The problem
Shipping spend is managed like an afterthought
Companies apply rigorous financial controls to every major expense — except shipping. Parcel spend is often paid on autopilot, with minimal verification, no shipment-level tracking, and limited visibility into what's actually driving costs.
Shipping invoices are often paid without line-item verification — a practice that would never be accepted for other major expenses.
Finance teams see a total shipping number but can't drill into which shipments, carriers, or surcharges drove the cost.
Parcel spend budgets are based on historical averages, not forward-looking projections built on actual shipment data.
Cost allocation across departments, brands, or business units requires manual data wrangling from multiple sources.
Vendor and carrier payment schedules operate independently from the verification process, creating a pay-first-verify-later workflow.
How it works
What spend management looks like for shipping
Managing parcel spend like a financial system means applying the same visibility, verification, and control that you expect from every other major operating expense.
Shipment-level tracking
Every shipment gets a financial record — expected cost, billed cost, surcharges, and reconciliation status — creating an auditable trail for every dollar spent.
Invoice verification
Every carrier and vendor invoice is matched to shipment records and verified before payment. Discrepancies are flagged, not ignored.
Cost allocation
Shipping costs are allocated to the correct order, customer, brand, or business unit — enabling accurate P&L reporting at every level.
- By brand or business unit
- By fulfillment partner
- By carrier and service level
- By customer or order
Budget monitoring
Track shipping spend against budgets in real-time, with alerts when spend exceeds thresholds or trends change unexpectedly.
Payment workflows
Build payment approval workflows that require invoice verification before payment is released — closing the gap between verification and payment.
Financial reporting
Generate shipping cost reports at the granularity finance teams need — by period, carrier, vendor, service level, and surcharge type.
How RateRunners helps
Track, verify, and manage parcel spend in one system
RateRunners brings financial rigor to shipping — with shipment-level tracking, automated verification, and cost management tools built for operations and finance teams.
Create a financial record for every shipment with expected and actual costs
Verify every invoice against shipment records before payment
Allocate shipping costs to orders, brands, and business units
Monitor spend against budgets with real-time alerts
Build payment workflows that require verification before release
Generate financial reports at any level of granularity
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