SoTel is an innovative Cloud Service provider and industry-leading distributor of business-class communications and networking equipment throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America for over 36 years. SoTel partners become their customer’s best resource for all telecommunications needs and they enjoy better margins in the process.
Challenge of Overwhelming Shipping Invoice Detail
Weekly carrier invoices from UPS and FedEx provide a wide range of detail that SoTel can use to review their shipping expenses, but the sheer volume of invoice detail made it a challenge to zero in on key areas of savings opportunity or operating exceptions. Matching the detail found in thousands of invoices lines against related shipping records required many hours of labor each month, and there were few tools to make the process easier and more reliable. The accounting team at SoTel often found it necessary to focus on spot checking, sampling, and high-level review rather than a full 100% audit of all shipping invoices, which meant potentially missed opportunities for cost savings or operational improvements.
Automated Comparison of 100% of Shipping Invoices
SoTel worked with the Pacejet Freight Auditing solution as part of the early release program, trying out new features, providing input, and helping shape the solution for reporting and auditing. The new solution leverages the detailed shipping records in Pacejet for SoTel’s daily UPS and FedEx shipments with an easy process to drag and drop carrier weekly invoices into Pacejet to audit 100% of shipments. With a full set of shipping and invoice data available in the system, simple reports provide an easy review of expected costs and actual invoiced costs, and highlight issues like dimensional differences, residential charges, address corrections, and more in one easy view.
Results Include Improved Efficiency and Lower Costs
The SoTel accounting team found the process of using Pacejet Freight Auditing much easier than manual methods of reviewing invoices, making it possible to review more shipments more quickly. Invoices for FedEx and UPS were quickly loaded into Pacejet, and auditing reports provided easy insights across invoices, invoice periods, and different carrier accounts. Differences in dimensions and weights, additional surcharges, and other fees were easily detected and made available for review to help continuously lower costs and improve fulfillment efficiency. The team at SoTel is looking forward to continuing to work with Pacejet to provide more tools for audit process management and payment automation.
