September kicks off peak shipping for numerous companies worldwide that are stocking store fronts, warehouses, and distribution centers with products for the consumer market that goes into full force in October. Christmas has always been surrounded by the highest volumes of cargo and small package movements and this year it is expected to see growth over last year as predicted by leading economists due to the increase of sales in the auto and housing market as well as the rise in employment nationwide.
All modes of transportation including small parcel, LTL, TL, ocean, air and inter-modal have been preparing for the increased volume by bringing on additional fleet, staff, and resources to accommodate the demand associated with peak season shipping. This leads to longer work days and demand on carrier operations, which leads to the all too familiar “human error” due to seasonal staff, overworked drivers, and bustling warehouse and distribution centers. Through years of experience Ship Watchers has noticed a trend of increased billing errors and late deliveries from October through January. On average we see incorrect adjustments on carrier invoices rise 20%.
Your carrier network does everything possible to accommodate your shipping needs during this time, but unfortunately errors still happen. The carrier/shipper relationship is vital during this time period and relying on each other for support and information to process shipments quickly and efficiently through the entire logistics process.
If you are currently working with an auditor that monitors your invoices, assists with real time customized reporting, and provides industry intelligence you already know how valuable this relationship is in conjunction with your carrier relationship. Having an auditor on your side not only throughout the year, but most importantly during peak season will insure that you are making your logistics and supply chain process as efficient and cost effective as possible.
Ship Watchers is not only a small parcel and freight invoice audit and pay provider as we offer additional tools, features, and support to further enhance and reduce your overall transportation spend. Services such as our address correction tool, claims processing support, 3rd party authorized/unauthorized monitoring, charge-back monitoring, customized reporting (GL Coding / Cost Allocation), pre-audit analysis (zone skipping / ground vs. air / best route & carrier), and expert consultant support (rate analysis / benchmark reporting / logistics planning) have assisted shippers small to large in reducing there transportation spend whether directly through carrier invoices or operationally through internal measures.
If you are a current client of Ship Watchers, reach out to your Account Executive to discuss ways we can better assist you during this peak season. Additionally, 24/7 Support including Chat is available by emailing us at oncall@shipwatchers.com or through our Support Center located at http://support.myshipwatcher.com.
Contact us today to learn more about our no risk, no obligation auditing services to get a detailed proposal and analysis that will lead to significant savings without any additional efforts on your part.
We wish everyone a very prosperous and streamlined peak shipping season this year and look forward to making your transportation network as efficient as possible!
Ethan B.
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