The FBAP Elite – How Partnerships Create Value Beyond the Audit

It’s been nearly 35 years since FedEx transitioned to EDI billing, and not a single shipper today would accept what was a standard FedEx or UPS parcel invoice prior to 1990. Imagine a paper invoice summarizing hundreds of shipments with little to no information beyond dollar amounts owed. Do you trust these numbers? How do you verify their amounts? Does each amount correspond to an individual shipment – and, more importantly, do these amounts account for delivery errors or shipping credits? Even today, shippers often lack confidence in their carrier invoices practically brimming with shipment information by comparison. This was the impossible reality that ultimately gave rise to the Freight Bill Audit and Pay (FBAP) provider industry (wherein third-party experts help shippers audit and pay carrier invoices with accuracy) in the late 1990s. But did you know that FBAP providers are having more than a moment in today’s competitive parcel landscape – and their shining star isn’t necessarily their audit or pay services? In fact, in the 20+ years since, standout FBAP providers are joining shippers at the network strategy table and helping solve complicated and persistent problems. Why and how is this happening?

Shippers are ultimately looking for a wider range of tools to identify opportunities that could be leveraged to mitigate shipping costs or reduce delivery times, as well as increased data to help them understand their shipping network, their customer, and their overall business strategy better. In the past, shippers’ reliance on FBAP providers was largely limited to the scope of the audit – anything extra, such as opportunity identification or decision-making support was simply a delight. Today, shippers have an all-hands-on-deck approach to utilizing every resource available to them, and the examples above indicate how their relationship with FBAP providers as evolved into something much greater.