Traditional Freight Audit vs. Trax Freight Audit

Any leader in this business knows this: you must have a handle on your numbers.

In most industries, that’s so straightforward it’s practically assumed.

In our industry? Hardly.

In fact, the complexities around freight invoices, supplier payments, and more have led to all kinds of innovation. At Trax, we represent the next gen of freight audit, fueled by tech and powerfully capable of creating maximal visibility and accuracy. But we won’t get ahead of ourselves. 

To the cost and ops conscious leader, the questions we first need to address are:

  • Will any freight audit solution work? 
  • Do they all work the same?
  • Is there anything new/better out there?

Whether you’re digitizing for the first time (congrats) or simply wondering if you’ve got the best solution, read on.

How Does Freight Audit Work?

At the highest level, freight audit is a comprehensive examination of freight bills and invoices. That’s where the simplicity ends. 

Ideally, freight audit works like this:

  • Centralize all invoice data for review
  • Categorize invoice data to standardize the information
  • Verify all charges and items
  • Analyze data
  • Report

There are endless ways this process can become convoluted, from missed steps to missed data points, and companies face major risks when it does. 

As with any meticulous, precision-reliant process, human error and capacity limitations are a challenge. The fix for tasks that are too repetitious, too data-heavy, and too laborious for humans has been technology. In this context, that technology takes the form of freight audit and payment (FAP) systems. Freight audit and payment is part of a broader ecosystem of transportation spend management maturity tools, and a key factor for building strength into supply chain operations.

For supply chain leaders looking to make the leap into this tech for the first time, let us assure you that freight audit software reduces tedium and expense, mitigates risk and increases efficiency. Compelling reasons, all. But in case you’re still curious if this is a must, let’s keep going.

Does Every Company Need Freight Audit Processes?

As many as 15-25% of freight invoices contain errors. Incorrectly calculated fuel surcharges, wrong calculation of weights, duplications, incorrect exchange rates, you name it, it can happen. 

Without careful oversight, these errors are left unchecked, which amounts to massive loss in revenues. In addition to undermining the bottom line, error trends could point to systemic issues, operational flaws, or even nefarious activities. The net result is damage to your company, and the only way to avoid it is through freight audits.

That’s why every company needs a freight audit process.

But not just any freight audit process. 

We’ll explain the difference.

What Trax Does Different in Freight Audit

Traditional freight audit versus Trax freight audit: this is going to tackle the “is there a better freight audit system out there?” 

We argue that there is a traditional freight audit, that covers all of the bases and introduces a good workflow and accurate financials, and then there is Trax freight audit, which upgrades your entire operational framework, providing a depth of data so you can make proactive, even predictive decisions for growth in your company. A lofty claim, and one we make without flinching.

First, Trax is the most global freight audit and payment (and TSM) company in the world. There are no limits. We work across all modes, over 40 currencies, and with over 120 countries. If you are operating somewhere, so are we. This differentiator alone is the reason many of the world’s largest supply chain/freight companies use Trax technologies.

Three other points provide relevant info to help you decide if Trax is your company’s next FAP tool.

Elite Data Handling and Management for Enhanced Insights

Our data integration capabilities are bar none. We offer the following:

  • State-of-the-Art DI Hub
  • EDI, Edifact, FlatFile, XML, API, Custom (every type you can imagine, and customization for “infinity and beyond”)
  • Integration with any system type, including API, sFTP, Https, AS2, Email, Paper
  • Invoice imagining
  • Trax PDX-PDF email

What this does is unlock endless possibilities. Our power isn’t just in connectivity, either, but in how we equip you to manage data through data auditing, normalization, cleansing, and compliance. In a data-driven world, we are the best providers for leaders in supply chain.

Getting to the Root Cause of Issues

This is a big sticking point for us: freight audit errors don’t happen “just because they do.” We believe there are root causes of the issues you face, and we believe in doing the due diligence to uncover your actual problems, not just band-aid your symptoms.

If a freight audit error happens once, we believe in chasing that error to its source and remedying it there. . . so it doesn’t happen again. It sounds simple, but we are the only ones who put significant time and effort into doing it. We’re willing to work ourselves out of the hands-on portion of the job, because, after a time, errors simply aren’t happening.

Audit Management

Sophisticated freight audit has the right foundational components in data integration and data management. But we also want to manage the audit process itself. With Trax, audit management provides invoice validation, tax audit, audit exception management, carrier improvement, and analysis of guaranteed service delivery claims. 

These are intelligent audits, facilitated by technology but informed by the best minds in the biz. 

What kind of meaningful insights could you gain from audits like this? See real-world examples from Trax customers here.

Customer-Centric Focus

The Trax customer success team operates by putting you first. They achieve this by acting on the following values:

  • Quality and consistency through your entire experience with Trax
  • Offering industry best expertise, informed by our global presence and influence
  • Regular collaboration (as often as daily, if needed) to meet your needs
  • Continuous improvement processes that serve you

From your primary point of contact to company leadership, our entire operational structure revolves around putting you, the customer, first.

Trax Freight Audit

The goal of freight audit is to shed light on the inner workings of your business. Only by doing this can you form reliable conclusions and make strategic decisions. 

At Trax, we support a journey from being reactive to being proactive, then optimizing your processes to firmly establish your company as an industry leader.

The right freight audit will enhance visibility, give you the right numbers to work with, and help you forecast with confidence.

To continue investigating our solutions, head to our freight audit page.