Freight Payment With Pre-Audit

PURPOSE

TCR's proprietary software and professional auditors recover 3%-7% of our clients' freight bills by auditing freight bills prior to payment which prevents freight bill overcharges or excessive fees.

BENEFITS

Savings Accrue From:

• No payment of overcharges resulting from freight rate, commodity description or extension errors.
• Elimination of post-audit overcharge claims and post-audit fees.
• Increase of cash flow by retaining money that would otherwise be paid to carriers through freight bill rating errors.
• Reduction in freight bill processing costs.
• Better utilization of traffic and accounting staff.
• Reduction in management time spent overseeing freight bill auditing and handling functions.

Freight Audit and Payment Benefits:

• A worldwide payment and audit solution is available to customers with global logistics requirements.
• Capable of processing and reporting international taxes such as VAT, GST, etc...
• Over 91% of transactions are done through electronic processes, which cost less to process.
• Imaging of all transactions processed is created to eliminate the need for our customers to store paper freight bills.
• We are a leader in the volume of data captured from each freight bill.
• General Ledger accounting codes will be applied to each freight bill based on a customer's specific business requirements, to allow cost center allocation.
• Cost accruals for transportation service provider bills not yet billed.
• Allocation of freight charges can also be applied down to the product level.
• A positive Return On Investment from our audit and payment processes.
• Web Tools to allow for on line resolution of transportation supplier bills.
• Our services are designed to lower your freight costs, automate the payment process, and provide useful information about your shipping to help you make accurate decisions.
• Transportation service providers performance monitoring.
• Reduction of your accounts payable cost.
• Corporate control of all transportation service provider cost.
• Reduction of operational and administrative time spent on freight payment issues.
• Web access to all transportation bills processed for customers and transportation service providers.

Additonal Benefits:

• If a freight bill is not correctly billed and the charges are less than the amount reflected in the most recent pricing information that we have received from our client or the charges are excessive, we will pay the corrected bill with an explanation for the reduced payment. TCR will follow up with the carrier to answer any questions or provide any requested documentation. Our objective is to resolve the incorrect charges without involving our customer. TCR will advise our client as to the amount of the difference and why we believe the bill is wrong. Our client may instruct TCR to pay the original amount as billed or contact the carrier directly to discuss the difference in the billed amount and reach an agreement as to the appropriate amount to pay.
• If we are unable to determine whether or not the freight charges are correct as billed, we will contact the carrier for tariff or contract information. If a freight bill is not correctly billed and the charges are less than the amount reflected in the most recent pricing information or the charges are excessive, we will pay the corrected bill with an explanation for the reduced payment. TCR will follow up with the carrier to answer any questions or provide any requested documentation. Our objective is to resolve the incorrect charges without involving our customer. TCR will advise our client as to the amount of the difference and why we believe the bill is wrong. Our client may instruct TCR to pay the original amount as billed or contact the carrier directly to discuss the difference in the billed amount and reach an agreement as to the appropriate amount.
• Our auditors will check to see if delivery commitments were met on guaranteed shipments. If we determine that the delivery commitment was not met, we will request the carrier to cancel the charges.
• If the description on the freight bill is not clear, we will obtain a copy of the bill of lading from the carrier and/or documentation from our client or the shipper to determine exactly what was shipped.
• If a carrier has inspected a shipment and has increased the freight charges, we will obtain a copy of the W&I report and advise our client if the carrier is correct or, if the carrier is not correct, the steps to take to contest the additional charges.
• We also explain to our clients the applicability of any Accessorial services and recommend steps to take to avoid or minimize such charges in the future.

PROCEDURES

To implement our pre-audit and payment service, letters are sent to a shipper's carriers instructing them to send their freight bills to TCR for audit.

Upon receipt at TCR, the freight bills are checked against bureau tariffs maintained by TCR and rate agreements and carrier discount information provided to TCR by our clients or their carriers for freight rate, commodity description and extension errors.

If a freight bill is correctly billed in accordance with tariff or contract information that has been provided to us by our client and the freight charges are reasonable, we pay the bill.

If a freight bill is not correctly billed and the charges are more than the amount reflected in the most recent pricing information that we have received from our client or our client's carrier, we will reduce the freight bill on the face of the bill showing the correct charges and the reason for the change. TCR send the carrier the reduced payment with the explanation and then we contact the carrier to ensure there understanding of the reduced payment.

TIME TO COMPLETE AUDIT

All freight bills are audited and paid each week. TCR will send our customers weekly reports highlighting any bills TCR did not pay and why. If our customers elect to pay the bills then TCR will send weekly reports to our customers without paying the bills.

FEES

TCR fees are based on the number of bills audited.