What is Freight Bill Auditing?

A proper freight bill audit is a thorough examination of the product being shipped out to your store. This means that you need to be checking that the quantity of each item you're receiving is the same as what you initially ordered. It can be a tedious process where you have to dot all of your I's and cross all of your T's, but a proper freight audit is important for making sure that you have everything you need and can save your business from taking some unnecessary losses. 

Why Does Loss Happen? 

In order to understand why auditing products is important, we have to understand why losses and errors can happen. In the day and age of computers being involved in everything, shouldn't things like loss prevention and inventory be automated? Although some things can be (like having your computer system routinely order certain products once the inventory reaches a specific point), those orders still have to be filled by human hands and there's often a lot of human error involved.

For example, there could be a few new employees at the warehouse that load either too much or too little of a product into the shipping trailer. Or, the trailer with your product in it could be shipped to a different store instead of yours, so you're left with empty shelves and shipping delays. Although computers are a powerful thing and there are plenty of ways to keep organized, sometimes errors and mistakes can still slip through the cracks. 

How Can Loss Affect Your Business? 

With enough shipping mistakes being made and numbers not adding up, your company could potentially end up with some serious losses that may take you out of business. You might be paying way more for items than you had budgeted for if a shipping company decides to add on additional fees such as inside delivery, residential pickup, etc. (or even worse if they don't actually perform the service in the first place). 

You can also lose a lot of income from the quantity of product received not being what you paid for, which causes your shelves to quickly grow empty. Without stock, you're not able to make the number of sales you need in order to keep the lights on.  You could also lose potential business with customers who see that the items they want aren't on the shelf, therefore making you lose some reliability with them. 

Will Auditing Save Your Business? 

The short answer is yes. Giving your freight and shipping bills a proper audit can save your business hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year. Although a mistake or two can still potentially happen, auditing provides an extra safety net around your inventory to keep those human errors at a minimum. It can also prevent shipping services from cutting corners and trying to claim work that they didn't pay for as well as encourage them to make their deliveries on time. By keeping everything thoroughly checked and up to date, you'll be able to ensure that your business stays afloat. 

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