Auditing: Not Just For the IRS

When the average person hears the word audit, they automatically associate it with taxes and the headaches they can cause. However, did you know that any process, procedure, or SOP can and should be audited? An audit offers a company insight into inefficiencies within their organization that could be leading to heavy monetary losses. Many businesses have been operating for years in a manner that might be costing them more than helping their bottom line. This is where auditing services can come in and help shed light on what may or may not be working. These issues are often difficult to identify from the inside because the indivisible doing the work on a daily basis are cemented into the status quo. One needs to look no further than the freight industry to see how audits can positively impact your business.

It is common place within the logistics and transportation industry to audit everything from safety procedures to freight charges. In today’s world of Amazon and internet sales, most large companies are shipping small package at rates unseen before as well as LTL and truck-load volume freight. However, for many, the rules and regulations of parcel shipping are often misunderstood and companies often do not know what they should or should not be paying for.

This is where parcel/small packaging auditing service providers can come in and identify where you might be purging funds without your knowledge. For example, did you know that many small packages that are scheduled to ship air, never actually make it to a plane? This is what is known as an “air-to-ground downgrade”. Often, the largest parcel service providers will ship a package via truck because they can still make their required service time by doing so and saving money in the process. However, more often than not, the shipper is still charged the air package pricing for these shipments.

The same is true for delivery windows. We have all heard the term snail mail. There is an expectation that when you ship parcel or small package, it will take a long time to deliver. However, all packages have a window of expected delivery that needs to be honored. In most cases, if this window is not met, then your business is eligible to recoup some of the shipping expenses.

However, without an auditing service to identify these shipments and hold the parcel carriers accountable, you will continue paying for services that were not met. Parcel auditing services can also help your company save on future shipments by identifying incorrect addresses that are routinely shipped to and by helping to identify consolidation opportunities.

Auditing within the freight industry is not just limited to parcel. Processes can be audited to reveal a previously unthinkable level of visibility and savings for your business. A third-party logistics provider can help a company overhaul all aspects of their inbound and outbound shipping.

For example, many shippers are paying more than they need for their inbound freight. Many vendors ship to their customers via “best way”. Often, this means best way for them; not necessarily best way for your bottom line. Your vendors are often focused on clearing their docks of product, despite what I may cost you. Often, you will find that shipping these shipments via your own provider can save your company greatly.

At PNGLC we offer a free freight audit program. We help our customer re-coup six to nine percent of their overall parcel charges on average. This is money that costs nothing to re-coup, and your company may not have even know it was losing. We also offer a free freight audit that will help to identify the potential savings that we can offer your company. Our customers save an average of 15 to 40 percent over their current providers.

If you are interested in our parcel auditing program, or would like us to run a free freight audit for your company; please do not hesitate to contact us at sales@pnglc.com or 717-626-1107 x 3.