Small business owners are well aware that any efforts they may take to reduce their company’s expenditures – no matter how inconsequential – will have an immediate and positive influence on the performance of their organisation.
Even if you believe that you have reduced your delivery expenses to the absolute bare minimum, have a look at the approaches provided below. Just a few easy modifications to your logistics operation might result in significant savings for your organisation!
Negotiating with Transportation Providers
Tip 1-Preparation tip number one: pit various carriers against one another
Shipping costs aren’t fixed in stone at this time. You should contact your account manager and request that better pricing be negotiated, since this will encourage you to continue doing business with the firm rather than one of its rivals.
Tip 2 – Become a bulk shipper for the United States Postal Service.
If you qualify for the USPS bulk shipper programme, you may save as much as 50% on ordinary first class shipping charges (and even more if you’re a non-profit organisation). However, not everyone will qualify for the programme. You should consider using the programme if you are prepared to pay $380 in yearly fees and permit charges, intend to transport 200 or more identical pieces of mail each year, and are capable of sorting the mail yourself.
Tip 3-Check out regional and local carriers as a third option.
While national carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service tend to provide the most affordable prices, regional and local services (such as OnTrac in the Western states) may be more cost-effective on particular routes. Examine the possibilities available in your location, but be sure to measure the effort required to check shipping costs from these second- and third-tier carriers against the possible cost savings you may realise.
Tip 4: Put hybrid services to the test.
If your products fulfil specific weight and size requirements, UPS’s “SurePost” or FedEx’s “SmartPost” services, which route your items via your clients’ local postal service office, may save you as much as 50% over conventional costs. Although delivery times may be longer, the money you will save may make the compromise worthwhile in the long run.
Tip 5 – Purchase shipping labels with prepaid shipping.
Many carriers, including FedEx and UPS, offer prepaid shipping programmes, which may result in savings of up to 20% on shipping labels when purchased in bulk and well in advance of delivery. However, in order for this to make sense, you’ll need to anticipate delivering multiple items of the same weight in the near future. If you aren’t going to utilise the services you have paid for, don’t be sucked into paying for them at a cheaper cost.
Keeping Packaging Costs to a Minimum
Tip 6 – Purchase shipping materials in bulk to save money.
It is one of the worst things you can do when it comes to purchasing shipping materials that you purchase your boxes or mailing envelopes on a “one-time-only” basis, whether from your carrier or your local office supply shop. Retail prices are an easy way to increase your shipping expenses, so check into organisations like Uline that allow you to order in bulk at discounted rates.
Tip 7 – Take advantage of complimentary carrier packing when possible
If you play your cards properly, you may not even have to pay for packing at all, since the USPS and other agencies provide a variety of sizes of free boxes and envelopes to customers. Caution should be taken, however, since these bundles may bind you to certain delivery services or pricing tiers that might not make financial sense for you. In order to prevent losing money, compare the prices you’ll pay for various delivery speeds that include and do not include these packing alternatives.
Tip -8.Use reusable shipping materials wherever feasible
When it comes to shipping and packing savings, the rule of thumb is to buy in bulk. However, this does not rule out the possibility of cost savings for small enterprises without considerable shipping volumes! The packing materials you get on personal and professional shipments may be saved, which can help you keep your costs down. Reusing these things is not only environmentally friendly, but it is also beneficial to your budget.
Customers and the Workplace
Tip -9 – Provide discounts to customers who order numerous goods.
Whether you sell on per-item markets such as Ebay or Etsy, or in other kinds of online businesses, giving shipping discounts to consumers who buy many items reduces your total expenses while increasing the average value of your transactions. It is a win-win situation for both you and the buyer!
Tip -10: Charge clients for any additional costs.
It may save you a few hassles by limiting the amount of basic shipping rates available, but it will cost you a big sum in the long run. Carriers may charge more than 75 additional fees on top of their usual charges for things like Saturday delivery and necessary signatures, as well as other things. Calculate shipping expenses ahead of time to ensure that you can pass on as much of these costs as possible to your clients.
There are other ways to save money.
Tip -11 – Insist on your vendors using your account numbers.
Although not all suppliers will agree to this, delivering items against your account numbers reduces the amount of markup that may be applied to your invoice and increases the volume of business done on your account. In the long run, these additional transactions might provide you with the power you need to negotiate even better prices with your carriers.
Tip -12 – Look at discounts offered by professional associations.
Do you belong to a local Chamber of Commerce or a professional group that is unique to your industry? If this is the case, consult your member handbook, since many of these organisations have pre-negotiated rates with shipping carriers as well as packaging vendors.
Tips -13 and -14 – Investigate third-party insurance coverage.
For the last step in shipping a big quantity of valuable things, consider using a company like Parcel Insurance Plan or U-PIC Shipping Insurance, which give coverage for an average of $0.45 per $100 of insurance (as opposed to the $0.80 per $100 paid by most standard carriers). It’s a little detail, but when taken into consideration over time and over numerous shipments, it may add up!