The value behind a parcel audit

Shipping costs often fly under the radar; but for most companies, they represent a significant portion of operating expenses. For some, fulfillment and transportation can account for 15–20% of total operational spend. With that kind of volume, even small billing discrepancies or missed discounts can add up fast.

This is where parcel audits come in—not just to uncover hidden costs, but to ensure contract compliance, protect margins and create leverage for better carrier negotiations. 

What is a parcel audit?

A parcel audit is a detailed review of every line item associated with your parcel shipments. It checks for accuracy across billed rates, discounts, dimensional weights, accessorial charges and service level performance - ensuring everything aligns with your contracted terms and carrier service guides. 

Key areas typically covered in a parcel audit include: 

1. Carrier rate and incentive compliance
2. Agreement alignment and discount validation
3. Dimensional divisor accuracy
4. Accessorial charge accuracy (e.g. address correction, residential fees)
5. Billing error detection
6. Lost or delayed shipment claims
7. Duplicate invoice prevention

Why Should Supply Chain Leaders Care?

Parcel audits are not just about recovering small refunds. They offer strategic insights that empower logistics and operations leaders to renegotiate smarter contracts, identify cost leakages and scale fulfillment more efficiently. For managers overseeing high parcel volumes, audits are a low-effort, high-return investment.

Let’s break down the three core types of parcel audits:

1. Rate compliance audit

A rate compliance audit reviews shipments over a given period to ensure contracted discounts across transportation charges, fuel surcharges and accessorials, are being applied correctly.

Real-world example:

During the pandemic, a retail client began shipping directly from stores, creating new carrier accounts that were incorrectly linked to another division. As a result, negotiated discounts weren’t applied. A routine audit flagged the discrepancy and recovered approximately $900,000 over two years.

New accounts created within a carrier’s network aren’t always auto-linked to existing agreements.

Rate audits can catch these issues early before they bleed your margins.

Another case:

After signing a new FedEx contract, one Infios client unknowingly lost discounts on a high-volume specialty service. The oversight cost them $1.95 million in one year. Our audit revealed the discrepancy, allowing the client to renegotiate with FedEx and reinstate proper discounts.

2. Billing adjustment audit

Carriers occasionally make billing errors but without audits, most go unnoticed and unpaid.

A billing adjustment audit flags:

• Incorrect address corrections
• Invalid residential or remote area surcharges
• Duplicate invoice charges
• Lost or undelivered packages
• Claims for damaged shipments

Without this oversight, companies often pay full charges based on the assumption that invoices are accurate. In reality, refunds can and should be pursued.

3. Service efficiency audit

Most major carriers offer service guarantees; this means if a parcel arrives late, you're eligible for a refund. But without a service audit, those savings are often missed.

consider this:

Top parcel carriers like FedEx and UPS had on-time delivery rates of 88–97% during peak season in 2021 and 94–97% in 2022. While these seem high, delays still happen - especially for high-volume shippers.

If a business spends $5 million annually on applicable parcel services, even a small percentage of late deliveries could translate into $250,000–$500,000 in recoverable savings.

Note: Service guarantees are often waived during peak season (October to mid-January) or removed altogether in exchange for better base rates—making it critical to track contract changes closely. And outside of peak, shippers usually have just 15 days from invoice date to file a late delivery claim.

Conclusion

Parcel audits are a strategic lever for supply chain efficiency, cost savings and smarter carrier negotiations; They aren’t just an accounting exercise. 

As parcel shipping complexity grows and volumes increase, shippers need the right combination of people, process and technology to identify unrealized savings and optimize fulfillment costs. 

Whether you’re scaling direct-to-consumer operations, renegotiating contracts, or just trying to regain control of logistics spend, auditing your parcel program is a powerful place to start.