FREIGHT AUDIT, PAYMENT & TRANSPORTATION SPEND MANAGEMENT
Freight and 3PL invoices show what you owe. Not whether they’re correct.
TCI helps Finance, Accounting, and Supply Chain Transportation teams with complex freight and 3PL networks answer one critical question: are we paying only for what we agreed to — and can we prove it?
Recover Freight and 3PL Overcharges
Prevent Ongoing Billing Errors
Reduce Transportation Spend & Rework
TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR TRANSPORTATION COSTS
The real cost of billing errors? Money, time, trust, and leverage.
Freight and 3PL costs often hit the P&L as large, volatile line items with little explanation. Invoices stack up, exceptions bounce between teams, and when someone asks “why did we pay for this?”, Finance, Accounting, and Supply Chain are left pulling contracts, shipment records, and email trails to reconstruct the root cause of what happened.
If past “solutions” have meant long onboarding, new tech, or more work pushed back onto your teams, TCI rapidly closes that gap with a team of experienced transportation experts — not another platform or reporting layer.
We assess, audit, and manage freight and 3PL spend by reviewing contracts and shipment activity, validating charges, correcting invoices where possible, and recovering revenue.
The result is faster savings recovery, fewer last-minute questions during close or audit, stronger leverage in carrier and 3PL negotiations, and confidence that transportation costs are under control—without adding tools, headcount, or manual cleanup work for your teams.
Trusted Freight & 3PL Spend Management for Complex Shippers
Faster onboarding. Expert insights. Improved margins.
$900M+
annual freight spend collected
$14M+
freight & 3PL invoices processed
$2000+
carriers supported
$24M+
recovered annually through audit and service refunds
$200M+
years combined transportation savings experience
WHAT WE OFFER
From Freight Audit to Full Transportation Spend Management
Services that scale with your needs and reduce workload instead of adding to it.
- Data Capture & Invoice Intake
We collect freight and 3PL invoices and supporting documents via EDI, CSV, email/PDF, portals, and mail, and standardize them into a single, structured dataset.
That means every invoice is captured and ready for audit, GL coding, and reporting without asking your teams to clean up carrier and 3PL billing on their own.
- Freight Audit, Payment & Refunds
We receive freight invoices directly from carriers, audit each one against your contracts and shipment activity, code approved charges to your GL, and pay carriers according to terms.
You see fewer surprises and exceptions at close, less cleanup work for Finance and Accounting, and savings and guaranteed‑service refunds that are requested, credited, and clearly tracked.
- 3PL Billing & Strategic Assessments
We audit 3PL invoices against your contracts and SOWs, and evaluate your transportation operational model to identify cost, compliance, process, quality, and service gaps.
When using 3PLs for warehousing / distribution, you get actionable insight into what’s driving transportation cost and where contracts, routing guidelines, or processes need to change.
- Transportation Reporting & Insights
We review audit findings and deliver standard and client-specific analysis tied to your KPIs, interpreting the data in the context of your contracts, services, and financial structure.
You get human-led insight into where you’re overpaying, recurring billing errors, and how to proactively reduce transportation spend — without adding more time and headcount.
- Logistics Management & Operational Support
We manage carrier performance, RFPs and rates, inbound freight programs, claims, exceptions, and billing as transportation tasks become too complex to manage internally.
That means issues get resolved without pulling teams away from their work, carrier and 3PL relationships remain productive, and billing operations run more accurately and efficiently.
- Client & Carrier Tools
We give you secure access to client and carrier web tools — including KPI dashboards, reporting, payment status, and quick rating and analytic tools — all supported by TCI experts.
You get visibility into bills, rates, documents, and exceptions, so you can pull answers quickly for meetings or audits in minutes — with TCI support when you need help interpreting data.
HOW IT WORKS
Flexible. Adaptable. Faster Value.
Independent oversight of complex freight and 3PL billing — so your Finance, Accounting, and Supply Chain teams can save time, money, and resources.
Provide a Billing Snapshot
Upload at least one month of freight and 3PL invoices — and a GL from the current 12 months. This gives us a quick view of how charges are being calculated, billed, and recorded today.
Schedule a Diagnostic Review
We’ll walk through your data together to pinpoint rate deviations, recurring billing inconsistencies, hard-to-reconcile charges, and areas that warrant contract or SOW validation.
We Direct Onboarding & Setup
We coordinate onboarding with your teams, then configure the tech, processes, coding rules, and reporting around your critical KPIs — without adding another system or platform to manage.
You Get Ongoing Oversight & Clarity
Finance has confidence in the numbers. Accounting stops chasing exceptions at close. Supply Chain stops reconstructing charges after the fact.
And you stop overpaying!
WHY CHOOSE US
Real Industry Experts, Not a DIY Portal
Data alone doesn’t create clarity, direction, or control.
TCI takes a different approach. We interpret freight and 3PL data to explain what’s happening and why — and what it means for your business.
We don’t force clients into a one-size-fits-all reporting model.
We analyze data in the context of your industry, contracts, services, operating model, and financial structure, then build customized reporting around the KPIs you need to manage spend, answer questions, and act on what we find.
Powerful Technology
We plug into your existing carriers, 3PLs, and ERP / GL flows and run audit, coding, and payment as a managed service. No new platform for your team to learn or maintain.
Experienced Industry Support
Multi-entity, multi-mode contexts require more than spot-checks — TCI combines depth and experience to validate billing, scope, and documentation.
Customized Guidance
Audit rules, coding, and reporting are configured around your entities, plants, cost centers, and contracts — so Finance, Accounting, and Supply Chain see the same numbers.
Strategic Insights
TCI leverages data and technology to identify patterns, find issues, and deliver insights to recover savings, renegotiate contracts, or fix the process gaps creating avoidable cost.
HOW WE HELP YOUR BUSINESS
Less time and effort. Better use of your transportation dollars.
Finance
Freight and 3PL are large, recurring costs — but when spend increases, you’re expected to explain why. TCI gives you the confidence to answer: what you’re paying for, which charges are valid, and what needs to change.
- Invoices checked against contracts, rates, and shipments.
- Variance explained by carrier, lane, and charge type.
- Billing errors and contract gaps identified before close.
- Intelligence to support renegotiations and carrier reviews.
- Clear data and reporting to mitigate risk and answer questions quickly.
Logistics & Supply Chain
You’re caught in the middle — keeping product moving even when Finance asks why costs went up and QA wants documentation. We’ll help you stay on track without turning every invoice into a dispute that puts partner relationships at risk.
- Charges reflect approved routing, service levels, and special handling.
- Exceptions documented clearly, not buried in base charges.
- Billing data normalized so you can compare across carriers and 3PLs.
- A clear line from “this shipment happened” to “this is the charge.”
- Reduced manual work and time spent chasing documentation.
Accounting
Freight and 3PL are high-volume, exception-heavy expenses your team must reconcile without extending close or burning-out staff. With TCI, issues are identified earlier—before monthly close — so there’s less manual review and rework.
- Invoices coded, approved, and posted correctly across thousands of charges.
- Consistent coding across plants, DCs, and legal entities.
- Discrepancies and non-contract charges flagged before payment, not after.
- Supporting documentation readily available, not just when auditors ask.
- Less time, work, and cleanup for your internal teams.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
What you need to know before we start
Get the “Guide to Understanding LTL Freight Class Changes”
How recent classification updates affect transportation spend
How is TCI different from other freight audit companies?
Many freight auditors upload reports to a portal and leave your team to interpret the data. TCI is meticulous in its work and determined to get your numbers right.
We validate every charge, correct invoices where possible, and identify the contract, pricing, or process gaps behind recurring issues. Our work focuses on analysis, not just reporting.
And when findings point to larger opportunities — contract renegotiations, 3PL audits, routing guide updates — we have the expertise and services to help you act on them.
Will this add more work for my team?
Our goal is to reduce your workload and help your teams work more efficiently and accurately.
We receive invoices directly, audit them against your contracts and shipment data, and resolve issues with carriers and 3PLs before they become your team’s problem. That means fewer exceptions at close, fewer billing questions interrupting operations, and cleaner data for demand planning and forecasting.
Unlike platforms that promise control but require months of implementation and internal resources to manage, we adapt to your existing workflows and processes — not the other way around.
We already get reports from our carriers and 3PLs.
Why do we need TCI?
Why do we need TCI?
Carrier and 3PL reports are often inconsistent — formats differ, levels of detail vary, and their own numbers don’t always match across reports. They show what was billed, not whether it’s correct against contract terms or what was shipped.
And internal teams rarely have the time, context, or industry expertise to validate every charge.
TCI brings over 40 years of experience auditing freight and 3PL invoices against contracts and shipment activity — so your team can focus on moving product instead of reconciling billing.
Won’t this hurt our relationships with carriers and 3PLs?
TCI isn’t focused on penalizing carriers or 3PLs. Our goal is to validate billing against contracts, documentation, and shipment activity. Issues and discrepancies point to process gaps to address and resolve, not mistakes to assign blame.
In many cases, the issue isn’t that a partner is doing something wrong. Industry changes — like freight classification updates, for example — can appear on invoices before contracts, pricing structures, or processes have been updated.
TCI identifies what’s driving cost, helps clarify where terms no longer align with operations, and ensures you’re not paying for charges outside what was agreed.
Do you work with companies in regulated industries?
Yes. Our team has deep experience with manufacturers and distributors in Pharma, Biopharma, Medtech, Food and Beverage, Industrial Manufacturing, and Consumer Products — industries where billing errors create compliance and documentation risk, not just cost overruns.
We’re especially strong with mid-market companies managing complex freight and 3PL networks across multiple carriers, entities, and locations, often with lean teams that can’t staff a full-time audit function.
What kind of savings can we expect?
With a freight audit, we typically see savings of 5–8% of audited spend — from overcharges, misapplied accessorials, missed guaranteed-service refunds, and 3PL charges outside agreed SOWs.
In addition, clients benefit from cleaner GLs, audit-ready documentation, and the intelligence to renegotiate contracts, tighten routing guidelines, and eliminate repeated billing errors.
How long does it take to onboard?
TCI starts auditing actual invoices immediately — not months later. Within 30–45 days, we’ve typically normalized your data and established GL coding rules.
Within the first few billing cycles, clients see real findings: overcharges, misapplied accessorials, contract gaps, and process issues that point to where spend can be reduced or recovered.
What do we need to do to get started?
To begin, simply share a billing snapshot — such as one month of freight and 3PL invoices or a GL summary from the previous year.
This allows us to assess how charges are being calculated, what may be missing, and where savings opportunities exist.
For a deeper look, TCI can also conduct a Rapid Strategic Assessment before or alongside the audit to evaluate your full transportation operation and identify cost, compliance, and process gaps.