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NPI Launches Transportation Spend Management Practice to Reduce Logistics Costs, Increase Profitability

Posted on: Friday, 30 March 2007, 09:00 CDT

ATLANTA, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- NPI, the leader in technology spend management and fair market value analysis, today announced the launch of its Transportation Spend Management practice. NPI's Transportation Spend Management services reduce corporate shipping and logistics costs by ensuring clients receive fair market pricing from carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs). Because transportation can be one of the most substantial line items in a corporate budget, NPI's Transportation Spend Management services can immediately reduce costs and increase profitability.

Transportation has traditionally been a difficult spend management category for many companies. Carrier and 3PL costs vary from client to client, often without justification. For example, a carrier may charge a large enterprise 30 percent more than they would charge a smaller company for the same services. Contract discounts can also be a major pricing pitfall. While a shipping rate may be heavily discounted, carriers may compensate by marking up other costs, like fuel and delivery area surcharges, as well as dimensional weight charges.

NPI's Transportation Spend Management practice tackles these disparities using a combination of logistics experts and NPI's unique Level 5 Spend Management framework. NPI's logistics experts have access to hundreds of up- to-the-minute corporate pricing schemas with shippers and 3PLs from across the globe. Drawing on this experience and insight, NPI's experts optimize each client's transportation procurement efforts through every phase of the purchasing process and beyond.

While this announcement marks the official launch of NPI's Transportation Spend Management practice, the company has provided transportation spend consulting services to various clients for more than a year. Many of NPI's largest clients have identified the need to reduce and optimize transportation spend -- a need that has guided NPI to formally expand their spend management services into a transportation-focused practice.

To optimize and reduce each client's transportation spend, NPI focuses on four critical areas:

-- Billing and Contract Optimization: NPI works with clients and carriers to justify transportation cost structures and pricing as it relates to the client's individual transportation needs. -- Detailed Billing & Shipping Method Analysis: NPI reviews all transportation bills to ensure clients are being billed accurately and that all account numbers and contracts are set up correctly in carriers' billing systems. Additionally, NPI analyzes how clients ship their products to determine the most effective and efficient shipping methods to meet their transportation demands. -- Contract Management: Utilizing the freshest pricing data and transportation market trend analysis, NPI reviews carrier contracts to ensure pricing integrity, uncover discounting pitfalls and maintain up- to-date account listings. -- Refund Filing: NPI establishes and manages an accurate refund filing process that enables companies to receive full and timely refunds for carrier mistakes. This service also includes analysis of all residential adjustments and address corrections.

NPI's Transportation Spend Management experts have already reduced shipping costs for several large corporations, including Folica, the world's largest online retailer and distributor of hair care and beauty products. Through a comprehensive transportation spend analysis and the creation of a new refund filing process, NPI has saved Folica more than $20,000, or 2.5 percent of the company's net transportation spend, in only 90 days. NPI estimates Folica will save more than $400,000 in 2007 and at least $1.5 million over the course of Folica's three-year contract.

"We were astounded to learn how much money we were losing in shipping. NPI helped us redefine our carrier contract to lower our shipping rates and make sure the discounts we receive deliver real value. All in all, we think NPI's services will save us 10 percent or more of our total transportation costs this year," said Sapna Parikh, general manager, Folica.

To learn more about NPI's Transportation Spend Management services and the Level 5 Spend Management framework, please visit http://www.npifinancial.com/.

About NPI

NPI is a privately-held company that provides assistance for its customers in implementing rigorous processes for making sound spend management decisions. Using a combination of market experts and proprietary methodologies, NPI provides assessments of a variety of traditionally difficult spend management categories -- information technology, telecommunications and transportation -- to ensure that expenditures and operating expenses are in-line with current market conditions. NPI leads this emerging best practice, offering procurement expertise, a fair market value database, and experience from both sides of the table with quality and integrity. For more information, please visit http://www.npifinancial.com/.

NPI

CONTACT: Hannah Bower of Bower Communications, +1-404-371-3989,hannah@bower-communications.com

Web site: http://www.npifinancial.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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