Air & Parcel Audit Identifies CHF 1.05M in Annual Savings with CHF 313K Already Realized

803 shipments under 45 kg were routed through an expensive air freight carrier instead of a significantly cheaper parcel/express service. By applying a simple weight threshold rule, the optimal carrier mix reduced costs from CHF 207,550 to CHF 82,250 for the same shipments. This action has been implemented — the shipping department now uses the parcel carrier for all sub-45 kg shipments.

366 shipments were sent using DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) instead of the company’s standard CIF/CPT terms. This meant the company was absorbing destination charges, overseas duties, taxes, and storage fees that should have been paid by the customer. Switching to the correct Incoterms eliminates these avoidable costs entirely.

Rate cards were denominated in EUR, CNY, INR, and USD, but invoices were billed in CHF. The carrier applied its own FX rates instead of ECB reference rates, resulting in 5–8% higher costs on currency conversion. By paying carriers in local currency through the company’s own bank, these inflated FX margins are eliminated.

Every email pre-alert to the carrier triggered handling and pick-up surcharges — even when multiple alerts were for the same shipment. 135 shipments were affected by duplicate surcharges within the pilot period. Consolidating pre-alerts to a maximum of one per shipment eliminates these unnecessary fees.

Direct invoice errors identified and claimed back from carriers. CHF 14K in credit notes have already been recovered through the streamlined claiming process enabled by the platform.