The complaint I hear most often when I sit down with folks involved with shipping (and those in a higher level too) is how annoyed they get when the invoice comes and the amount is higher than the quote they received. Why does this happen and how can we stop it!
Recently, I met with Robert, a VP of Operations and Mel, the Operations Manager of a restaurant equipment and supply company. Their biggest issue was that invoices were coming in anywhere from to 20% to as much as 100% higher than the quote they got from their freight partner. Worse still, they used the quotes they received when charging their customers and were unable to go back to their customers and recoup the extra charges. It was costing them Big Time!
The three biggest reasons that additional charges are assessed by carriers are:
· Shipment is reweighed and found to be more than on the Bill of Lading
· The freight classification is incorrect
· Accessorial charges, (lift gate or inside delivery, etc) are added after the fact
It’s important to know that most, if not all LTL carriers have what they call “W&I” (Weight & Inspections) departments, whose sole purpose is to find extra revenue in shipments due to inaccurate weight or classifications on the Bill of Lading. To be fair, there are a lot of shippers that try and beat the system, but make no mistake, W & I is a profit center for the carriers.
What’s worse is the process to challenge the invoices and have the charges reversed is stacked against you, unless you heed the suggestions in part 2 of this article.
Are you pissed off and tired of battling these differences on your freight invoices? Are you ready to take back control? If this worth a conversation to you, then contact me at [email protected]
