10 Benefits of freight invoice consolidation and why it’s critical to cost savings
We know how tough it can be to keep your transportation and logistics networks optimized and your carrier costs down. Today’s shippers have multiple carrier contracts and a multitude of rules and regulations to comply with. When it comes to reviewing and paying invoices, the number of variables to consider and the complexities involved can leave you open to costly mistakes. If you’re not working with consolidated invoices, you’re paying too much.
Consider the mountains of paperwork involved in a busy shipping operation. Every package, truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) is accompanied by its own set of documentation, and each carrier has its own distinct invoicing format and supporting paperwork. Add to this the fact that carrier contracts are all unique and extremely complex, and invoices are often incorrect due to service failures and billing errors. With all the paperwork, carrier errors and variables to consider, reconciling invoices to contractual obligations becomes extremely arduous and time consuming. And paying the correct amount 100% of the time becomes close to impossible.
10 Key Benefits of Freight Invoice Consolidation
- Replaces mountains of paperwork with a single, manageable electronic invoice detailing each shipment.
- Standardizes invoices, making them easier to read and understand.
- Breaks out all relevant information, such as PO numbers, charges, taxes, adjustments and more.
- Saves time and money on invoice processing.
- Automates and simplifies document storage, retrieval and reporting.
- Consolidates data and ensures compliance with relevant regulations.
- Identifies freight cost variances and errors.
- Ensures every invoice is 100% accurate and automates cost allocations.
- Facilitates on-time invoice payment and improves relations with carriers.
- Enables better visibility for benchmarking, tracking and reporting on shipping costs.
Consider the alternative: without freight invoice consolidation, you will waste valuable FTE (Full-Time Employee) time, have a finance department buried in paperwork and no chance of ensuring that the amounts paid match what is truly owed. This is why invoice consolidation is crucial to logistics management and cost savings.
If you are considering using a freight auditor that lacks invoice consolidation capabilities, you will need to create workarounds to correctly calculate shipping fees across all modes of transportation and for all the different invoicing formats and billing cycles carriers use. The difficulty would be immense. Not only would you need to worry about carrier billing errors, but there would be a greater chance of paying for internal errors as well.
Choose a freight auditor that consolidates freight invoices to streamline the review and payment processes. This will benefit both your finance department and logistics team, freeing up their time for more important work – like finding ways to increase profitability. A consolidated freight invoice ensures that whether you work with three carriers or 300, you will receive one weekly invoice in one familiar format that is completely accurate, clear and uncluttered for processing and payment.
At Orca, our Freight Audit & Analytics software reviews critical elements on every line of your carrier invoices. It helps you discover patterns of incorrect charges, benchmark and optimize processes and visualize how expenses are affecting overall cost of goods sold in real-time. Our technology consolidates invoices and detects errors such as duplicate amounts, invalid accessorial charges, incorrect tariffs, service level failures, carrier routing non-compliance and much more. We also apply GL coding to all line items according to your business rules, ensuring the accuracy of your financial reporting.
Our clients save significant time and money on accounts payable processing, mistakes are eliminated, and if there are discrepancies, our experts work with carriers on your behalf to ensure you never overpay. And we don’t charge over and above for our freight invoice consolidation services. It’s just another component of your relationship with Orca.
Want to learn more about what to look for in a freight auditor?
Read our article: Inform and Empower Your Supply Chain: 8 Things to Look For When Choosing A Freight Auditor
Want better visibility and control over your shipping costs? We can help.