A business with several warehouses, branches or business units rarely chose its freight arrangement as a whole. Each site set up the carriers it knew, negotiated its own rates and kept its own logins. Years later, head office has a dozen carrier accounts, a pile of invoices in different formats every month, and no one place to see what every site has booked.
Senditt is a managed freight platform (4PL) for high-volume Australian business shippers: book on Senditt's negotiated rates across 35+ carriers, and track and reconcile every consignment from one dashboard. Applied to a multi-site business, 4PL logistics means one arrangement for every site: the same rates, the same booking process and one point of billing, with Senditt managing the carrier accounts, billing and support.
What a 4PL is, and how it differs from a 3PL
A third-party logistics provider (3PL) runs physical operations for you, typically warehousing, picking and packing, and sometimes its own trucks. A fourth-party logistics provider (4PL) manages the freight arrangement itself: which carriers are used, on what rates, how consignments are booked and tracked, and how the carriers are paid.
Senditt is a 4PL in that second sense. Your stock stays in your own sites. Senditt holds the carrier accounts and the negotiated rates, gives every site the same platform to book on, and manages the billing and support behind it. Your freight moves with the carriers you book through Senditt.
Why freight across sites gets hard to manage
The scale of the freight task is one reason it drifts. Australia's domestic freight task was an estimated 786 billion tonne kilometres in 2024 to 2025, its highest point to date, with road carrying about 253 billion of them (BITRE Yearbook 2025, read 2 October 2026). A large shipper's share of that is spread across many lanes, sites and carriers.
Reporting obligations are another. Under the sustainability reporting regime, ASIC says the second and third reporting cohorts must prepare sustainability reports for financial years starting on or after 1 July 2026 and 1 July 2027, after the first cohort began with years starting on or after 1 January 2025 (read 2 October 2026). On Senditt, every site's consignments sit in one consignment list, each with its carrier, service and despatch date. The list does not report emissions. Our guide to Scope 3 freight emissions under AASB S2 covers what shippers are being asked for.
Three things follow inside the business:
- Volume is split. Each site books on its own account, so the group's freight is spread across many carrier accounts.
- Invoices multiply. Several carriers times several sites means finance spends days matching invoice lines to consignments.
- Nobody sees the whole picture. Head office cannot see what each site has booked, or with which carrier, without logging into each carrier's portal.
One arrangement for every site
The same rates and the same carriers
Every site books on Senditt's negotiated rates across 35+ carriers. A new branch books on the same negotiated rates as every other site. No site negotiates its own carrier contract or keeps its own carrier account, because the accounts behind the platform belong to Senditt and Senditt runs them.
Sites saved once, chosen at booking
Each of your sites can be saved as a company location, so a consignment's pickup or delivery is chosen from your saved sites rather than re-typed. That is what makes a warehouse, a branch or a store a reusable origin for every booking that leaves it.
Adding a site or an acquired business
A new warehouse, branch or acquired business joins the existing arrangement. Its address is saved as a company location, its team starts booking the same day on the same negotiated rates, and if it runs its own ERP or warehouse system, that system is scoped and connected for it over two to four weeks. There is no new carrier contract to negotiate for it.
Sites that book by email or phone
A small branch can send bookings to customercare@senditt.au or call them through on 0433 173 504, and Senditt records them on the platform, so that branch's consignments still land in the same list as everyone else's.
Every consignment in one list
Bookings from every site land in one consignment list, where each consignment shows its service, despatch date, ETA and status regardless of carrier. Head office sees every site's bookings in that one list, without logging into each carrier's portal. Our guide to multi-site freight management covers what to standardise across sites and what to leave with each dock.
Billing across sites and business units
On a multi-site account, billing needs as much attention as booking. The published carriage terms set out how charges and disputes work, and both points are worth building into your internal approval process.
Who is liable for a charge
The customer is liable for all charges incurred. Where a dispute arises between the customer and a receiver or any other party as to who is liable for a charge, liability remains with the customer. For a group that recharges freight between business units, the arrangement with Senditt sits with the account holder, and internal recharging is yours to manage.
Disputing an invoice
Invoices are deemed accepted unless disputed in writing within seven days of the invoice date, and trading terms are seven days from invoice unless agreed otherwise in writing. A group whose invoice approval runs through several sign-offs should make sure freight invoices reach the right person quickly.
Re-measures and claims
A consignment the carrier records with different measurements, weight, item count, service or address from what a site entered is re-billed on the carrier's figures, plus any surcharge. For damaged or lost goods, ask and Senditt will handle the claim against the carrier at no added cost, returning any recovery to the account.
Your duties stay with you
Outsourced freight management does not move legal duties. The Heavy Vehicle National Law is in force in six jurisdictions, the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and has not commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory (NHVR). Where it applies, its chain of responsibility covers every business that consigns goods for heavy vehicle transport, and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator describes each party's obligation as a primary duty to keep transport activities safe, as far as it reasonably can (read 2 October 2026). A 4PL gives each site one documented way to book and declare freight; the duty itself stays with the consignor.
Connected to enterprise systems
Senditt connects to enterprise ERPs including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Infor M3, to CargoWise, and to the other platforms on the integrations list. A group that has grown by acquisition may run more than one ERP, and each ERP on the integrations list can be connected. The integrations team scopes and builds every connection, each with its own setup and support fees, over two to four weeks per system.
Getting started
Open with a freight review: thirty minutes, free, covering your sites, your current carriers and how each site books. The account is then set up with every carrier rate in place, and sites can start booking on day one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 4PL in logistics?
A fourth-party logistics provider manages the freight arrangement on a business's behalf: the carriers, the rates, the booking platform and the billing. Senditt is a managed freight platform (4PL).
What is the difference between a 3PL and a 4PL?
A 3PL runs physical operations such as warehousing and picking. A 4PL manages the freight arrangement across carriers. Senditt does not store stock; it books, tracks and reconciles freight across 35+ carriers.
Can every site use our own negotiated carrier rates?
No. Sites book under Senditt's own carrier agreements and negotiated pricing, and Senditt looks after the carrier relationships.
Can head office see bookings from every site?
Yes. Consignments from every site appear in the one consignment list, so head office sees every site's consignments, with their carrier and latest status, without a carrier login.
Who invoices us for freight?
Senditt. Billing for the carrier accounts is managed by Senditt, so freight from every site is invoiced through one account.
How long do we have to dispute an invoice?
Seven days from the invoice date. After that, invoices are deemed accepted under the carriage terms.
How quickly can a new site start booking?
On its first day on the account, since carrier rates are already loaded. If the site runs its own ERP, allow two to four weeks for that connection.