Freight and parcel for technology and manufacturing

Technology and manufacturing businesses ship in two directions. Components and materials come in, and finished goods, spares and returns go out. Each lane has its own carriers, rate terms and billing habits.

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Fairview Audit connects you with a partner firm that can check whether carrier invoices match the terms you agreed. Fairview does not perform the review itself.

This page covers the Freight and parcel category as it applies to Technology and manufacturing businesses.

Why freight and parcel matters in this industry

A manufacturer often has a production line that cannot wait for a late part. That pressure produces expedited shipments, premium service upgrades and last-minute carrier choices that sit outside the usual contract. Those shipments are billed, but nobody may have checked whether the premium was justified or the rate was the one on file.

A technology business has a different pattern. It ships small, valuable items such as devices, boards and replacement units in large numbers of parcels, and it takes back warranty returns. Parcel pricing can depend on package dimensions as well as weight, so packaging choices change what the carrier bills.

What a review typically examines

A partner firm compares carrier invoices with your agreements and your own shipping records. For this industry, that often includes:

  • Whether inbound freight terms were applied as agreed, including who pays freight on supplier shipments and whether the supplier or the carrier billed you.
  • Expedited and premium service charges, and whether a credit was due under the carrier's service terms.
  • Dimensional weight calculations on lightweight but bulky packages, and whether the dimensions billed match the packaging you actually use.
  • Accessorial charges such as liftgate, residential delivery, appointment scheduling, detention and redelivery.
  • Fuel surcharge tables, and whether the surcharge in use matches the one in your contract.
  • Warranty and return labels, which can be billed under a different account from outbound shipments.
  • Duplicate invoices and charges for shipments that were cancelled, rerouted or never picked up.

Where manufacturing differs from technology

Manufacturers tend to have more freight on pallets, with bills of lading, freight class and shipments split between several plants. Classification errors and mismatched weights on a bill of lading are worth a look. Technology businesses tend to have more parcel volume, more international shipments and more return flows. A partner firm may weight its work differently for each.

What to have ready

Your partner firm will tell you exactly what it needs. These items are a reasonable starting point:

  • Carrier agreements, rate schedules, amendments and any side letters.
  • Invoice history and shipment detail files from each carrier, including the detail behind summary invoices.
  • Bills of lading and shipping system exports for a sample period.
  • Your policy on expedited shipping, and who can approve it.
  • Supplier agreements that set freight terms for inbound shipments.
  • A list of billing problems your team has already noticed.
  • Contacts in logistics, purchasing and accounts payable.

Tip: Ask your shipping and receiving team which carrier accounts exist. Plants and product lines sometimes open their own accounts, and those are easy to miss.

How matching works

You submit a request on the path that fits your business: larger business, smaller business or not sure. There is no fixed size cut-off between larger and smaller. Your request goes to the matched partner firm, or to Fairview for manual matching if you are not sure. You then speak with the firm directly. Any engagement and any fees are between you and the firm under its own terms.

Who does the work

An independent partner firm that specializes in freight and parcel handles this work. Fairview Audit makes the match. We do not perform the review ourselves.

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Frequently asked questions

Does a review mean I have to change carriers?

Not necessarily. A review checks billing against the agreements you already have. Whether a firm works with your existing carriers depends on the firm. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies and approves this statement]

Can a review cover inbound freight that suppliers arrange?

It can, if your supplier contracts set the freight terms. The firm would compare what suppliers billed with what the contract says. The Supplier contract compliance category covers the contract side.

Which pages explain this in more detail?

The article on common freight and parcel billing errors lists frequent problems. The guide on what to gather for a freight and parcel review lists documents.

Find out what you are overpaying.

Tell us what you need reviewed. We match you by hand with an independent partner firm. You keep your existing vendors.

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