Logistics cost recovery for e-commerce brands

Pay what you agreed.

Every provider between the factory and your customer bills you differently: forwarder, customs broker, 3PL, carriers and marketplaces. We compare their bills and stock counts with what you agreed, claim back the difference, and keep it right every month.

Send one invoice Book 30 minutes

Free. Answer within 48 hours. Nothing goes to your forwarder, broker or 3PL without your go.

First look: your August bills
Compared with your quotes, contracts, orders and stock
4 lines flagged
LineBilledShould beDiff EUR
ForwarderDestination terminal handlingBilled twice on one container460.00230.00230.00
CustomsImport dutyCharged at 12 percent; 4 percent applies (to verify)1,452.00484.00968.00
3PLPick and pack1,300 billed, 1,240 shipped, at 2.40 not 2.103,120.002,604.00516.00
CarrierPeak surchargeContract: November and December only185.000.00185.00
To claim1,899.00 EUR
Example figures, for illustration.

Where money leaks

Five places your money slips away, and nobody has time to look.

  1. At the portFreight

    The forwarder quoted one price. The invoice arrives weeks later with terminal handling, surcharges, storage and demurrage added.

  2. At customsDuty and import VAT

    One wrong digit in a tariff code changes the duty rate. Overpaid EU import duty can be reclaimed for up to three years.

  3. On the roadTrucking

    Waiting time, extra stops and fuel surcharges appear after delivery.

  4. At the warehouseYour 3PL

    Fees billed on counts that do not match your orders, and stock that does not match your records: units sent but never booked in, lost in storage, or returned but never restocked. Some Dutch 3PL terms give you 10 days to dispute an invoice.

  5. At the doorCarriers and marketplaces

    Weight corrections, surcharges, the premium service billed where you agreed economy, marketplace fees on the wrong size tier, and lost parcels and marketplace stock that nobody claims back.

What you get

Two answers: what you were overcharged, and where your stock went.

Money back

The euros you overpaid, with the claims ready to send.

Every flagged line comes with the rate, the clause or the customs rule behind it. You approve each claim before it goes out.

ClaimStatusEUR
Duty repayment, 3 importsFiled2,904.00
Forwarder credit noteCredited230.00
3PL pick and packApproved516.00

Example figures, for illustration.

Stock you can trust

Missing units valued at your cost and claimed inside the window.

Your own records compared with what your 3PL, bol and Amazon say they received, hold and returned.

WhereYour recordsThey countMissingClaim EUR
Inbound delivery, PO 1181,240 sent, 1,212 booked in1,2401,21228170.80
Storage count, September3,410 in your records, 3,366 counted3,4103,36644268.40
Customer returns, September62 returned, 48 restocked62481485.40

Example figures, at 6.10 EUR a unit, for illustration.

How it works

One invoice to start. Your contracts to make it exact.

  1. Step 1, today

    Send one invoice

    A recent bill from any provider: forwarder, customs, 3PL, carrier or marketplace, plus the contract or quote behind it if you have it. PDF or export. Free, no call needed.

  2. Step 2, within 48 hours

    Get a first look

    The lines that do not match what you agreed, the amount at stake next to each, and what a full check could find.

  3. Step 3, 5 to 10 working days

    Recover and fix

    Share your contracts, 3 to 6 months of bills and read-only access to your 3PL portal and shop. You get the euros overpaid, the stock that went missing, the claims ready for your approval, and what to change so it does not come back.

After the first check

Money back once. Then it stays fixed.

Finding an overcharge is half the job. The other half is making sure it does not come back, and that you can see it.

  1. 1

    Fixed at the source

    Every finding ends with its cause and its fix: the contract clause to change, the tariff code to correct, the product weight to update, the free time to track. Your provider gets the facts, so the error stops at their end too.

  2. 2

    Every new bill watched

    You forward your bills to your own Pilota address and give read-only access to your 3PL portal and shop. Each bill is checked within five working days, well before its dispute window closes, your stock is reconciled every month, and containers near the end of their free time are flagged before demurrage starts.

  3. 3

    One page every month

    What was billed, what was wrong, what came back, which claims are open and until when, how each provider scores, and your logistics cost per order, billed against agreed. Plus a message whenever something needs your decision.

Monthly statement, September
38 bills from 4 providers
980.00 EUR back
Lines checked4,912
Flagged11
Claimed EUR1,246.00
Credited EUR980.00
Cost per order EUR

4.12 billed against 3.94 agreed

Stock units

3,366 counted against 3,410 in your records

ProviderBillsLines wrongTrend
Forwarder92better
Customs broker30clean
3PL41better
Parcel carrier228watch

2 open claims, oldest dispute window closes on 14 Oct.

Example figures, for illustration.

Services

From one free check to every bill, every month.

Each paid service has a fixed scope and a price agreed before we start. No hourly billing.

Free

Leak check

Send one bill from any provider. Hear in 48 hours what does not match.

  • One bill compared with what you agreed
  • The lines that do not match, with the amount
  • Whether a full check is worth it

No cost, no call required

Fixed price

Bill and stock diagnostic

Three to six months of bills and stock movements, checked against what you agreed.

  • The euros overpaid, with claims ready to send
  • Missing stock found and valued
  • Overpaid import duty reclaimed for up to three years

5 to 10 working days. Credited against what we recover

Monthly

Monitoring and claims

Every new bill checked before the dispute window closes.

  • Each bill checked within five working days
  • Stock reconciled every month
  • Claims filed with your approval
  • A one-page statement every month

Monthly fee plus a share of what is actually credited

At key moments

Fixed price per project.

  • Contract check

    Before you sign or renew, know what you are agreeing to.

  • Quote comparison

    Compare quotes on your volumes, not theirs.

  • 3PL switch check

    Nothing gets lost in the move.

  • Peak and new rates check

    Peak surcharges and January prices, applied as agreed.

  • Customs duty review

    Duty paid as it should be.

Who it is for

Made for e-commerce teams that ship more than they can check.

You import from Asia

Containers or air freight, with a forwarder and a customs broker in between.

You ship from a 3PL

Your orders leave from a warehouse you do not run.

You sell on bol and Amazon

Stock in their warehouses, fees and losses on their statements.

You are growing fast

3,000 to 25,000 orders a month, and nobody has an afternoon for invoices.

How we work

Clear scope, clear price, and you stay in charge.

Fixed price, agreed upfront

No hourly billing.

You approve every claim

Nothing reaches your forwarder, broker, 3PL or carrier without your go.

Paid on results where it counts

Claims are billed as a share of what is actually credited.

You keep your providers

We check their bills and counts; we do not replace them.

Your data stays yours

Used only for your check, stored in the EU, deleted or returned on request.

Founding customers

Be one of the first five.

We are taking on five founding brands this autumn: better terms, a direct line to Paolo, and a say in what we check next. In return, a short case study once we recover money for you.

Nobody has measured this for European brands your size yet. The first five will.

Book 30 minutes
Paolo Caneparo by the sea

About

Paolo Caneparo

Founder, Pilota Labs. Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

I have spent more than four years in inventory and operations for e-commerce brands, and I am studying supply chain management at MIT. I have seen how much money slips between a quote, a contract and an invoice when nobody has time to check.

I am also starting my own brand, so I will soon get the same bills as the founders I work with.

EnglishNederlandsItaliano LinkedIn profile

Questions

Before you send an invoice

Do I have to change my forwarder, customs broker or 3PL?

No. We check their bills and stock counts against what you agreed. You keep your providers.

Will this upset them?

A good provider wants its invoices to be right. We send facts per line with the clause or rule next to it, and you decide what goes out.

Can overpaid import duty really be reclaimed?

Yes. In the EU an importer can apply for repayment of duty that was not due, within three years of being notified of the debt. We prepare the application; you or your broker file it.

What if you find duty that was paid too little?

We tell you first. Customs can reassess duty for three years, so it is better to know and correct it with your broker on your own terms.

How do we make sure it does not happen again?

Every finding comes with its cause and the fix, and your provider gets the facts so the error stops at the source. With monitoring, every new bill is checked within five working days, your stock is reconciled every month, and you get one page a month with what was checked, flagged and credited per provider, and your logistics cost per order, billed against agreed.

What if you find nothing?

Then you know your bills are clean, which is worth knowing. The first look is free, and the diagnostic is credited against what we recover.

Which providers do you cover?

Any that sends an invoice: forwarders for sea, air and road, customs brokers, 3PLs, parcel carriers, bol and Amazon.

How much of my time does it take?

30 minutes once: forward your bills to your Pilota address and give read-only access to your 3PL portal and shop. Then about 5 minutes a month to approve claims.

Why not check it ourselves, or with ChatGPT?

You can read a bill with AI. What slips is comparing it with your contract, your orders and your stock every month, before the dispute window closes, and then chasing the credit note. That is the work we take off your plate.

Can you sign an NDA first?

Yes. Send yours with the first bill, or ask for ours.

What happens to my data?

It is used only for your check, stored in the EU, and deleted or returned on request. See the privacy notice.

Start with one invoice.

Send last month's forwarder, customs, 3PL, carrier or marketplace invoice, and the contract or quote behind it if you have it. Within 48 hours you know what does not match.

Rather talk first? Book 30 minutes

Send one invoice

Invoice
PDF, CSV, Excel or a photo, up to 10 MB.
Contract, quote or rate card (optional)
Same formats, up to 10 MB.
We use your file only for this check. Privacy