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Our global clients demand our specialized ocean freight auditing services to minimize payment errors. The audit verifies that correct freight rates are billed in accordance with the contracted rates with the ocean freight carriers.
Ocean carrier contracts have complex cost factors. What may appear to be a straight-forward origin pick-up charge is actually subject to a variety of unexpected surcharges. In addition to bunker surcharges, currency adjustment factors, special equipment (Hi-cube, Open top, Flat Rack) surcharges, out-port arbitraries, and hazardous surcharges, you may also be exposed to war risk surcharges, peak season surcharges, and any number of unique and unexpected fees. Due to the high volume of traffic and unknown accuracy of the ocean carriers or their agent's invoice process, there is the risk of substantial errors in your ocean freight invoices.
Our years of expertise in the international shipping trade and related contract management provide you with back-office auditing expertise with associated contract review. All overcharges and errors are reported back with full shipment details in order to claim the refunds directly from the specified carrier.
It is common that paid bills are not re-checked for errors, especially when high volumes of transactions are involved. These errors might go unnoticed even when monitored closely due to changing variables such as an increased workload, a personnel change, or revisions to the contract terms. Our experienced team ensures that the freight invoices are scrutinized to identify any issues with the carriers, at a considerable cost advantage to you.
Depending on the local regulations on claims processed by the carriers, audits can generally be performed on previous shipments for up to three years, which may allow you to file claims for eligible refunds from the respective carriers.