Material Cost Control in the Age of Inflation: How AI Invoicing Protects Your Margins

Inflation Is Here — And It’s Eating Your Margins

Steel prices are up 23%. Copper is up 14%. Transportation costs have jumped 30%.For CFOs, procurement managers, and supply chain leaders, this isn’t a headline — it’s a direct hit to your margins.

The Institute of Finance and Management reports that nearly 4 in 10 supplier invoices contain costly errors — and most slip through unnoticed. In today’s inflation-driven economy, every missed overcharge is profit you’ll never recover.

Manual invoice auditing and outdated ERP checks can’t keep pace with complex supplier pricing, freight surcharges, and fluctuating commodity costs. The result? Hundreds of thousands in silent overpayments that weaken cost control and erode profitability.

If you’re not automating your material cost control, you’re already behind.

Why Manual Cost Control Is Failing Your Business

In a stable market, manual reviews might suffice. But in today’s inflation-driven environment, they’re inadequate, slow, and error-prone.

Here’s why manual invoice auditing is no longer viable:

• Humans miss errors — especially when reviewing hundreds or thousands of line items monthly.

• Time delays mean lost leverage — by the time discrepancies are caught, you’ve already paid or lost negotiating power.

• Complex pricing structures — dynamic pricing, volume-based discounts, and freight surcharges are difficult to track without automation.

• Overbilling is rampant — supplier invoice errors average 1.5–2.5% per invoice, and 80% are in the supplier’s favor.

Every overlooked overcharge is profit you’ll never see again.

AI Invoicing: Real-Time Protection for Your Margins

Enter AI invoicing and automated invoice review — your frontline defense against cost leakage.

3rd Armor’s AI-powered invoice audit software does what no manual process can:

• Instantly Audits Invoices at Scale: AI reviews every invoice against your contracts, purchase orders, pricing models, and delivery logs. No more random sampling or gut checks.

• Learns and Adapts: Algorithms learn from past invoice trends and flag anomalies — even subtle ones your team might miss. The longer it runs, the smarter it gets.

• Ensures Pricing Integrity: Catches overbilling, duplicate charges, freight errors, and out-of-policy charges before payment is made.

• Saves Time. Protects Margins.: What once took days now takes seconds. Free your team from the audit grind and redirect their focus to strategic sourcing and cost negotiations.

• By embedding intelligence into your AP workflows, you’re not just auditing invoices — you’re asserting control over every cent spent.

The Results Speak for Themselves

Companies using 3rd Armor’s invoice audit software see:

• 2–5% reduction in material costs within 6 months

• 80% faster invoice reconciliation

• Up to $2M recovered annually for mid-sized enterprises

• 99.8% invoice compliance across high-volume vendors

“We uncovered nearly $50K in supplier overcharges in Q1 alone, all caught by 3rd Armor’s AI invoice review engine.”— CFO, Automotive Manufacturer

This isn’t just efficiency. It’s revenue defense at scale.

Start Gaining Back Margin Today

Inflation may be beyond your control — but how you manage its impact isn’t.

Here’s how to take action:

1. Map your current invoice audit process — identify gaps in accuracy and speed.

2. Pilot 3rd Armor AI Invoicing — see results in under 30 days.

3. Integrate across departments — finance, procurement, and supply chain all benefit when cost control is automated.

Stop Margin Erosion Before Your Next Payment Cycle

Every month you wait could mean tens — or even hundreds — of thousands lost to supplier overcharges.

In a 30-minute live demo, you’ll:

• See 3rd Armor’s AI invoicing platform catch invoice errors in real time

• Watch how it flags supplier price drift before payment is made

• Learn how enterprise teams are cutting 2–5% from material costs within months

Don’t let another cycle of overcharges slip through.

👉 Book your personal demo now and take control of your spend before the next invoice run.