Corral Your Freight Data With the Right FBAP Provider
“Combined with actionable analytics that help customers identify trends and make smarter transportation decisions, we help organizations advance success, not simply process invoices,” Burglechner says. By combining freight audit with payment solutions and automation, U.S. Bank helps organizations reduce manual effort, streamline processes, and allocate resources to higher-value initiatives. U.S. Bank recently worked with a distributor of industrial and other products whose distribution network had grown in scale and complexity. The company’s hybrid freight audit and payment approach could no longer provide the consistency, visibility, and control that management needed to support a rapidly expanding transportation operation. U.S. Bank Freight Payment helped the company build a more scalable foundation across its truckload, LTL, and global transportation modes. Through independent freight audit services, system integrations, and automated workflows, the teams strengthened financial controls, supported SOX compliance efforts, reduced manual work, and improved visibility across the freight payment lifecycle. DELIVERING TANGIBLE VALUE When considering technology investments, U.S. Bank focuses on practical applications that deliver tangible value. One example is its ongoing initiative evaluating AI solutions for proof of delivery processing. Here, the technology can help validate invoice- related information and potentially identify signs of document manipulation or fraud before payment occurs, Burglechner says. Many companies will continue seeking FBAP partners that can combine innovation with the financial strength, compliance standards, and operational expertise necessary to support mission- critical transportation payment processes, Burglechner says. U.S. Bank more than meets these requirements.
HOWDY, PARTNER? Before signing with a freight bill audit and payment provider, shippers will want to confirm that the company is legitimate, stable, secure, and can provide the services needed. The following questions can help them determine this. How do you measure and prove results? Providers should be able to explain their audit methodology, accuracy levels, automation rates, identified savings, payment controls, and service performance, says nVision’s Luther Brown. Clients should understand how savings are calculated. If the provider uses AI, it should be able to discuss the improvements it has produced. Shippers will want to be wary of any provider that emphasizes a low transaction price without clearly defining the scope of the audit and the level of service included, says Ron Dodig, CT Logistics. How do you use technology? Shippers should know how their transportation information will be received and captured, and how much manual intervention is required during the audit process. They also should understand the provider’s ability to handle different data formats, such as PDFs and emails, Brown says. What is the pricing model? This might be a monthly subscription, a per-transaction fee, or a small contingency for parcel audit, says Brad McBride of FreightOptics. It makes sense to understand the calculation before working with a provider. How granular is the data? Ideally, the provider will offer lane- level data in a format that allows for analysis and comparison against industry averages, McBride says. What safeguards are in place? As supply chains become increasingly digital, organizations face rising threats of cargo theft, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other forms of cybercrime, says Scott Burglechner of U.S. Bank. Because freight payment providers manage both sensitive data and financial transactions, companies should evaluate the security controls, compliance standards, financial safeguards, and operational resiliency in place. This includes assessing providers’ risk management protocols, as evidenced in their SOC 1 and 2 reports, business continuity/disaster recovery plans, third-party security audits, as well as the company’s financial infrastructure, says Tony Urban, Cass Information Systems. How can our company improve? Most shippers know their business but may not fully understand what an effective FBAP process looks like. “A strong FBAP partner will ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions, and offer alternative approaches when they believe there is a better solution,” says CTSI-Global’s Lepez.
66 Inbound Logistics • September 2026
Powered by FlippingBook