There are billions of dollars being circulated around the world for the movement of goods. Some companies spend more on transportation costs than any other expense.

Accounting departments should treat invoices from carriers much differently than the ones from any other vendor. To pay freight bills, it requires knowledge in logistics -- tariffs, bills of lading, carrier contracts, etc.

These invoices need special attention because 3-5% of the time there are overcharges and duplicate charges. Also, by outsourcing freight bill audit and payment, companies pay one-tenth of the cost and get the reconciliation and reporting to better manage their shipping activities.

With that being said, companies must carefully choose the freight bill audit and payment provider. There are a number of areas to review, but most importantly, financial stability. Performing due diligence on the vendor's financials not only protects the company's funds but also gives reassurance that they will not lose money and be indebted to any carrier.

This white paper, "Trust & Verify: Best Practices - Financial Due Diligence and the Outsourcing of Freight Bill Audit and Payment," highlights a number of steps that can be taken to ensure a successful relationship, protecting and minimizing the financial risk to the outsourcer.

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Whitepaper authored by Clifford F. Lynch and sponsored by CTSI-Global.

Recently, Transportation for America released a report with a startling statistic: "There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald's restaurants in the entire country."

View all sizes, and embed from Flickr. Available for reprint (optimized for 8.5x11 inches).

- Transportation for America: The Fix We're In For: The State of Our Nation's Busiest Bridges | PR
- Daily Kos Labor: Americans cross 18,000 structurally deficient bridges 210 million times a day
- Images: Las Vegas, by Jess1820 | Pittsburgh, by daveynin | US map, by Theshibboleth

What should be done to address the problem of aging infrastructure in the US? What topics would you like to see for future infographics? Please share your comments!

Invasive Asian carp are devastating the North American fishing industry. At the same time, widespread unemployment and underemployment have created unusually great need for low-cost, nutritious food.

• Why isn't there a way to distribute the tasty catch?
• What are the market opportunities and misconceptions?
• What's being done to manage food supply chain risks?

Read my guest post at Supply Chain Operations: Asian Carp: How Remarketing Could Mitigate Food Supply Risks

Image by kartfamily

From my high-rise office near the New Madrid Fault Line, it's unsettling to consider the unusual activity to my west and east in Colorado and Virginia. Within a day, each state shattered its seismic silence.

Measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale, the former was Colorado's strongest earthquake in nearly 40 years. At 5.8, the latter was the strongest that Virginia had witnessed in over a century. Thankfully, midnight's earthquake near New Mexico's border caused little damage.

The East Coast / Mid-Atlantic region has been on shakier ground. According to the US Geological Survey, "Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region... as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast."

In areas of safety, officials have shown caution by evacuating buildings and shutting down a nuclear plant. In other respects, concerns were mild. For example, nearby Alexandria, Virginia, is dealing with minor damage and disruptions, including relocating (only) one of its polling stations. More...

Houston drivers ran into trouble when a trucker's trailer slammed into a highway sign on I-45.

TxDOT estimates that it will need to recover $100,000 in damages from the truck owner. Incredibly, there were no injuries.

Image by D. L.