Household Goods Audit

Client Profile
A Fortune 1000 semiconductor supplier company with more than 22,000 employees worldwide in more than 50 locations. Products included power and signal management, logic, discrete, and custom devices for automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power applications.

The Challenge
Paragon identified the need for expert-level review of client household goods invoices. For this client in particular, who used client-directed suppliers, the need was apparent through the number of household goods exceptions and questions on billing issues.

Paragon’s Solution
Paragon enlisted the assistance of an industry expert firm with more than 30 years of expertise in household goods invoice auditing to review each client invoice.

For U.S. Domestic moves, invoices are audited against:

• Client policy (as detailed in the Household Goods Matrix)
• Household Goods Tariff
• Documentation/verification to support any accessorial charges such as long carries, stairs or shuttles
• The weight billed for every move in conjunction with the inventory

For International moves, invoices are audited against:

• Client policy (as detailed in the Household Goods Matrix)
• Internal database of industry averages
• A competitive pricing analysis (specifically for moves without quotes or contractual tariffs)
• Insurance values and rates
• Documentation/verification to support billable weight, customs charges, duties, taxes, etc.
• Accuracy of currency conversions

If discrepancies are found, Paragon’s partner then requests additional backup from the freight forwarder/van line to be provided within 3 days of request. If the charges still remain in question, our partner requests that the invoice be corrected. Once all charges have been validated, the invoices are then approved and sent to Paragon’s Accounts Payable department for processing.

The Results
In working with the client, the household goods carriers and our third-party audit firm, Paragon has been able to save our client an average of more than $200 per invoice. In several instances, the savings have been in the thousands. One example of this involved a move from Japan to California. There was a supplemental move from one storage facility to another storage facility that was around eight miles away from the original location. The supplemental move was billed at $4,000 because it was billed as a part of the international move; however, the audit firm noted that the supplemental move should have been billed under California Max 4 Tariff, making the same move around $1,700. In this type of instance, the expertise of the audit firm can identify errors that may have otherwise been missed, saving our client significant overcharges.

Although the process described here is applicable to one client, Paragon has instituted this independent, third-party review for all our clients, saving money across the board and ensuring that every household goods bill is accurate and reflective of our client’s policy.