The reality of today’s supply chain is that each element involved in the shipping process generates numerous shipping documents. Managing this large volume of documents may sound easy, but is extremely challenging in reality. With increasing pressure and demands, logistics is one such industry that has finally woken up to the usefulness of invoice processing automation, which uses futuristic technologies like Artificial Intelligence to make management faster, quicker and error-free. In this article, we will discuss the major invoicing Issues in logistics and ways to handle them in 2021.
Major Invoicing Issues In The Logistics Industry
When it comes to invoicing, the logistics industry is perhaps the most vulnerable industry of all. Numerous documents like commercial invoices, Bills of Lading, supplier invoices, packaging lists, etc. – and the experience and knowledge needed to process them accurately, is very much important in order to maintain an equilibrium and provide a better customer experience. Apart from requiring a larger subset of data extracting for the purpose of reconciliation, logistics documents vary differently based on different situations. This imposes many challenges even for the top-performing business.
Managing a large volume of invoices is a tedious task. It involves processes like reconciling the contract with the Bill Of Lading, making decisions regarding the acceptance of charges, submitting the invoices after getting carries, doing the corrections, etc. When these processes are not handled properly, they lead to bigger errors, which later results in an increased operational cost and decreased efficiency.
Below are the main invoicing problems faced by logistics companies :
1. Tedious Information Processing
The first and pretty obvious issue is processing a large amount of information, which gets really tedious and time-consuming. This is the main reason professionals who process the data for billing, ledgers, weight, data entry, etc. end up committing mistakes and making final results inaccurate and unclear.
2. Billing Entry Issues
Another concern every logistics business has to tackle while invoice management is the smooth functioning of the billing entry process.
Below is what the problems in the billing entry process look like
- Multiple system integration
- Lack of control and non-standardized processes due to operations that aren’t centralized
- Due to missing information related to Bills of Lading, the billable terms that are captured are incomplete
- Numerous formats for BOL
- Lost customer information, missing data
3. Refund Management Issues
There are multiple scenarios where the goods or services fail to safely land on the doorstep of buyers. In these cases, those goods are returned back to the suppliers and refunds are claimed by the buyers. This process involves going through invoicing all over again, which is extremely time-taking for the logistics business owners.
The Solution – Automated Invoice Processing
The best way to tackle all the invoice related issues in the logistics industry is to integrate with reliable digital invoice software. Looking at its benefits, a big majority of logistics companies have already switched to automated invoice processing and reaped amazing advantages from it. Below are some ways in which an invoice processing software can help in overcoming invoice management issues:
1. Faster Processing of Invoices
The first benefit of Implementing digital invoice management is that it makes the processing easy, convenient and super quick. The hours of manual work can be done in minutes with invoice automation software. One such amazing invoicing solution loved by logistics companies is Bautomate’s invoice automation software. It is very easy to integrate with your current infrastructure and offers higher efficiency by automating the entire invoice processing.
2. Elimination of Costly Manual Errors
Every logistics owner knows the damage done by inaccurate invoices. The manual errors in invoices can result in hefty chargeback and losses. Thankfully, with digital invoice processing, you can increase the accuracy by eliminating manual interference. Bautomate invoice automation software uses advanced AI techniques to offer higher accuracy and efficiency.
3. Invoice Costs Reduction
The right invoice automation software cuts down the total operational cost of invoicing, which is an extremely beneficial factor for the companies processing high volumes of invoices per month. Your savings from invoice management directly adds to your ROI and profits.
4. Preventing Duplicate Payments and Increasing Incentives For Early Payments
Bautomate invoice automation software comes with amazing fraud detection features that identify and remove duplicate and fraud payments. Further, it allows you an opportunity for gaining early payment discounts and deals.
5. Enabling Enhanced Cash Flow Control And Real-Time Visibility
Another good reason why you should purchase invoice processing software is that it balances your cash flow and makes it smooth and hassle-free. Besides, it also allows you to monitor your entire invoice management under a single screen, which helps you in making informed decisions.
As you can see, complete Invoice automation is the best solution for dealing with invoice issues in the logistics industry. Many business owners have already realised the need for invoice automation, it’s your time to switch to intelligent invoicing solutions.