Parcel Billing Control — Fixed Scope

Your carrier is billing you.
Is it billing you correctly?

A focused two-file review that tells DTC brands whether recurring billing discrepancies exist — and exactly what they're worth.

Start the Review — Email Vishnu See How It Works
$2,000 fixed-scope pilot
Two files in. One clear answer out.
No system access. No integration.
10+ years carrier billing & parcel operations
The Gap

Where billing errors hide

Most DTC brands review carrier spend at the total level. The discrepancies live at the line-item level — in the gap between what the carrier invoiced and what your shipment file shows. 3PLs manage logistics execution, not billing accuracy against your carrier contract. That gap is yours to close.

In the current environment — with cost lines under pressure and supplier conversations difficult — recoverable carrier billing exceptions are one of the few cash levers that doesn't require a renegotiation.

Duplicate invoice events

The same shipment billed twice on different invoice dates. Invisible in aggregate reporting. Identifiable only when the carrier file is compared against shipment records line by line.

Surcharge misapplication

Dimensional weight, residential delivery, and address correction surcharges applied at rates inconsistent with your carrier agreement. Each one small. Collectively material.

Service mismatch

Priority service billed on shipments that moved at ground speed. The carrier invoiced for a service level that wasn't delivered — and the charge went through unchallenged.

Multi-stream complexity

Wholesale routing guides, ship-from-store networks, returns programs, institutional fulfillment — each channel adds billing patterns that a DTC-built review process wasn't designed to catch.

The Process

Fixed scope. Defined output. One clear answer.

No system access required. No integration. Two files and one week.

01

Two files in

Your carrier billing export and your shipment file. Most teams locate both in under an hour. No portal access, no API, no IT involvement.

02

Structured comparison

The carrier billing file is compared against the shipment record line by line — isolating duplicates, surcharge variance, and service mismatches across every channel in the review window.

03

One clear answer

Recurring discrepancies exist and warrant a standing control — or the billing is holding and you close the book on it. Either answer is documented. Neither is ambiguous.

Sample Output

What the review produces

Illustrative output built on realistic DTC billing patterns. Exact categories, counts, and values vary by client and review window.

RBG Capital Advisory — Parcel Billing Control Check Sample Output
Illustrative / Synthetic
Multi-Channel DTC Brand (Illustrative)
60 days
Carrier billing file + shipment file
Carrier Spend Reviewed
$428,760
2,146 shipments reviewed
Review-Worthy Exceptions
$18,940
4.4% of reviewed spend
Duplicate Charges
$6,420
14 invoice events
Surcharge Variance
$9,880
DIM / residential / address
Executive Readout

$18,940 in recoverable billing exceptions identified across 60 days of carrier spend — concentrated in two categories with enough recurrence to warrant a standing control rather than a one-time correction. At this run rate, annualized exposure is approximately $115,000.

↗ Suggested next step: 8-week review cadence
Exception Profile
Category Count Est. Value Owner
Duplicate charges 14 $6,420 Finance
Surcharge variance 36 $9,880 Finance + Ops
Service mismatch 11 $2,640 Ops
Review Scope

Two files in. Review-worthy discrepancies out. No system access. No integration. The goal is a fast materiality check, not a broad freight project.

Control Decision

Material enough for a short stabilization review. Not broad enough to justify a large project. If no exceptions are found, the current process is confirmed as holding.

The Deliverable

What you receive at the end of the review

📋

Exception report with ownership assigned

Every flagged finding categorized by type, estimated value, and responsible function — Finance, Ops, or both. Not a list. An action plan.

✓

Binary control decision

Recurring discrepancies exist and warrant a standing control — or the billing is clean and you close the book. One clear answer, documented in writing.

💰

Recovery structure for each finding

For every recoverable exception: the dispute window, the carrier reference, and the process for filing. Recovery is a credit on a future invoice — not a legal dispute.

📅

Recommended next step

If findings warrant it: a specific cadence recommendation. If they don't: confirmation that no further action is required. Either outcome is a useful answer.

Engagement

Fixed scope. No surprises.

$2,000
Fixed-scope pilot — one review window, one clear answer
  • ✓
    60-day carrier billing review across all active fulfillment channels
  • ✓
    Line-by-line comparison of carrier billing file against shipment record
  • ✓
    Exception report with categories, values, and ownership assigned
  • ✓
    Recovery structure for each recoverable finding
  • ✓
    Control decision: standing review warranted or process confirmed clean
  • ✓
    No system access. No integration. Two files only.
  • ✓
    Typical turnaround: 5–7 business days from file receipt

The return on $2,000: The illustrative finding in the sample output above is $18,940 — a 9.4x return on the pilot fee. The math still works if your finding is a fraction of that size. And if no exceptions are found, you have documented confirmation that your billing process is holding — which is also a useful answer.

Start the Review — Email Vishnu →

Email to start. Vishnu will respond within one business day to confirm scope and file format. A mutual NDA is available before any files are shared.

Who Does This Work

Carrier billing specialist. Not a generalist consultant.

Vishnu Rajan B
Vishnu Rajan B
Founder, RBG Capital Advisory

Nearly five years at PwC Operations Consulting — Director level — running carrier billing control and supply chain operations engagements across FedEx, UPS, DHL, and USPS invoice streams. Clients included Drive Medical, Vyaire Medical, and ConAgra. Across those engagements, millions of carrier invoices reviewed, reconciled, and disputed.

The pattern across every engagement was consistent: carriers bill incorrectly at a predictable rate, the errors concentrate in a small number of categories, and most finance teams have no structured process to catch them. The parcel billing control review is that process — scoped narrowly, priced to be immediately justifiable, and designed to produce one clear answer fast.

FedEx · UPS · DHL · USPS
Drive Medical · Vyaire Medical · ConAgra
ISB — PGPM, Operations & Marketing
PwC
ISB Indian School of Business

Two files. One week.
One definitive answer.

If exceptions exist, you'll know exactly what they're worth and how to recover them. If the billing is clean, you close the book — documented confirmation that the process is holding.

Start the Review — Email Vishnu →
Or email directly: vish@rbgcapitaladvisory.com