5 signs your business needs a dedicated Freight Audit and Payment (FAP) Solution

Freight costs are rising. Transportation networks are more complex than ever and managing freight costs goes far beyond simply paying carrier invoices. 

And still, many businesses are managing freight audits in-house, stuck reconciling invoices across systems or relying on basic audit capabilities in their TMS.  

The result?  

Cost leakage, operational strain and limited insight into one of your largest indirect spend categories. 

If your logistics and finance teams are stretched thin or if effective, accurate freight auditing feels out of reach, it might be time for a dedicated Freight Audit and Payment (FAP) solution.  

Here are five signs you’ve outgrown your current freight audit processes and how FAP can help you unlock real savings and control.

1. Your freight spend is rising but so are errors and disputes

In general, as shipping volumes increase, so does the complexity of managing freight invoices. 

With thousands of shipments each month, even a 2% error rate can cost millions annually. Yet many teams still rely on spreadsheets or static rate tables and basic cost validation within their TMS.

Here are common red flags to watch out for:

• Growing number of invoice disputes or duplicate payments
• Delayed approvals due to manual validations
• Strained carrier relationships from late or inaccurate payments

A modern FAP solution automates these validations and reconciles discrepancies, ensuring you're billed accurately. Disputes are managed promptly and overpayments are eliminated.

Did you know?

According to PW consulting information and electronics research, 15-20 % of freight invoices contain discrepancies due to incorrect rates, duplicate charges or misapplied accessorial fees.

2. Your internal teams are overburdened with freight audit tasks 

From rate validation to cost center allocation and tax compliance to exception handling and carrier communication, freight audits are resource heavy. For many organizations, this quickly becomes unsustainable. 

If your logistics and finance teams are overburdened and constantly in reactive mode - chasing mismatches, resolving discrepancies or chasing payment due dates, then it’s time to re-evaluate your approach. 

Dedicated FAP providers can extend your team’s bandwidth through:

• End-to-end audit and payment automation
• Granular GL coding and financial reporting
• Exception management and credit recovery 

This not only reduces pressure, but it also enables your teams to focus on value-added tasks and not just survival.

3. Your freight spend visibility is fragmented (or non-existent)

Without a unified view of transportation costs across carriers, regions and business units, it’s nearly impossible to answer critical questions like:

• How much are we actually spending and why?
• Which lanes or carriers are underperforming?
• Are we accruing liabilities that haven’t yet hit the books?

A centralized FAP platform consolidates freight cost information across your network. It normalizes disparate data for granular analytics, flags anomalies and powers dashboards for transportation, finance and executive teams.

This level of insight supports not just operational control, but more accurate forecasting. smarter budgeting and carrier sourcing.

4. You’re expanding across modes or geographies 

Multimodal shipping and international expansion introduce new freight audit challenges: from handling the nuances of cost structures and audit needs, to currency differences, tax rules, duties, customs clearance, and region-specific invoice standards.  

If your TMS or internal systems weren’t built to handle global complexity or if audit exceptions are slowing payments across new regions, you’re already losing time and money. 

Did you know?

According to the 2023 Gartner Logistics Outsourcing Survey, 52% of organizations already outsourced FAP, and another 35% plan to outsource it within the next two years.

Modern FAP platforms can:

• Handle all modes: parcel, LTL, FTL, ocean, air
• Support multi-currency, global tax rules and duties
• Offer credit recovery and freight claims across regions and modes

It’s more than audit accuracy; it’s about scaling with confidence.

5. You can’t turn freight data into strategic insight

Invoice validation is just the starting point. The true value of FAP lies in its ability to turn freight data into actionable intelligence:

• Root-cause cost analysis
• Predictive spend trends
• Savings opportunities
• Support for carrier contract negotiations

If business leaders are asking for insights your systems can’t deliver, a FAP partner becomes more than just a processor; they become a control tower for continuous improvement.

Did you know?

Integrated FAP + TMS solutions create a feedback loop that enhances routing, rate negotiations and operational execution over time.  

Why a Transportation Management System (TMS) alone isn’t enough

While many Transportation Management Systems offer basic audit capabilities, they often fall short when it comes to enterprise-grade financial processes:

• They don’t support the “gold-standard” rate validation against contracted rates that reliably catches overcharges
• They don’t support detailed General Ledger (GL) allocations and granular spend visibility
• They don’t manage exceptions and credit recovery

That’s why advanced shippers are moving toward dedicated FAP solutions, stand-alone or integrated with their TMS; combining operational agility with financial accuracy.

FAP as a strategic lever

Freight Audit and Payment isn’t just a back-office task. It’s a strategic enabler that impacts cost, compliance, cash flow and carrier performance.

If your business:

• Manages over $20M in freight spend
• Operates across multiple shipping modes or countries
• Struggles with cost visibility or allocation

…then it’s time to move beyond spreadsheets and static TMS rules.

With automated audits, intelligent dashboards and global compliance support, we help you:

• Cut transportation spend by 7–10% annually
• Recover overcharges and credits
• Empower your teams with real-time cost insight

Infios delivers integrated Freight Audit and Payment solutions either as a standalone offering or combined with our modular TMS.