When my family moved back to the US after 5 years in Cape Town, I was pleasantly surprised to see my son’s high school grade average jump from 65% to 102%. Notwithstanding his obvious brilliance, I suspected something was amiss. Perhaps it was the same insidious influence that left my daughter, who graduated #3 in her South African class of 130+ with an average of 82%, in the bottom 5% of her college freshman class as measured by high school gpa. Hmm…

I recently ‘booked’ an online ticket to Cape Town for a “total price with taxes & fees of $1066″ for immediate departure and a two week stay. “Call our agent!” right… So I called and was told that there were limited seats at this price. They might not be available for immediate departure. I made it easy. I asked for tickets to Cape Town for any time in the next 18 months, with any duration of stay, for the $1066 advertised. He came in just over $3000.

Inflation affects the world of parcel auditing as it affects US high schools, travel agents, insurance sales. In a competitive, media-driven world, the created image is more enticing than the reality. In this context, however, the concern is far more about truth in advertising than artistic license.

A good parcel auditing firm will screen every package you ship for any delivery or billing violation of your carrier’s service commitment. A good parcel auditing firm will take the carrier to task for these errors and refund to your account all that they can reasonably document and negotiate, while preserving your relationship with the carrier. Finally, a good parcel auditing firm will be principled in their claims of effectiveness.
I can truthfully claim that Direct Recovery Solutions has reduced a carrier invoice by 78%, and I can truthfully claim that every other invoice audited has been reduced by something less than 78%, thus I can confidently boast of recoveries “up to 78%!”– but not if I hope to sleep at night.

When a prospect asks for straight talk as to what a parcel audit can save, I wince. I know that after 12 years in business we have the best audit engine and the most qualified auditors. I know if there’s a service failure or billing error we’ll find it and we’ll do our best to have it refunded. I also know that if the prospect keeps calling around, he’ll get the answer he’s looking for — “up to 25%!” Therein lies the parcel auditor’s moral conundrum.

Considering all the variables the most honest answer is – implement today and we’ll tell you in a year just what a parcel audit can save you. We can cite average recoveries of 12% for the first 6 months of auditing an unnamed Scandinavian truck company, and 50% windfall recoveries on one occasion or another. Press us further and we may confess after the usual caveats that it depends on volume, service class, carrier location, season, contract, shipping patterns, driver attitude, and much more — and that it boils down to a few percent savings. Add in insurance, rate negotiation, claims processing, spend management, and it can jump considerably. The more important principle is that without a parcel audit, you are paying the carrier for services you did not receive, and whether that represents 2%, 5%, or 78% of your bill, it makes no sense to pay for services not delivered.

This week I will receive two offers to cut my auto insurance – one by 20%, the other by 30%. I open the latter, perpetuating the disease I abhor. Alas…