Freight Bill Audit and Payment Providers Solve the Case
Clued in by big data and AI, providers detect anomalies and dig up crucial information that shippers can use to optimize transportation costs and improve operational efficiency.
PODCAST: Warehouse Management Systems – A Deep Dive
Voiced by IL AI Audio©
September 27, 2024
This is a special deep-dive into Warehouse Management Systems presented by Inbound Logistics and Voiced by IL AI Audio©.
For years, the freight bill audit and payment (FBAP) industry was viewed by some shippers as a necessary but simple process that just ran in the background.
“To use an analogy, it’s like the janitorial service at your office. You know when it’s not done, but otherwise it just seems to happen,” says Craig Cameron, vice president of sales and marketing with A3 Freight Payment.
Now, however, the FBAP sector is moving to the foreground. “Companies now seek providers who can support all aspects of facility maintenance, to continue with the janitorial analogy,” Cameron says. Shippers are looking for providers that can go beyond simply checking for freight bill errors—although that remains important—to offer insights that can help them better manage transportation spending.
To that end, FBAP companies today focus on providing actionable information, says Allan J. Miner, chief executive officer with CT Logistics. Shippers often look to their provider for sophisticated tools they can use to complete calculations and create reports and heat maps that can guide decisions and actions.
The increase in package and parcel shipments—many a result of online and just-in-time deliveries from businesses to consumers and other businesses—has helped expand the North American FBAP market.
“These macro-economic conditions create voluminous shipment transactions and information, and it all requires auditing,” Miner says.
In addition, the past five years threw a wrench into many production schedules, impacting shipping timelines, says Jay Hazen, chief operating officer with CTSI-Global. When managing a process that depends on so many other processes, information, such as event tracking and monitoring of shipment timelines, becomes even more critical.
The value of FBAP services is gaining wider recognition across the globe. Until the past year or so, most new interest came from Europe or Asia, says Keith Snavely, senior vice president, global sales with nVision Global. Now, it’s coming from Latin America. “Latin America is coming into its own,” he says.
The increasing importance of accurate and relevant information also highlights the value that providers dedicated to the FBAP space can provide. For instance, some firms that had asked their third-party logistics (3PL) providers to take on FBAP responsibility are reconsidering, says Ross Harris, chief executive officer with A3.
Some 3PLs aren’t equipped to take on freight bill and audit work, particularly when it involves transportation activities that don’t fit easily into their back-office operations, such as steamship or cross-docking. “That’s what we’re good at—the funky stuff,” Harris says.
As shippers, like many other companies, seek to do more with less, they’re continuing to look for the improved efficiency that can come from automation solutions, streamlined connections, and digitized self-service capabilities, says Scott Burglechner, senior vice president of freight and payment product management with U.S. Bank.
These capabilities allow shippers to retire legacy EDI technology and automate traditionally paper-based or manual workflows.
Making the Connection
Some shippers have begun linking with their carriers through API connections. These connections can streamline budgeting and load-planning, as shippers don’t need to maintain contracted carrier rates in their own systems, says Nick Fisher, director of sales and partnerships with ARTC, formerly AR Traffic Consultants. Instead, with the click of a button, shippers can receive the rate information they’ve presumably negotiated, and then estimate the cost of their shipments.
However, identifying freight bill mistakes requires going outside these systems. “Otherwise, it’s like going to a restaurant and taking the waiter’s word about your bill,” Fisher says. “You won’t capture any errors that are in the carrier’s system.”
In another shift, carriers are becoming more stringent in enforcing payment terms. “They’re more quickly warning customers or cutting off services,” Fisher adds. In one sign of this, the carrier aging (accounts receivable) reports ARTC used to receive monthly now arrive every week or two.
Dramatic jumps in cargo theft by well-organized criminal rings are proliferating across the globe, while cyber threats and data theft continue to impact supply chains worldwide, presenting vexing, ongoing challenges.
“With potentially millions and millions of dollars or goods at stake, the entire industry needs to be vigilant,” Burglechner says.
Tightening regulations, especially around privacy, are likely to impact the future freight bill audit and payment industry, says Deanna Kaufman, vice president of product management with Körber Supply Chain Software.
For example, shipments to consumers’ homes contain personally identifiable information. By marrying this information to shipment data, it may be possible to determine which households are receiving prescriptions. “There’s a potential for regulatory agencies in the coming years to influence how freight bill data is used, stored, and kept safe,” Kaufman says.
Currently, many carriers and shippers work together through individually negotiated contracts. As technology advances, carriers likely will be able to leverage technology to determine the fullness of their supply chains at any moment, Kaufman says. They’ll be able to use this information to employ surge pricing.
Along with potentially higher rates, billing may become more opaque. It’s currently not clear if a shipper or auditor will have enough information to determine how full a network actually was. “You may have to take the carrier’s word that their network is this full,” Kaufman says.
While the industry faces challenges, the FBAP market continues to evolve and incorporate technology advancements. Providers are integrating big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to more effectively detect anomalies and provide shippers with critical information they can use to optimize transportation costs and improve operational efficiency, Burglechner says.
The FBAP providers highlighted here can help shippers meet evolving challenges.
A3 Freight Payment: Customized Spend Management Solutions
The shift from reactive to proactive analytics is probably the most significant shift in the industry today, says Craig Cameron, vice president of sales and marketing for A3 Freight Payment. And A3, which has earned a place on Inc.’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States for two years, is a leader in this change.
“A3 expands the traditional value proposition by applying AI and machine learning technology to the data captured from client systems.”
Craig Cameron
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
A3 Freight Payment
A3’s analytic solutions go beyond reporting transportation spend to enabling its clients to better manage their freight expense.
“We have already captured the data,” Cameron says. “So, we can distill the information and show a client how their choices are impacting the company and how to reduce their costs over time.
“A3 expands the traditional value proposition by applying AI and machine learning technology to the data captured from client systems, in addition to the freight audit process, to provide actionable intelligence that reduces costs by detecting anomalies and waste, identifies trends, and forecasts future expenses,” Cameron says.
By integrating clients’ data into the process, A3 can offer even more granular insight to cost drivers at the business unit, client, sales territory, PO, vendor, order, and SKU level. A3 also can utilize this information to assist shippers in carrier selection, bid negotiations, scenario modeling, and network optimization.
Many shippers turn to A3 for tailored transportation spend management solutions that incorporate advanced technology, industry best practices, and experienced customer service. In working with clients, A3 customizes its solutions to each client’s needs and goals, and seeks to form a collaborative partnership.
The core of A3’s solution is freight audit and payment. However, A3’s technology and expertise support its spend management solution and enhanced ROI.
“We integrate with our clients’ information systems and their transportation partners to aggregate a comprehensive data set that we then analyze to identify cost savings opportunities,” Cameron says.
Once it identifies these opportunities, A3 can either hand off the knowledge, or can actively help the client pursue the opportunities and manage the ongoing process.
A3’s freight bill audit and payment solution is designed to help capture the cleanest and most accurate data to support spend management. A front-end exception management approach ensures invoice data is captured one time and reflects the correct costs. That’s unlike short payment practices, which trigger balance and past due invoices that skew reporting.
A3 supports the global audit of all transportation modes at the charge level, and the disbursement of payments in any currency. Dedicated account resources ensure clients and their logistics providers have access to knowledgeable contacts who can facilitate exception resolution and identify and correct root causes for billing errors, GL coding issues, and business rule failures.
In its partnership with a large manufacturer, A3 systematically validated that shipments complied with the company’s routing guide, and when not compliant, calculated the impact of these operational errors. By identifying non-compliant shipments, A3 helped the company achieve seven-figure savings, says Brian Geibel, vice president of IT operations.
Looking ahead, the team at A3 is particularly excited about its further application of predictive and prescriptive artificial intelligence. “We continue to expand beyond classical historians to become partners in our clients’ management of their transportation spend,” says CEO Ross Harris.
ARTC Logistics: Real Solutions for Lower Costs
ARTC Logistics focuses on three main service areas as it helps shippers streamline processes, lower freight costs, and operate more efficiently, says Nick Fisher, director of sales and partnerships.
One is freight audit. For nearly 60 years, ARTC has been auditing freight bills as an independent third party. Each year, it audits invoices totaling about $450 million and has about 20 million packages under management.
“Because ARTC is independent and not a broker, our finances don’t depend on the carrier a customer uses.”
Nick Fisher
Director of Sales and Partnerships
ARTC Logistics
The detailed reporting ARTC offers captures every element of freight cost, such as accessorials, fuel, net charges, and any discounts, Fisher says. This information can be allocated across shipments down to the SKU level, enabling shippers to identify transportation costs per product or item number.
Through its dashboard reporting portal, clients can create heat maps to better understand and manage transportation costs. On average, clients recover between 2% and 4% of freight spending through the audit.
In addition, ARTC helps its customers more effectively negotiate freight rates and determine which carrier is the best fit. “Because ARTC is independent and not a broker, our finances don’t depend on the carrier a customer uses,” Fisher says. ARTC benchmarks its client’s carrier rates against those of similar shippers, to determine if they’re in line with the market.
ARTC also offers a comprehensive transportation management software suite, which encompasses rating, routing, and analytics. CalcRate, ARTC’s flagship software, stores carrier rates to streamline shipping processes and lower freight costs. It also provides rating, freight audit/payment, and tracking functions. These tools allow the customer to audit and process its own freight bills, among other information.
A leading national plumbing supply manufacturer, with domestic inbound freight expense exceeding $1 million annually, recently implemented ARTC’s Vendor Routing Program. As a result, it has cut more than 30% from its transportation costs. This tool requires the company’s vendors or suppliers to process all shipments via the ARTC portal, which generates the routing selection, load tender, and other paperwork.
The buyers and warehouses are notified of pending receipts and can track the progress of the loads. Finally, the costs are accrued for future freight bill reconciliation.
In addition to its state-of-the-art technology, ARTC uses its expertise to conduct “what-if” studies that help shippers better manage their freight expense.
For example, through an inventory supply point analysis, ARTC can simultaneously assess multiple warehouse locations to determine the most cost-effective sourcing locations. Batch rating analytics identify the freight spend impact of changes in a carrier’s contracted rates. The modular structure of ARTC’s products allows shippers to choose only the solutions/services that best fit their needs.
Through its focus on technology investments over the past several years, ARTC has boosted its own ability to be productive, as well as that of its customers, Fisher says. It will continue to invest and innovate, ensuring it remains strong for the next six decades.
CT Logistics: More than a Century of Leading Services
Since 1923, CT Logistics’ core business has been providing freight bill audit and payment services. As the FBAP business has changed dramatically over the past century, CT Logistics has advanced, as well.
“CT Logistics has a bench of experts able to undertake sophisticated analyses.”
Allan J. Miner
Chief Executive Officer
CT Logistics
Because the thrust of the FBAP business today is real-time information shippers can use to boost performance, CT Logistics’ sophisticated reporting tools allow clients to easily create and view graphics, pivot tables, and other reports when they need them, says CEO Allan J. Miner.
FreitRater, CT Logistics’ expert freight audit and payment system, employs sophisticated algorithms and models that leverage the company’s industry knowledge.
With this technology, CT Logistics can analyze and improve clients’ transportation costs, contracts, and other information, taking into account the mode, origin, destination, services performed, and other attributes of each shipment. “It’s our special sauce,” Miner says.
QLIK Analytics then provides visual insight into the data generated through the FreitRater engine. For example, QLIK might create a heat map showing transactions in which parcel costs have jumped more than 10% above the annual average. A shipper can then drill into the exceptions to identify the reasons for the spike, such as the shipment of a higher-value product that requires additional insurance.
“We can get answers from behind the curtain,” says Miner.
The QLIK database spans all modes and all regions of the world. Because freight payment data is uploaded weekly, clients can continually access updated information.
They also can set parameters so they’re quickly notified of anomalies. Further review can show if the shift is a one-time blip or a trend.
While up-to-date technology is a critical element of FBAP services today, the insight that CT Logistics’ experienced team of logistics professionals can provide is just as important.
Among other services, they can offer valuable supply chain management consulting, project management, spend analyses, and benchmarking studies. “CT Logistics has a bench of experts able to undertake sophisticated analyses,” Miner says.
CT Logistics can also leverage its large database of freight spend data to aid clients. For example, if the database reveals that parcel rates have been increasing over the past nine months for its clients, CT Logistics might advise shippers to consider renegotiating their contracts before rates rise even more.
CT Logistics brought its technology and expertise to its work with a large technology company whose decentralized, fragmented business processes limited visibility to global transportation spend. CT Logistics partnered with the client to deliver a global transportation invoice validation and visibility solution that spans 41 countries, dozens of currencies, and hundreds of millions of dollars of transportation spend.
By centralizing control, standardizing processes, and creating a global database of shipment activity by country and region, the solution improved logistics and supply chain operations and is helping the company to rein in global supply chain costs.
From its base in the manufacturing heart of the United States, CT Logistics will continue to leverage its technical solutions and logistics expertise to further serve its clients. As it does, it continues to grow in North America and around the globe.
CTSI-Global: Gain Insight, Embrace Efficiencies, Reduce Spending
“CTSI-Global is a true global logistics ecosystem,” says COO Jay Hazen. The company stands apart in several ways.
One differentiator is its global freight audit and payment capabilities, such as languages and currencies. The other is its Honeybee TMS (transportation management system) for shipping execution, optimization, and analytics.
“We work across all sectors, modes, currencies, restrictions, rate negotiations, and just-in-time inventory planning.”
Jay Hazen
Chief Operating Officer
CTSI-Global
Leveraging technology that has been refined over decades, CTSI-Global’s world-class, multimodal audit solution fully automates audits for all duplicate, rate, discount, ancillary, and performance metrics, with refund processing for all exceptions.
Clients have full visibility and transparency into carriers’ rates, audit and coding logic, and invoices. They also can utilize modeling and benchmarking solutions that are second to none.
As important, the audit staff at CTSI-Global has more than 400 years of combined experience in all modes of transport with companies from across the world. Employees are on the ground in multiple countries, offering real-time human support in local languages throughout the global workweek.
“They understand the languages, customs, regulations, and complexities of global business,” Hazen says.
Each day, CTSI-Global processes more than five million transactions; these total more than $15 billion in transactions annually. “We work across all sectors, modes, currencies, restrictions, rate negotiations, and just-in-time inventory planning,” Hazen says.
CTSI-Global works on behalf of many heavy industrial concerns, including multiple auto manufacturers.
For example, it helped one carmaker bring 25 national divisions—all operating with different currencies, languages, and atomized national control—into a singular corporate procurement straw, Hazen says. As a result, the company has gained visibility into vendor approval and verification, contract benchmarks, real-time currency risk, as well as any anticipated shipping delays across multiple nations.
Honeybee TMS by CTSI-Global enables shippers to streamline and optimize inbound and outbound transportation. It accomplishes this by capturing and connecting data from disparate systems and transportation service providers to offer a simple, cost-effective transportation management solution.
The range of capabilities offered by Honeybee TMS enables shippers to boost efficiency, enhance control, and enjoy significant ongoing savings. Time-consuming manual tasks are automated, boosting productivity and cutting costs.
For example, Honeybee TMS’s order management capabilities enable shippers to receive, revise, schedule, and confirm orders with pick ticket generation and a range of application connectors.
The load optimization solutions can consolidate shipments by size or weight, while offering flexibility for multi-stop routing, pooling, and intelligent process automation.
Honeybee TMS’s carrier selection capabilities enable shippers to identify optimal carriers based on performance, lane routing, price, or custom criteria.
The shipment execution technology matches preferred carriers and delivery requirements to automate load tendering, confirmation, and shipping.
The claims management system can file overcharge, shortage, and damage claims, while also automating carrier notification and claims tracking through to resolution.
The event management feature offers visibility before, during, and after shipment, as well as automated exception alerts.
For more than 60 years, CTSI-Global’s belief in balancing experience with inquisitiveness has enabled it to stay ahead of the technology curve and on top of industry developments. Whether through its superior SaaS solutions or its network of more than 20,000 carriers, CTSI-Global takes pride in helping customers expand capacity, boost efficiency, and cut expenses, no matter the challenges.
Fortigo: Guaranteed Freight Audit Accuracy
Fortigo’s solutions automate, optimize, and audit logistics decisions to help shippers reduce costs, improve operations, boost customer satisfaction, and increase profitability.
Because Fortigo’s freight audit and payment service is 100% cloud-based and uses a SaaS delivery model, it can complete system deployment within weeks. In addition, shippers can update rates as often as they need to.
“In a competitive industry with hundreds of FBAP providers, Fortigo is the only multimodal TMS provider that is also a Certified FBAP provider by FedEx.”
George Kontoravdis
President
Fortigo
“Our customer-oriented solution and intelligent algorithms have made it easier than ever for shippers to spot savings opportunities while also gaining enhanced visibility into their supply chains,” says President George Kontoravdis.
The advanced analytics Fortigo provides can offer valuable insights into shipping patterns, empowering supply chain stakeholders to make effective, data-driven logistics decisions. Live dashboards and hundreds of customizable reports drive business decisions and monitor spending trends, carrier performance, and savings to improve operations.
Historically, companies used different FBAP providers for different transport modes. Fortigo’s auditing solutions can handle all modes, providing shippers with a global view of their spending and carrier performance, helping to drive more intelligent decision-making.
Fortigo’s solutions are geography agnostic and can manage freight bills across all geographies and any mode of transportation. They’re also able to pay any carrier, with any currency, in any location.
Along with its freight audit and payment solution, Fortigo offers a multimodal TMS that can handle any type of shipment. This allows for a closed-loop system that empowers Fortigo and its clients to identify compliance anomalies with vendors, saving money and time.
Clients moving from manual processes to Fortigo’s freight audit solution can see first-year savings of 8% to 12%—or more. Established customers typically see savings of 1% to 4% or more year over year; the amount depends on the volume of shipments and the complexity of their transportation networks.
Customers who take advantage of the closed-loop audit solution by leveraging both Fortigo’s TMS and its freight audit services can realize even greater annual savings.
For the past three years, Fortigo has been named a FedEx Certified Freight Bill Audit and Pay provider. “In a competitive industry with hundreds of FBAP providers, Fortigo is the only multimodal TMS provider that is also a Certified FBAP provider by FedEx,” Kontoravdis says. The certification recognizes Fortigo’s ability to support the EDI round-trip process, increasing accuracy and efficiency within the freight audit function, as well as its focus on cybersecurity and ability to protect confidential data.
From its early days, the Fortigo team has opted to grow organically, so it could focus on customers’ needs. This customer-oriented model allows Fortigo to continually deliver unique supply chain innovation to customers. Over the next few years, Fortigo will continue to focus on innovation to remain the best FedEx certified FBAP provider, Kontoravdis adds.
Intelligent Audit: AI Empowers Shippers to Ship Smarter
For nearly three decades, Intelligent Audit, a women-owned company, has been a leader in providing comprehensive freight audit and payment solutions across all transportation modes worldwide.
By tailoring these solutions to specific departments or functions, shippers gain a deep and accurate understanding of their shipping operations.
“Our system excels at pinpointing variances and providing context, saying, ‘This doesn’t align. Let’s investigate.”
Hannah Testani
CEO
Intelligent Audit
What sets Intelligent Audit apart is its use of advanced deep learning models, a sophisticated branch of machine learning that works by identifying patterns and anomalies within large datasets. While this technology is often associated with fields such as healthcare imaging, Intelligent Audit has successfully adapted it to the complex realm of transportation data.
“Our customers’ transportation data is rich with patterns,” says CEO Hannah Testani. The company’s proprietary machine learning algorithms—an ensemble of auto-encoders, boosted decision trees, and LSTM (long short-term memory) frameworks—process these patterns, such as expected shipping volumes or weights, and detect deviations. When anomalies arise, the system determines whether to adjust its expectations or flag the issue for further investigation.
Intelligent Audit’s anomaly detection capabilities extend far beyond traditional freight auditing. Not only do they identify anomalies, but they also provide contextualized information that explains why these anomalies occurred and what actions to take next.
This approach ensures that potential issues—whether caused by technical glitches, human errors, or fraudulent activities—are promptly identified and addressed, preventing significant financial losses.
For example, if a shipper incurs higher than usual costs for a shipment, Intelligent Audit’s system detects the discrepancy in real time, allowing for quick resolution and avoiding unnecessary expenses.
“The system excels at pinpointing these variances and providing context, saying, ‘This doesn’t align. Let’s investigate,’” Testani notes.
Intelligent Audit’s anomaly detection capabilities have proven particularly effective, such as in a case involving a global eyewear manufacturer. The system identified an unusual spike in returns, which turned out to be the initial stages of an organized fraud scheme. The solution uncovered more than $1 million in fraudulent activity, prompting an FBI investigation.
In addition to deep learning, Intelligent Audit utilizes natural language processing (NLP), a technology that combines computer science and artificial intelligence to enable computers to interpret and work with human language.
NLP outperforms traditional optical character recognition (OCR) for speed and accuracy, making it capable of filling in missing information on invoices or responding to customer emails within minutes through a human-like chatbot interface.
In partnering with clients, Intelligent Audit strives to bring the most advanced technology, recognizing that many customers may not yet be ready to invest in these systems themselves.
“These solutions enable us to be more effective, respond more quickly, and scale in a more efficient way, so we can add immediate value,” Testani says.
Beyond technology, Intelligent Audit’s consulting practice offers strategic insights that shippers may not be able to access independently. The company’s approach to success goes beyond merely maximizing financial savings; it involves identifying the root causes of issues and collaborating with clients to resolve them. “We believe the true value lies in having clear, accurate data that you can trust to manage your supply chain,” Testani says.
As technology continues to evolve, Intelligent Audit remains committed to innovating and addressing challenges that customers may not even be aware of yet.
Körber Supply Chain Software: Transforming Data Into Actionable Intelligence
Traditional freight bill audit and payment services have become “table stakes” in this business, says Deanna Kaufman, vice president of product management. Körber Supply Chain Software offers technology and services that add value to clients’ end-to-end supply chains.
“We can offer, among other capabilities, decisioning support and supply chain or inventory optimization solutions to help shippers reduce their total cost of ownership,” she says.
“My vision for the future is to make everyone in the process more efficient, while also helping clients shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.”
Deanna Kaufman
Vice President of Product Management
Körber Supply Chain Software
Körber’s Transportation Spend Optimization (TSO) solution enables shippers to holistically address multiple challenges, such as sourcing favorable carrier agreements, complying with sustainability regulations, and reducing costs. With Körber’s TSO solution, shippers are better positioned to streamline transportation operations and simplify freight cost management.
And with its August 2024 acquisition of MercuryGate, a TMS provider, Körber’s solutions encompass order, warehouse, and transportation management.
“Many shippers are challenged to boost performance if they lack a single source of truth that links their transportation and finance functions,” Kaufman says.
So, along with standard FBAP capabilities, Körber’s TSO solution can integrate information from multiple disparate sources, such as carrier sourcing and freight bill processing data. As a result, it can provide a sophisticated level of intelligence that enables shippers to boost operational efficiency.
And rather than simply offer data, Körber Supply Chain Software works with its clients to interpret and leverage insight and intelligence that enhances decision-making.
For instance, if the Körber team notices a jump in shipping charges, it will leverage its resources and expertise to engage in root cause analysis. The result? “Shippers gain an understanding of profitability down to the stock-keeping unit (SKU) level, so they can better manage their businesses,” Kaufman says.
A well-known home goods company was receiving numerous charges for oversized shipments. Körber Supply Chain Software’s research revealed that most were driven by a small number of furniture pieces that were being over-packed. By changing the box size, dunnage, and other shipment attributes, Körber helped the company slash its transportation costs.
“It’s the law of large numbers. When you ship a lot of packages and can save a buck or two here and there, it starts to amount to real money,” Kaufman says.
Körber Supply Chain Software solutions have helped it earn a place in the 2024 FedEx Certified FBAP program. This program recognizes FBAP providers that consistently meet FedEx’s rigorous standards for receiving invoices electronically, processing and remitting payment details, and for managing disputes on behalf of customers.
At the same time, technology is just one factor in Körber Supply Chain Software’s success. “We call our solution, ‘tech-enabled managed services,’” Kaufman says, noting that Körber Supply Chain Software offers decision support, analysis expertise, financial reporting, and contract negotiation assistance, among other services.
“My vision for the future is to make everyone in the process more efficient, while also helping clients shift from a reactive to a proactive approach,” Kaufman says. “We do this by ensuring they have as much information as possible at their fingertips.”
nVision Global: End-to-End Freight Management Solutions and Services
nVision Global software uncovers value.
With seven facilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, customer service associates stationed in more than one dozen countries, employees who speak more than 25 languages, and experience processing invoices from more than 190 countries, nVision Global truly lives up to its name.
nVision also can make payments in nearly all commonly traded currencies, from the Colombian peso to the Euro to the Malaysian ringgit, using in-country accounts. “This eliminates currency fluctuation as well as hefty international banking fees,” says Keith Snavely, senior vice president, global sales.
In contrast, some FBAP companies continue to rely on wire transfers, which are expensive and carry large fees, he notes.
In addition, nVision Global works with nearly 20,000 transportation providers from across the world and can receive invoices in numerous formats and languages. Currently about 95% of the transportation invoices it receives are automatically coded, with the system assigning general ledger codes based on logic provided by nVision’s customers.
All invoices that are processed through nVision’s freight audit and pay solution pass through three robust rating engines. These store shippers’ negotiated pricing in nVision’s database, rate each invoice against the negotiated pricing, and then perform a comprehensive audit of each invoice.
nSight Global Freight Management Analytics Tool offers hundreds of key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as the ability to create thousands more, Snavely says.
Examples include the percentage of bills processed electronically and manually, as well as the number of exceptions. “Our analytics tool helps customers streamline and optimize their global supply chain,” he says.
nVision worked with one leading supplier to the automotive industry that manufactures on every continent. The company’s range of locations and decentralized operations obscured visibility to supply chain data, as well as to opportunities to boost efficiency and cut costs.
Using the nVision Logistics Management Portal, the company developed a single international database from which it could access accurate, detailed data on its freight spending. This enabled it to identify money-saving steps, such as consolidating shipments to the same region into “milk runs.”
This enabled the company to cut transportation expenditures by 25%.
The company used the nSight Global Freight Management Analytics Tool to assess various performance metrics and then could negotiate better contracts.
Along with its freight bill audit and payment services, nVision Global offers a range of supply chain services, software, and technology. This includes a transportation management platform, Impact TMS, from which clients can manage all global shipments, with real-time visibility and tracking. nVision’s Rate Procurement and Negotiations Software and Services enable shippers to see available lanes, submit bids, and analyze them in a single view.
By providing a deep range of freight bill audit and payment tools, robust analytical solutions, and global operations, nVision enables customers to focus on their business operations while gaining the information they need to effectively manage their global supply chains.
U.S. Bank: The Service, Reliability, and Security of a Bank
The multi-year investments in technology and data analytics by U.S. Bank’s Freight Payment division enable it to provide valuable insight, as well as automation technology, that helps shippers streamline operations through robust self-service capabilities and automated business rules that reduce the need for manual intervention, says Scott Burglechner, senior vice president of freight and payment product management.
“We employ segregated builds to prevent co-mingling of customer data, and we safeguard sensitive supply chain data to help protect partners and suppliers from cybercrime.”
Scott Burglechner
Senior Vice President of Freight
and Payment Product Management
U.S. Bank
Depending on a customer’s current FBAP operation, shippers can save up to 10% when they begin working with U.S. Bank. Many realize cost savings and capacity creation through process improvements, as well as by adopting best practices that accelerate automation and expense control. “Our aim is to help customers drive operational changes in their business rules and approval processes that generate positive outcomes for a vast majority of invoices,” he says.
Given the current uncertain economic environment, U.S. Bank’s ability to help shippers enhance working capital has become increasingly important. By leveraging U.S. Bank’s cash management solutions, shippers can extend transportation freight payments without having to renegotiate contracts.
U.S. Bank’s Advanced Carrier services offer a quick, clean pre-payment audit that speeds payment and boosts accuracy. Shippers pay only what they should, and carriers receive the right amount the first time. Rather than spending resources resolving invoice and payment disputes, shippers can focus on collaborating with carriers for strategic supply chain improvements.
As a full-service, financing and payments provider that’s federally regulated, a significant focus of U.S. Bank is ensuring the security and reliability of its technology, so it can continue to deliver solutions that exceed customers’ needs. U.S. Bank’s world-class, Tier IV data center has a proven track record of protecting client information against credible threats, a result of its mission-critical servers and systems, which are hosted in a reliable, fault-tolerant and secure environment.
“We employ segregated builds to prevent co-mingling of customer data, and we safeguard sensitive supply chain data to help protect partners and suppliers from cybercrime,” Burglechner says.
Because it’s federally regulated, the audit and compliance requirements to which U.S. Bank is held are more rigorous than those of unregulated, non-bank digital or fintech companies.
A large provider of industrial products suspected that it was being scammed by criminals shipping their packages on the company’s parcel accounts. However, because the company ships millions of packages annually, it struggled to uncover the source of the fraud. Management turned to U.S. Bank, whose team found the scammers were creating multiple small packages, distributing their fraudulent activity so it was harder to detect. The bank’s comprehensive analysis uncovered more than $650,000 of fraudulent charges over just six months, Burglechner says.
Backed by the strength and stability of the nation’s fifth-largest bank, U.S. Bank’s freight audit and payment team continues to innovate. It’s currently working with several business partners on a pilot solution that will automate the validating and processing of detention and demurrage bills.
“U.S. Bank will continue to invest in solutions that make its customers’ lives easier, including in automation, faster payments and predictive and prescriptive analytics,” Burglechner says.
Looking Into FBAP Providers
Freight bill audit and payment (FBAP) providers can help companies save money, streamline operations, and make more intelligent decisions. To gain these benefits, shippers can address the following questions to identify strong, reliable FBAP partners.
How solid are the company’s financials? Ask to review externally audited financial statements, and check that the provider has fidelity bonding. It should also employ a bankruptcy remote structure that protects clients, should the firm run into financial trouble. Once a provider is hired, check these attributes annually.
Has ownership recently changed? This may not be a concern in other industries. However, the FBAP business tends to be stable with long-term relationships. A change in ownership may mean an owner is facing financial challenges and needs to bring in additional business partners.
Also check if the FBAP provider changed banks recently. This might be another red flag that business and banking operations are not stable.
Who is doing the work and holding the data? Some firms engage outside partners to provide certain services. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this, shippers should know who’s working on their account, where their data will reside, and who will have access to it. This is key to protecting client data and complying with regulations.
What does the provider mean when it says it’s “global”? Does the FBAP provider operate full-service processing centers around the world, or does it instead rely on a handful of employees in a few countries? Does it have employees in each region who speak the language and understand local requirements?
How are clients’ funds and data handled? Freight bills contain a wealth of valuable information. A trustworthy provider has a fiduciary responsibility to its clients. Among other steps, it won’t co-mingle funds and data with those of other companies.
The provider also should have established processes and technology to ensure data security.
Trans Audit: The Power of Partnership
How Trans Audit’s Post Audit Complements a Pre-Audit
More than 95% of Trans Audit’s clients utilize the services of a freight audit and payment (FAP) provider, so why do they partner with Trans Audit for a transportation post audit?
For starters, the timeframe to conduct a pre-audit is limited, while the post-payment audit allows for a longer review period. For example, claims related to billing errors for ocean freight can be submitted three years in arrears from the ship date. Additionally, payment data for all modes can be reviewed for up to five years. These extended filing statutes allow for an extensive safety net, regardless of pre-audit and payment source.
Another unique aspect of Trans Audit’s post audit services is the utilization of Subject Matter Modal Experts (SMMEs), who are highly skilled professionals with more than 20 years of experience on average. These human experts are supported by proprietary systems built specifically for post audit purposes, ensuring a thorough and accurate review.
Moreover, Trans Audit’s advanced data analytics and business intelligence tools, such as TransPortal+™ powered by Microsoft Power BI™, provide real-time dashboards and insights that help monitor, manage, and improve carrier billing, FAP performance, and payment accuracy.
“The combination of human expertise and cutting-edge technology sets our transportation post audit process apart, delivering both financial and operational benefits to Trans Audit clients, allowing them to rest easy,” states Dani Funk, VP of Development.
Trans Audit’s approach to their post audit is distinctive for several reasons. “Unlike many other providers who offer a broad range of services, Trans Audit focuses solely on transportation post audit services, allowing us to perfect our methods and deliver exceptional results,” says Peter Kerwin, vice president of audit operations.
Trans Audit’s team of SMMEs not only identifies payment-related errors but also audits for contractual compliance, ensuring that all aspects of the client’s agreements are adhered to. This holistic, client-centric approach contrasts with the siloed methods of other providers.
Furthermore, as Trans Audit’s post-payment audit process is entirely contingency-based, clients pay a fee only on refunds ascertained by Trans Audit. This model, combined with a commitment to handling 100% of the audit process in-house, ensures a straightforward, efficient partnership with minimal client resources.
The positive feedback from clients highlights the value Trans Audit places on building strong, long-term relationships over merely pursuing financial gains. “I appreciated the fact that we started through a bid and started from scratch. You were chosen partly because your nature during the process was professional, easy to talk to, and not pushy. It felt like a normal discussion and not a sales pitch. I believed what you said. You lived up to it,” said a senior transportation manager of a Fortune 500 global aerospace company.
“Despite common misconceptions, the post-payment audit is a valuable complement to pre-audit processes, not a redundant service. Concerns about time, resources, and cost are dispelled, as our post audit is simple, swift, and straightforward,” says Vikki L. Van Vliet, senior vice president of sales and marketing with Trans Audit.
Because of Trans Audit’s approach, they maintain excellent relationships with all types of FAP providers and work collaboratively to ensure the best outcomes for their clients. By integrating human expertise with advanced technology, Trans Audit offers a reliable and ubiquitous solution that enhances the financial security and operational efficiency of Trans Audit clients, providing them with peace of mind.