Part XIV
Billing, invoice auditing and cost control
Published articles open now; the rest are coming soon.
14.1Understanding the 3PL invoice
- 14.1How to read a 3PL invoice: summary, line items and detail filesExplainer11 min
- 14.1Why 3PL invoices are hard to read: formats, codes and fee namingExplainerComing soon
- 14.1Billing cycles: weekly, semi-monthly and monthly, and what's billed whenExplainerComing soon
- 14.1Separate invoices for fulfillment, storage, shipping and freight: tying them togetherExplainerComing soon
- 14.13PL invoice backup: the supporting detail files to always requestReference11 min
- 14.1Invoice formats: PDF, spreadsheet, portal, EDI 210/810ExplainerComing soon
14.2How to audit a 3PL invoice
- 14.2How to audit a 3PL invoice: a step-by-step checklistHow-to18 min
- 14.2How to check 3PL invoice rates against your rate cardHow-to10 min
- 14.2Activity verification: did the billed activity actually happen?ExplainerComing soon
- 14.2How to reconcile 3PL order charges with the orders you shippedHow-to11 min
- 14.2How to check 3PL receiving charges against what actually arrivedHow-to11 min
- 14.2How to verify 3PL storage charges against inventory snapshotsHow-to11 min
- 14.2How to verify a 3PL monthly minimum charge on your invoiceHow-to11 min
- 14.2How to check manual and one-off charges on a 3PL invoiceHow-to11 min
- 14.2How to verify 3PL volume tiers and discounts on your invoiceHow-to10 min
- 14.2How often to audit 3PL invoices: every invoice, sampling or quarterly?Comparison10 min
- 14.23PL invoice audit trail: what to record so finance can rely on itHow-to11 min
- 14.2Not every variance is an overcharge: undercharges, manual items and special projectsReferenceComing soon
14.3Auditing shipping charges
- 14.3How to verify a cost-plus shipping markup against your contractHow-to10 min
- 14.3Billed vs. expected weight: how to find 3PL shipping overbillingHow-to11 min
- 14.3How to audit DIM weight charges: catching wrong boxes and wrong dimsHow-to11 min
- 14.3How to audit residential, delivery area and handling surchargesHow-to11 min
- 14.3Duplicate tracking numbers and voided labels billedExplainerComing soon
- 14.3How to check 3PL shipping charges against carrier invoicesHow-to10 min
- 14.3Why two similar parcels to the same area cost different amounts: a shipping-charge diagnosticExplainerComing soon
- 14.3Fuel surcharges on a 3PL invoice: checking the percentage, what it applies to and your contracted discountExplainerComing soon
14.4The most common 3PL billing errors
- 14.425 common 3PL billing errors and how to spot each oneChecklist24 min
- 14.4Outdated 3PL rates after a contract change: how to spot and fix themHow-to10 min
- 14.43PL billing at list price instead of negotiated rates or tiersHow-to10 min
- 14.4Billing for cancelled or unshipped ordersExplainerComing soon
- 14.4Double-billing the same activity across invoicesExplainerComing soon
- 14.4Wrong packaging chargesExplainerComing soon
- 14.4Phantom 3PL storage: billed pallets and bins that don't existHow-to11 min
- 14.43PL kit and bundle pick fees: when per-component billing is wrongHow-to10 min
- 14.4How to check 3PL accessorial charges against the work actually doneHow-to11 min
- 14.4Minimums applied incorrectlyExplainerComing soon
- 14.4Why 3PL billing errors happen, and why they keep coming backExplainer11 min
14.5Disputing charges and recovering money
- 14.5How to dispute a 3PL invoice: process, evidence and etiquetteHow-to10 min
- 14.5Using your 3PL contract in a billing dispute: what to citeHow-to11 min
- 14.5Writing a billing dispute letterTemplateComing soon
- 14.53PL dispute windows: how long you have and what if you miss oneExplainer10 min
- 14.5Should you short-pay a disputed 3PL invoice or pay in full?Comparison10 min
- 14.5How to track 3PL disputes and credits to closure (with a tracker)How-to10 min
- 14.5Recovering historical overcharges: how far back can you go?ExplainerComing soon
- 14.5How to escalate an unresolved 3PL billing disputeHow-to10 min
14.6Cost analysis and control
- 14.6True cost per order: how to calculate it from your 3PL invoicesHow-to11 min
- 14.6Cost per unit vs. cost per order vs. cost as a percent of revenueComparisonComing soon
- 14.6Fee mix analysis: which fees are driving your spend?ExplainerComing soon
- 14.6Trending 3PL cost month over month: what normal variance looks likeExplainerComing soon
- 14.6Cost driver analysis: separating volume, mix and rate effectsExplainerComing soon
- 14.6Allocating fulfillment and shipping cost to SKUs and channelsExplainerComing soon
- 14.6Ten cost-reduction levers within your controlExplainerComing soon
- 14.6Benchmarking your 3PL rates against the marketExplainerComing soon
14.7Budgeting 3PL spend
- 14.7Building a 3PL cost forecast from your sales forecastTemplateComing soon
- 14.7Modeling the cost of a promotion or new channel before you launch itExplainerComing soon
- 14.7Planning for price increases and GRIs in the annual budgetExplainerComing soon