and overcharges that can diminish profits. While paying for reliable delivery services is necessary for many businesses, footing the bill for their mistakes is not. That’s where a parcel audit comes in – helping you find and recover those unnecessary expenses, ensuring that your business only pays for what it actually receives.
It’s hard to imagine just how far parcel delivery has come since the days of the Pony Express. After the Pony Express, the advent of railroads transformed the industry, enabling packages to travel across the country in a fraction of the time. As transportation methods evolved, so did the efficiency and reach of parcel delivery, with the rise of air freight in the 20th century further shrinking delivery times.
Today, the U.S. is one of the world’s leading nations in parcel delivery, alongside other massive markets like China and the UK. With billions of packages crisscrossing the globe annually, the parcel delivery industry has evolved into a complex, tech-driven powerhouse. From real-time tracking to automated sorting systems, technological advancements have revolutionized how parcels are shipped.
Now, further innovations like same-day delivery, autonomous vehicles, and even delivery robots ensure faster, more efficient deliveries than ever before. But with these advancements also come new costs and potential errors, making it more critical than ever to keep a close eye on your shipping expenses.
A parcel audit is a systematic review of shipping invoices to identify and correct billing errors, overcharges, and service failures, ensuring businesses only pay for the services they receive and only at the best prices, while potentially recovering significant costs through refunds or credits.
Parcel audits involve analyzing every aspect of your shipping data, including rates, delivery times, and surcharges. Given the complexity and length of shipping invoices and the frequency of billing errors, regular audits can uncover discrepancies that might otherwise go unnoticed. By catching these errors, businesses can not only recover overcharges but also gain insights to optimize their shipping strategies.
Even trusted carriers make billing errors. Unfortunately, the refund process isn’t automatic, and these major shipping companies don’t take responsibility for correcting their mistakes. This is why small parcel audits are so important. They not only help identify these errors but also ensure refunds are requested on time, allowing your business to reclaim lost funds and optimize shipping costs.
A small parcel audit ensures you’re only paying for the services you actually receive by identifying billing errors like late deliveries, incorrect fees, and overcharges. This accuracy safeguards your bottom line from unnecessary expenses.
Once errors are identified, it’s crucial to secure refunds within the required timeframe. Small parcel audits automate this process, ensuring you recover every dollar owed to you within the required timeframe without the hassle of manual tracking.
Small parcel audits provide insights that allow you to renegotiate shipping contracts for better rates. This ensures you always benefit from the most competitive pricing, whether by renegotiating current contracts or exploring new carrier options.
By continuously monitoring shipping trends and identifying inefficiencies, small parcel audits help you cut unnecessary costs and maximize operational efficiencies, leading to long-term savings across your shipping operations.
While late deliveries make up a big portion of refunds, shipping carriers make other errors as well. Below are some common errors that parcel audits typically reveal.
Shipping audit services often uncover instances where packages were delivered late. Most carriers offer refunds for late deliveries, but these refunds are not automatically applied. A thorough parcel audit ensures that these opportunities for refunds are identified and claimed in time.
Duplicate charges can occur when the same shipment is billed more than once. While this mistake might seem simple, it can lead to significant overpayments if not caught promptly. Parcel audit software is particularly effective at detecting these discrepancies during a parcel invoice audit.
Sometimes, address correction fees are mistakenly applied, even when the original address was accurate. These unnecessary charges can accumulate over time, and a small parcel audit can help identify and eliminate these errors from your shipping invoices.
Many shipping contracts include discounts based on factors like volume or service levels. A detailed parcel audit ensures that all eligible discounts are properly applied to your invoices, preventing overcharges and reducing overall shipping costs.
Dimensional weight pricing errors occur when the billed weight of a package is incorrectly calculated, leading to inflated shipping costs. A parcel audit service helps catch these errors, ensuring that you only pay for the actual weight of your shipments.
Proof of delivery is crucial for confirming that shipments have reached their destinations. Missing proof can lead to disputes and potential financial losses. A shipping audit ensures that all deliveries are properly documented and accounted for.
Surcharges, like the fuel surcharge, are a common part of shipping invoices, but they are sometimes applied incorrectly. Parcel audit services are effective at identifying and disputing these invalid fees, helping keep your shipping expenses in check.
In some cases, charges for voided or canceled shipments may still appear on your invoice. A comprehensive parcel invoice audit will ensure that such charges are removed, preventing unnecessary costs.
At P3 Cost Analysts, we’ve refined our parcel audit process to be thorough, efficient, and completely hassle-free for our clients. Here’s how we ensure you get the most out of your shipping expenses:
We’ll get started with a quick 20-minute meeting where we will discuss all the details necessary to start your parcel audit. We will go over with you what we need from you to get started, like copies of contracts, invoices, and authorization documents. We will also go over our shared savings agreement, which means you pay nothing out of pocket to get started.
Onboarding is simple. Once you share your credentials with us, we can start immediately.
Using our proprietary parcel audit software, we will comb through every line of your parcel invoices using a 45-point check, searching for overcharges, billing areas, and potential refunds.
Once we locate the refunds that your shipping carrier owes you, our software will automate the complicated refund process. Then, all you’ll have to do is sit back, relax, and watch the refund credits roll in.
P3 will continue to monitor your small parcel invoices each billing cycle to claim all eligible refunds within the allotted time frame.
Maximizing savings on parcel shipping can be challenging, especially with complex contracts that are often designed to favor the carriers. That’s why we recommend getting help from an expert third party like P3 Cost Analysts.
At P3, we use our proprietary software to conduct a thorough, 45-point audit of your shipping invoices. This advanced technology efficiently identifies any of the errors and overcharges discussed previously. In addition, we automate the entire refund process to ensure you get the money you’re owed quickly and effortlessly.
Beyond parcel audits, we offer expert contract analysis and negotiation services. Our team knows how to secure better terms on your shipping contracts. Whether it’s renegotiating with your current carrier or exploring new options, we ensure you get the most competitive pricing available.
Best of all, our services come at no upfront cost. You only pay a portion of the savings we generate for your business, making this a no-risk opportunity to improve your bottom line.
A parcel audit is a detailed review of your shipping invoices to identify billing errors, overcharges, service failures, and opportunities for savings, ensuring you only pay for the services you receive.
No, you don’t need special software; we have the necessary tools and expertise to conduct the audit for you.
Businesses typically save between 15% to 20% on shipping costs through a parcel audit with P3.
Common errors include duplicate charges, incorrect DIM fees, missed discounts, and unclaimed refunds for late deliveries.
Each carrier has a different process, but P3 will automate all of that for you, ensuring you get your refunds quickly and efficiently.
Conducting a parcel audit with every contract cycle is recommended to optimize shipping costs. We also offer monthly bill monitoring to ensure that when errors occur they are caught quickly and refunded.
There’s no upfront cost when working with P3. You only pay a portion of the savings recovered for your business.
A small parcel audit is essential for any business looking to reduce shipping costs and ensure billing accuracy. By identifying errors, securing timely refunds, and optimizing shipping contracts, you can save up to 20% on your shipping expenses.
With P3’s expertise and proprietary parcel audit software, we handle the entire process for you, from audits to contract negotiations and everything in between. Don’t let hidden errors drain your profits. Contact P3 today to schedule a free parcel shipping audit and start maximizing your savings.
