How one manufacturer reclaimed $1.7M from misapplied freight charges

• Industry: Fortune 50 Global Manufacturer

• Annual Audited Freight Spend: Over $350 million

• Shipping Profile: Global, multimodal (including parcel, LTL, TL, air, and ocean freight)

• Payment System: Third-party freight payment provider

With such a high freight volume across every transportation mode, this client depended on trusted core carriers to calculate charges correctly, especially for complex factors like dimensional weight. However, visibility into those calculations was limited, and billing discrepancies could go unnoticed—particularly for parcel and LTL shipments.

This manufacturer sought to:

• Validate whether dimensional weight charges matched agreed contract methodologies.

• Investigate potential discrepancies affecting hundreds of shipments across modes.

• Ensure carriers remained accountable for billing transparency and accuracy.

During a routine freight post audit, ConData’s team flagged a subtle but recurring pattern: dimensional weight calculations were off. A core carrier had been consistently applying the wrong dimensional divisor—leading to inflated charges across hundreds of shipments.

Our team:

• Cross-referenced carrier invoices against contract-defined dimensional formulas.

• Identified discrepancies affecting a significant number of billed shipments.

• Presented a detailed breakdown of each overcharge in a formal online meeting with the carrier.

• At first, the carrier rejected the claims, defending their invoices and billing methodology. But once ConData shared the line-item analysis and direct contractual comparisons in a live session, the evidence became undeniable.

• The carrier issued a single settlement check for over $1.7 million in overcharges

• Hundreds of affected invoices were corrected and closed

• The client’s internal audit and logistics teams gained greater awareness of dimensional billing risk

This underscores how even seemingly minor billing misapplications—when scaled across a complex, high-volume global supply chain— can quietly siphon millions of dollars from a company’s bottom line.

Thanks to ConData’s depth of audit expertise and our ability to navigate contractual gray areas with precision, the client not only recovered $1.7 million in overcharges, but also reinforced critical controls over their freight billing processes.

Beyond immediate financial recovery, our findings empowered the client’s internal teams to adopt a sharper, more proactive approach to vendor accountability and contract compliance—reducing future risk and strengthening their long-term financial resilience. When other auditors see standard charges, we see the story behind them—and the dollars waiting to be found.