“To get our invoicing done, I was putting in at least 20 hours extra per week.” This is what one of our customers told me recently when we were discussing their approach to freight audit and invoicing. It is not the first time that I have heard this from a freight broker, and I doubt that it will be the last.
Freight audit and invoicing are foundational for every carrier, freight broker, and third-party logistics provider (3PL), yet many are still using antiquated processes, technology not suited to help, and a team of people to ensure it gets done. In fact, many whom we speak to tell us that they believe they are doing a pretty good job in this area of their business and are not convinced that automation will help them improve.
The reality is that the quickest way to grow is to automate your freight audit and invoicing process. There is plenty of evidence to support this statement but rather than use research and third-party data to support this premise, I am going to let our customers speak to the benefits they have received by adopting Navix and automating their freight audit and invoicing.
Benefit 1: Scalability & Profitability
I have yet to speak to a broker, carrier, or 3PL that does not want to grow. The challenge is making sure you can grow and maximize profitability, easier said than done. This is one of the reasons our customers have chosen to automate their freight audit and invoicing . . . profitable growth. Here is what a few of our customers had to say:
“By using Navix to automate our freight audit and invoicing, we experienced a 7x increase in load volumes in the first 18 months. All of this without having to hire additional personnel.”
– Armstrong Transport Group
“We have seen a 10x increase in profitability in the last two years and have not had to hire additional resources.” – Evans Transportation
Expansion and profitability are more difficult to achieve in these challenging economic times, however, automating your freight audit and invoicing can get you there.
Benefit 2: Lower DSO & Improvement in Cash Flow
They say cash flow is king, yet many organizations are cash-strapped because of the state of their day’s sales outstanding (DSO). By lowering your DSO, you can collect payment faster, which improves the state of your cash flow. Many of our customers have experienced this benefit as seen from what they have reported to us.
“After we implemented, we lowered our DSO by 20 days and as a result saw a 45% increase in our cash flow.” – HaulRight Corporation.
“We saw a 50%+ increase in our order-to-cash process, and we were able to lower our days-to-bill to under five days.” – Evans Transportation
Lowering DSO should be a priority for all organizations as it has a positive impact on cash flow which can then be used to invest in key growth initiatives.
Benefit 3: Improved Efficiency
It comes as no surprise that many of the freight audit and invoicing processes that are in place at various companies require significant man-hours. Even when using technology, the only way organizations can scale is to hire more resources to keep up with the volume. And, as the volume grows, so does the inefficiency.
One thing that we have consistently seen with all of our customers is the improvement in the efficiency of their back-office staff. In some cases, our customers have been able to reassign their personnel to various other parts of the business. Here is what some of our customers have to say.
“Once we finished our implementation, we saw a 52% increase in our workforce efficiency and were able to focus some of our people on other areas of the business. – RunningOx Logistics.
“We improved our operational efficiency improve by more than 50%, which has given us time to focus on other key areas of the business. – Veritas Logistics.
“We had the equivalent of one full-time employee dedicated to our invoicing. We now have seen that time recouped and have seen a 93% increase in efficiency by automating with Navix.” HaulRight Corporation
The freight business is not for the faint of heart. However, with the right solutions, organizations can scale profitably, improve their cash flow, and optimize their personnel efficiency. If you are interested in how your business can realize these benefits let us know, we would be happy to show you how.