Importance of Shipment Auditing For the E-Commercial Business
3 min read
The modern concept of e-commerce has gained huge popularity among people worldwide, as they can place orders online to get anything at home. The shipment of ordered products should be checked minutely by experienced inspectors. Make sure that customers receive their purchased goods in the best condition. Most companies involved in e-commerce join hands with reputed shipping carriers, to send their products to their customers. Thus, proper auditing of shipment is essential for these shipper companies, to maintain their reputation in this field.
The procedure of shipping audit
The process of scrutinizing all shipping invoices continuously for a shipment company is technically termed shipping audit. The main aim of shipment auditing is to detect overcharging from a client as per a shipping bill. Now, the availability of software technology has enabled in conducting an error-free shipping audit, which should maintain the standard set for shipment.
Few common errors noted while shipment auditing
- Non-shipping of ordered products while the seller company’s system erroneously shows them to be shipped and even billed for delivery.
- Late delivery of ordered products is another problem faced in the shipment of items purchased online. Some companies offer a money-back guarantee if their sold items are not delivered at the scheduled date or time at the customer’s place.
- Usually, 40% of the shipping cost is taken as the surcharge for this transaction. However, there may be errors in applying these surcharges, which should be corrected by the shipping audit.
- If a customer requests a change in the delivery address, he/she may need to pay a certain fee for this service. This extra cost should be correct entered into his/her shipment invoice.
- The error in the calculation of dimensions and the weight of an object to be shipped can cause a miscalculation of the shipping cost.
- Double shipping charges for delivering a single packaged product to the client’s place can increase the shipping invoice.
Also Read: Comparison Of B2B Sales Prospecting And E-Mail Sequencing Tools
Essential steps taken for conducting shipment auditing
Though some online sellers are now using software for shipment auditing of their products, they still need the help of expert professionals for accomplishing this job perfectly. They have certain definite steps for conducting the audit of a shipping invoice for their clients.
Check if discounts are applicable – Some companies offer shipping discounts to their customers, based on their geographical locations. Auditors need to check whether a customer is eligible for the declared discount, as per his/her given delivery address.
Find possibility of the duplicate bill – The generation of two bills for a single purchase order is quite common. Auditors need to find out if any duplicate bill has already been issued for an order so that the shipping cost does not wrongly increase.
Billing of additional charges correctly – Different types of surcharges may be added to the shipping cost, which should be calculate accurately. The auditors check these surcharges and prepare the shipping bills manually. Now, the auditing of shipping bills can be automated by installing suitable software. However, expert advice and guidance are always need for all commercial companies, to carry on e-commerce successfully.
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