Cost Saving Solutions
Let’s face it – it’s not always practical to monitor all of your receipts and without the proper systems in place, the task is impossible. What if you could account for those expenditures, not only saving your company money, but also gaining the time to improve in-house efficiencies?
Because our software environment is tailored to suit any need, we have the ability to create lean solutions to help our clients in the below areas where financial loss is occurring.
Simply put, whatever your goals are for saving your company money in the years ahead, we are confident we can work with you to develop a strategy that will exceed your expectations.
As a bonus – Three out of the four services below are based off a percentage of our findings. If no errors are present, it doesn’t cost you a cent. The only exclusion is Transactional/EDI Quality Assurance.
1) Under Threshold Deductions
2) Coupon Auditing
3) Transactional/EDI Quality Assurance
4) Freight/Fuel Surcharges
Most major corporations consider it impractical to review deductions with dollar amounts under $250-$500. These types of deductions can collectively add up to 10′s of millions or dollars annually and by not accounting for them, you could actually be overspending on accrual-based expenses/funds, particularly on your annual promotional budget! Below, we’ve provided an easy calculation as an example for a company with a $500 threshold:
| Customer X: | |
| Promotional Budget/Reserve for Customer X: |
$1,000,000
|
| Amount spent via drafts, scans, deductions>$500 & off-invoice (Reserves are always fully depleted) |
$1,000,000
|
| Promotional deductions under $500 (largest component of <$500 amount) |
$150,000
|
| Real amount spent when accounted for properly |
$1,150,000
|
|
Difference = + $150,000
|
Customer X has received $150,000 in excess funds for the year, simply because the manufacturer has swept these smaller deductions into a ‘transactional landfill’. Since we are only looking at one customer here, you can see how quickly company funds will be overspent exponentially with each additional customer.
Coupon Auditing
Wesley Associates can electronically audit coupon claims received from retail clearinghouses, the manufacturer’s redemption centers or from an assigned source.
We can analyze coupon reimbursement claims/deductions electronically through our unique software environment and target the following:
- Legitimate claims from a legitimate retailer
- Charging correct face value
- Appropriate handling/postage fees
- Volume discrepancies
- Duplicate claims
- Invalid Claims (erroneous coupon scanning on a competitor’s product; invalid date, etc.)
Once finalized, our post audit processes generate a complete overbilling report by claim number, retailer, and your specified offer number. This documentation is also automatically transferred into a repayment request form/letter with exceptionally detailed back up.
At this point, Wesley Associates can pass all data to you for your in-house collection efforts, or Wesley Associates can assume the role of performing these collections, while working with your assigned finance contact(s).
Transactional / EDI Quality Assurance
In an age where the numbers of internal and external transactions are going up exponentially whether generated by:
- An EDI transaction
- Websites
- A scanned bar code on a product, case or pallet
- Automated charge via an email
- Employee issued drafts & credit cards
- Electronic “meter reading” or even
- A paper invoice
The margin for error or fraud also goes up exponentially. Adequate oversight for 100′s of thousands of transactions, both large and small alike, simply is not housed in most of Corporate America ….. and even the potential exposure on just the smaller transactions is huge. Areas to consider:
Trading partner EDI transactions and the events which trigger them
- Services invoices of a complex nature
- Utility bills
- Benefit providers
- P Cards
If you’re not auditing your freight bills and fuel surcharge claims, you’re overpaying for your freight. It’s as simple as that. Carriers make mistakes (usually in their favor):
- Incorrect charges applied
- Guaranteed shipments are late
- Duplicate invoices are sent
- Carriers can often ‘double dip’ by including fuel costs in their general rate increases then charge a fuel surcharge on top of that increase
Every bill that we process audits:
- Validity of fuel surcharges based on contracted carrier rates combined with the Energy Information Agencies’ national and/or regional fuel indexes
- Duplicate freight invoices
- Missing or incorrect rate discounts
- Late deliveries
- Inaccurate classifications
- Incorrect tariffs
- Wrong mileage and zip codes
- Accessorial charge errors for services beyond normal pickup and delivery
- Extension and addition errors
- Rerouting for the carrier convenience resulting in higher rates
- Guaranteed service refunds
- Dimensional surcharge
We know it’s extremely difficult to monitor these types of overbillings when your main concern is increasing warehouse efficiencies and safely transporting your products to the stores’ shelves.
Wesley Associates can audit these claims with ease. Instead of spending your time backtracking through agreement logs and weekly fuel rates every time an invoice comes in, you can rest assured that we’ll contact you about any suspicious activity.
Keep your focus on getting your products out the door. Wesley Associates can handle the rest for you.
