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Explore how intelligent, automated auditing tools can transform multi-carrier shipping efficiency
Shipping invoices don’t always tell the whole truth. Between missed service guarantees, accessorial charges, and fluctuating surcharges, it is easy for errors to slip through. And this is especially true for teams juggling high volumes across multiple carriers. For shippers who handle both parcel and freight, these discrepancies can silently eat away at margins if they’re left unchecked.
Auditing isn’t just about catching billing mistakes – it’s a strategic function. Without it, businesses may lack the confidence to utilize their shipping data, and the clarity needed to optimize spend. Unfortunately, there are still shippers who rely on time-consuming, resource-heavy, manual auditing processes that struggle to keep up with the demands of a modern, multi-carrier strategy.
That’s where intelligent, automated auditing makes a significant difference. With faster access to clean, validated data, modern tools do more than just flagging issues – they go a step further by efficiently fixing them. This blog will explore how intelligent, automated auditing strengthens multi-carrier shipping strategies, improves accuracy, and drives smarter cost control across both parcel and freight operations.
The Problem with Traditional Auditing
Shipping errors aren’t always easy to spot, especially during peak seasons and periods of thinning resources. Even smaller billing discrepancies – like an unidentified accessorial fee – can snowball into thousands of unrecovered costs. When these are left unchecked, errors can impact more than just your bottom line but also compromise your ability to make informed shipping decisions.
Oftentimes, the biggest challenge is rooted in how the audits are conducted. More traditional, manual methods are time-consuming, often requiring cross-referencing and manual data entry. Post-shipment audits can be delayed in catching billing issues, significantly postponing refunds and dispute solutions.
If your parcel and freight data live in separate, fragmented systems, the process becomes even more complex. This data can be handled by different teams, limiting visibility between them and leaving more room for error. Without a centralized way to validate invoices and identify discrepancies, it’s difficult to take control of shipping spend and improve performance in the long run. The need for automation to eliminate these inefficiencies, accelerate auditing processes, and improve clarity is evident.
The Value of Intelligent, Automated Auditing
The concept of automation is not only incredible for speeding things up, but it also elevates the entire auditing process. When shippers manage both parcel and freight across several carriers, intelligent, automated auditing identifies where to look, what to flag, and how to move forward. A smarter auditing process empowers shippers with consistency, accuracy, and control. [Explore 3 key areas to audit in your shipping process.]
As traditional methods rely on manual checks or slow, custom-built queries, intelligent auditing tools apply logic and rules to your shipping data – automatically validating charges, identifying discrepancies, and finding data trends that might otherwise go unnoticed. The result? Faster, more accurate audits and more confident shipping decisions.
What Makes it “Intelligent”?
Intelligent auditing surpasses basic rate validation. It dynamically interprets the data, detects patterns, and adapts to your specific shipping instance. Doing so allows you to:
- Identify repeated service or billing issues across carriers
- Distinguish between valid accessorials and overcharges
- Compare actual vs. Expected transit performance
- Highlight dimensional and weight discrepancies
- Support automated dispute resolution
By applying unique audit rules, your system can not only flag isolated errors but identify issues that may require long-term correction.
For shippers looking to leverage the full potential of intelligent, automated auditing across both parcel and freight, they need advanced, powerful tools like Varsity Logistics’ Auditing Solutions.
Parcel and Freight Auditing with Varsity’s Advanced Auditing Software
As the only multi-carrier shipping software solution designed exclusively for shippers on the IBM i, Varsity Logistics addresses the challenges of traditional and inefficient auditing solutions with their ShipAudit module for ShipSoft™ Parcel and FreightAudit module for ShipSoft™ Freight users. These automated tools help businesses ship confidently, purpose-built to ensure unmatched accuracy and uncover vital cost-saving opportunities.
ShipAudit: Parcel Auditing with Precision
ShipAudit automates the parcel invoice reconciliation process by importing carrier invoices and verifying them against pre-negotiated rates, expected shipping charges, and stored discounts. By applying custom rules, it helps shippers consistently identify billing inaccuracies and areas for improvement – without relying on IT or manual checks.
In addition to the audit functionality, ShipAudit also enhances address validation to prevent incorrect delivery fees and optimized rate shopping to ensure you’re selecting the most cost-effective shipping method. This added intelligence eliminates the need for costly third-party audit teams, and in many cases, the uncovered savings can be substantial enough to pay for the software itself.
Key Features for Enhancing Parcel Efficiency:
- Automated reconciliation: This feature validates the estimated parcel costs with the carrier costs actually billed, accounting for known discounts or other incentives. Common discrepancies are found in dimensional overcharges, fuel surcharges, third-party billing fees, rerouting fees, and more.
- Accurate address verification: ShipAudit helps ensure address precision before packages leave your facility, minimizing the risk of invalid or incomplete entries that can lead to misdeliveries or carrier correction fees. Validating the address upfront protects on-time delivery guarantees and avoids unnecessary costs.
- Line item audits: ShipAudit breaks down charges at the line-item level, enabling precise identification of where discrepancies occur – such as base rates, accessorials, or discounts. This level of detail supports clearer visibility and stronger cost control.
- Electronic receipt of billing: By electronically receiving billing data directly from carriers, ShipAudit eliminates the need to manually pull invoices, reducing processing time and ensuring data accuracy from the start.
- Billing discrepancy reports: Automatically generated reports highlight any differences between expected and actual charges, enabling teams to quickly investigate, resolve, and prevent repeat issues in the future.
- Accounting system interface: With the ability to directly interface with Accounts Payable systems, ShipAudit enables a seamless reconciliation and payment process. Important billing data is transferred automatically to ensure only charges that have been approved are paid.
Leveraging an advanced technology like ShipAudit within a multi-carrier strategy gives shippers a reliable, automated system that eliminates the headaches of manual data entry and complex auditing processes. By preventing duplicate or inaccurate charges as well as ensuring your contracted rates and incentives are applied correctly, ShipAudit delivers accuracy and confidence with every invoice. With a quick ROI on your shipping investment and long-term savings, this streamlined internal process empowers smarter parcel shipping.
FreightAudit: Scalable Freight Invoice Auditing
FreightAudit brings the same level of automation and intelligence to your freight operations. It ensures accurate billing and controlled costs by reconciling estimated charges against actual carrier costs across LTL, truckload, and rail shipments. This tool takes a detailed look at factors like pre-negotiated rates, accessorial charges, and tariffs to identify invoice misalignments, preventing shippers from overpaying or encountering costly errors.
FreightAudit streamlines the invoice process by automatically approving bills that fall within user-defined tolerances, while flagging any exceptions for additional review. Doing so eliminates the need for manual work, third-party services, and ensures greater control over freight spending. Overall, it enhances financial visibility, improves accuracy, and drives long-term efficiency.
Key Features for Enhancing Freight Efficiency:
- Product cost allocation: FreightAudit allocates shipping costs by product, product group, or business unit, automatically assigning costs to the associated product, customer, or account. This enables seamless account management, precise cost tracking, and data analysis.
- Compatibility with electronic data interchange (EDI): Through seamless support of EDI integration with carriers, FreightAudit allows for real-time communication of data. This not only accelerates billing cycles but also reduces manual entry errors and improves data consistency.
- Operational support: Robust reporting tools offer insights to essential data allowing shippers to file claims and resolve issues quickly and easily. Additionally, FreightAudit automates the process of allocating bills to the correct financial accounts.
- Accounting system interface: With the ability to directly interface with Accounts Payable systems, FreightAudit enables a seamless reconciliation and payment process. Important billing data is transferred automatically to ensure only charges that have been approved are paid.
With FreightAudit, shippers gain tighter control over freight spend while avoiding the inefficiencies of manual reconciliation or relying on a third-party. By automatically flagging discrepancies, applying negotiated discounts, and managing complex tariffs, it reduces errors and unnecessary costs across LTL, truckload, and rail. Customizable reporting and historical performance tracking help simplify carrier management, while FreightAudit’s speed and value ensures a quick return on your shipping system investment.
Take Control with Smarter Auditing Tools
As shipping complexity grows, so does the need for smarter, faster, and more reliable auditing practices. Whether you’re managing parcel, freight, or both, automated auditing tools like ShipAudit and FreightAudit empower you to take control of your shipping data with precision. They reduce administrative fees, eliminate costly manual errors, and ensure every invoice is accurate – down to the last accessorial fee.
By centralizing visibility, applying contracted discounts, and offering deep insights through customizable reporting, Varsity Logistics’ auditing solutions don’t just catch mistakes – they actively prevent them moving forward. The result is an agile, more efficient shipping operation that protects margins, accelerates ROI, and gives shippers the confidence they need to scale without making compromises.
Ready to stop leaving money on the table? Contact our team of shipping experts or schedule a pressure-free demo to see how Varsity’s intelligent auditing tools can help you achieve the multi-carrier shipping efficiency you’ve been looking for.
