Customers are drawn from across the business spectrum, but industry verticals especially interested in freight audit and payment include, FMCG, automotive, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, according to Schneider.
"Take-up of the freight audit and payment service has been strong, with blue-chip companies such as Philips Consumer Electronics and Visteon among the adopters,' said Peter Janssen, Schneider Logistics' director responsible for freight audit and payment services.
Schneider's experience reflects the findings of the latest annual third-party logistics report published by professor Dr. John Langley of the Georgia Institute of Technology in cooperation with Capgemini, DHL and SAP. This year's survey of third-party logistics users shows that, in Europe, the number outsourcing their freight audit and payment functions has risen to 22 percent from last year's figure of 10 percent.
Schneider Logistics highlights a number of areas in which its expertise and technology delivers improvements for companies seeking to enhance the quality of their operational cost control while simultaneously reducing administrative cost.
"By adopting an outsourced freight audit solution which involves proven technology and substantial experience, customers gain two key benefits,' explained Jason Denne, director of business development at Schneider Logistics. "First, the solution eliminates carrier invoice errors which account for between two and seven percent of their existing annual freight cost. Second, a single database for all transportation modes and geographies quickly identifies new opportunities to further optimize supply chain operations which normally translates into an additional six to eight percent reduction in an organization's existing freight spend.'
Schneider points out that reliable data is the foundation of supply chain and financial management, and information developed through the freight audit and payment process permits the comprehensive analysis of logistics operations and transport related costs.
