Role
Freight settlements
How many times last month did you check a carrier's invoice line by line? If it is less often than always, the difference between the contract and the invoice is invisible to you.
Intro call
Four questions we would start with
How often do you check a carrier's invoice line by line?
If it is one in ten, the other nine go through on trust - and that is usually where the surcharges nobody agreed sit.
Whose desk does a dispute about a surcharge end up on?
If it is nowhere, because nobody has time to pursue it, the surcharge becomes the rate in force.
What do you do when the contract rate and the invoice rate differ?
And whether you know which of them applies, without hunting for an amendment from last year.
How long does verifying one invoice covering many consignments take?
That number usually explains why checking ends at a sample.
We take over verifying the lines, you keep the dispute and the decision
Comparing the invoice with the consignments and the contract, detecting discrepancies and preparing a claim can be taken off the desk. The decision whether to pursue a dispute stays with a person.
- Every line is compared, not a sample. - Setting the invoice against the consignments and the contracted rates covers all of it, because it costs no more than checking ten lines.
- A surcharge is to be explained, not accepted. - Every line above the contracted rate is pointed out with its basis - and then a person decides whether it is justified.
- The cost of transport comes back to the consignment. - It is known what a particular delivery cost, not only what the freight bill came to for the month.
Scope
What can be taken off freight settlements
Nineteen example tasks. Each one has a human approval point. Below is a selection, and the scope we fit to your carriage contracts.
Verifying invoices
- Linking an invoice line to a transport order
- Comparing the rate with the contract or the agreement in force
- Pointing out lines with no corresponding order
- Pointing out orders with no line on the invoice
- A signal when a line is invoiced twice
Surcharges and corrections
- Separating out the surcharges by type
- Checking whether a surcharge has a basis in what was agreed
- Surcharges summarised by carrier and cause
- The decision to challenge a surcharge (decision: the specialist)
Settlement against the contract
- A register of the rates and amendments in force
- A signal when a rate is applied despite having expired
- Settling volume against the contractual thresholds
- Calculating the volume rebates due
Claims against carriers
- A draft claim letter with the documentation (approval: the specialist)
- A register of contested matters with status and amount
- A reminder about a matter with no reply
Analysing the cost of transport
- Freight cost assigned to a consignment and a client
- Cost summarised by destination and carrier
- Comparing unit cost over time
A day's work
Today
- You check invoices on a sample, because there is no time for all of them
- You hunt for the rate in force in the contract and the amendments
- You accept surcharges, because explaining each is not worth it
- An order with no invoice and an invoice with no order surface by chance
- You settle the volume thresholds once a year, if you remember
- You do not know what the transport of a particular delivery cost
With AI assistance
- Every line is compared with the order and the contracted rate
- The rate in force comes from the register, not from searching amendments
- The surcharges are separated out with their basis, you decide on a dispute
- Lines with no order and orders with no line are pointed out
- The volume thresholds are settled as you go
- The cost of transport is assigned to the consignment and the client
- Detecting overpayments
everything is checked, not a sample
comparing the lines needs no manual work
- Time to verify an invoice
the settlement stops being the bottleneck of the month
discrepancies are pointed out rather than hunted for
- Agreement with the contracted rates
fewer consignments settled outside the contract
the rate in force comes from the register
- Visible cost per consignment
it is known which deliveries are unprofitable
the cost comes back to the consignment and the client
We start with linking the invoice to the consignments, because without it there is nothing to compare.
- Step 1
Linking a line to a consignment
Every invoice line has its order or is pointed out as having no cover.
- Step 2
A rate register and comparison
Contracted rates and amendments in one place, compared automatically.
- Step 3
Surcharges and contested matters
Separating out the surcharges, a draft claim, a register of cases.
- Step 4
Cost per consignment and analysis
Assigning cost to consignments and clients. Last, because it needs the correct linking from step 1.
Common questions
Questions that come up at the first meeting
What if the carriers invoice in completely different formats?
That is typical, and that is why reading the invoice is part of the scope rather than a precondition. The file format matters less than whether the order number, the route and the amount can be pulled out of it.
Will this role disappear if the invoices check themselves?
Comparing the lines is mechanical, but the decision whether to challenge a surcharge and whether to go into a dispute with a carrier is commercial. Today the specialist checks a sample, because there is no time for everything, and a dispute almost never happens. What changes is not the headcount but how many lines anybody has looked at at all.
Does this fall under the AI Act?
Freight settlements are not a high-risk use. The data concerns carriage companies rather than individuals; the summaries serve a commercial conversation and should be verified before being used in a dispute.
Still have a question that is not here? Book a call
Next step
What did the surcharges nobody challenged come to last year?
We will show you what settling transport looks like when every line is compared and the cost comes back to the consignment.