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The Best Strategies for Reducing Shipping Costs for Your Business

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | The Best Strategies for Reducing Shipping Costs for Your Business

Shipping costs can be daunting to think about, but it is an essential part of running a business when customers buy products online. These items should be packed and dispatched properly to ensure they arrive in good condition, as the customer expects. However, this is just one aspect of shipping costs that needs to be considered when running a business.

The aim of a business is to make a profit, and shipping costs can eat into earnings. To avoid losing more profits than you absolutely have to, researching the best strategies to reduce shipping costs is a wise move.

Thankfully, this article lists four of the top ways to decrease a company’s shipping costs.

Compare Shipping Couriers

Instead of sticking with the same shipping provider from the very beginning, businesses should shop around to find the best deal available. This is the only way to receive cheaper deals.

As a company grows, the volume of orders usually increases, too, and this often means the price per unit can decrease slightly. One of the main ways to achieve this is to discuss the rates regularly with the current courier or to find a new carrier. Reviewing your courier annually allows for the best chance of cutting costs.

Visiting the offices of local couriers or talking to them over the phone gives you the opportunity to negotiate pricing. You should be informed of the entire shipping process to discuss your needs with the carrier, such as the collection and delivery address, the size and weight of packages, etc.

But you should not lose quality if you find a cheaper courier. Detroit Couriers, for example, is one of the most reliable in the business, and this is the type of professionalism customers expect.

Weigh Packages and Check Sizes

As previously mentioned, understanding the exact size and weight of the parcels you are sending can help to cut costs. Businesses will sometimes pay over the odds when sending packages as they do not calculate costs correctly by weighing and measuring the parcels. This is a quick way to dwindle profits.

It costs more to ship heavier parcels, but businesses should aim to keep packages on the smaller side when possible. Parcel dimensions can affect the cost of shipping, so small items should be sent in suitable boxes to avoid over-charging.

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Bill Customers Accurately

As there are so many different aspects of shipping orders, you need to consider how much you will charge customers. This should either by factored into the overall cost of the product or charged separately before completing the checkout process online.

If you choose to add the delivery cost into the product’s price, then you can offer free shipping. This makes customers feel like they’re getting a bargain and keeps the checkout process simple. To do this, ensure you keep your prices competitive by researching what your competitors’ charge.

Use Discounted Supplies

Although reusing packaging from orders the business receives might seem like a good idea, this can impact the customers’ view of the company. Instead, try to find discounted packaging supplies that will lower your spending.

Businesses should regularly take the time to analyze their products and the best way to package them. If the items are not fragile, then poly mailers might be more suitable than boxes, and these will be cheaper, too. However, if your brand depends on being sustainable or offering luxurious packaging, this should be considered when purchasing materials.

To conclude, the cost of shipping orders to customers is a necessity, but that doesn’t mean businesses should be paying more than they have to.

By making a few changes, such as using discounted supplies and weighing parcels, and adding more steps into the shipping process, like comparing couriers and billing customers for shipping, the overall cost of shipping products should decrease.

Effective Ways To Lower Your Shipping Costs Substantially

StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | Effective Ways To Lower Your Shipping Costs SubstantiallyWhether you are a manufacturer, an online retailer, or a traditional retailer, or a small startup, you’ve probably already gotten on board with offering your customers delivery options to heighten customer satisfaction by enhancing buyer convenience. And while it’s definitely an excellent decision to ensure your customer has the convenient option of choosing deliveries, shipping expenses can add up and impact your financial wellbeing as a business.

Fortunately, there are a few straightforward and practical ways to lower your shipping costs effectively. And because lower shipping costs will benefit both your business and your customer base, there’s no reason not to consider these simplistic suggestions.

Buy Shipping Materials In Bulk

Buying your shipping materials in bulk is a sure way to save; whether you’re buying product stock or shipping materials, bulk buying will offer substantial savings. Most manufacturers of literature mailers, corrugated boxes, Gaylord boxes, and various other types of shipping boxes will provide a bulk discount. With that said, boxes are not the only relevant shipping materials you will need. You will also need box tape, bubble wrap, eco-friendly bubble wrap alternatives, and various materials.

When buying small orders of shipping materials, you will pay extra because the manufacturer must add in delivery fees, their own packaging fees, and a few other small additional costs. On the other hand, when you order in bulk, the manufacturer’s prices are driven down as they will only be sending off one large order instead of multiple smaller ones. This allows for substantial savings, which is why most manufacturers offer bulk buying discounts.

Choose Your Courier Carefully

Not all courier companies offer the exact standard cost for the same delivery. Unfortunately, courier charges can vary dramatically depending on the company. So, it’s never wise to settle on the first courier company you come across. Instead, you should compare your options carefully.

When comparing courier services to lower your shipping costs, you should also consider a few essential factors. Only considering the price means you may end up buying in on inferior service quality, which will harm your business’s reputation. So, be sure to evaluate the average courier service costs in your area, then slim down your options by reading through candidate courier company reviews from customers to determine professionality and quality of services. Next, you must also consider what delivery options the courier service has available. Your customers will enjoy a same-day delivery option, while standard shipping time frames should also be welcome. Basically, the more delivery options the courier service offers, the better for your customers and your business. Everyone likes to have options.

Go For Flat-Fee Shipping Rates

Once you have found the most suitable courier service for your budget, you must also determine if they offer flat-fee shipping rates. A flat-fee shipping rate can substantially drive down your delivery costs, as you won’t be paying per order, but rather one set amount for a bulk of orders. The only relevant consideration you will have to make before opting for a flat-fee shipping rate is determining how many monthly orders you can rely on.

If you don’t have enough sales per month, a flat-fee shipping rate will increase your shipping expenses. So, you must be sure you can rely on many monthly orders to take advantage of this payment option that most courier companies offer.

Let Your Customer Pay For Shipping

It may seem like a bad idea, although most retailers and manufacturers leave the shipping costs to the buyer. However, when doing this, you must be sure to provide your buyers with a variety of delivery options that allows them to determine which cost suits them best.

You can also consider allowing a free shipping option for orders above a certain amount, as this is common to enhance sales. Even though this offering won’t drive down your shipping costs, it will increase your sales, which can improve your bottom line.

Even if your customers are paying for shipping, you should still be sure to keep your costs low by buying shipping materials in bulk and offering quality delivery services. You will still need to appeal to your audience with superior options, so you must keep up with the market standards. Once you have found a supplier of quality shipping materials, selected a courier, and settled on a flat-rate shipping fee, you may even be able to profit from shipping if you can increase your customer base and your monthly sales. However, this will only be relevant if your customers pay for shipping costs or your shipping costs are worked into your product costs.

Helpful Tips To Make Shipping Orders From Your at-Home Business Easier

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |At-Home Business|Helpful Tips To Make Shipping Orders From Your at-Home Business EasierRunning a home business is challenging enough as it is, but when you have to ship physical products around the world from your own home, it can further complicate things and create a surprising number of problems. So to give you a hand, we’ve put together some helpful tips that will assist you in shipping orders from your at-home business.

Stock up on wholesale mailing and packaging goods

First, make sure you stock up on different mailing and packaging goods at home. The last thing you want to do is buy single boxes or small quantities of packaging materials. It’s expensive and you’ll save a lot of money buying bulk bubble mailers and other mailing goods. This is a great way to cut costs, but it also means you’re less likely to run out at an inopportune time.

But try out different varieties before you buy in bulk

There are also lots of different mailing goods available, such as different kinds of boxes and packaging materials. If you want to protect the stuff you’re sending, make sure you try different kinds of packaging goods first before you commit to a bulk purchase.

Use the smallest packaging possible to save on costs

A little tip to help you save on packaging costs is to get the smallest boxes possible that can contain your items yet also offer enough protection to ensure they don’t get damaged in transit. The goal here is to go for a size that is small enough so that you don’t pay extra shipping costs on a large box. This can be difficult if you send a variety of products, so it’s not a tip that every business can use.

Ensure your items are packed safely with plenty of protection

We’ve briefly mentioned protective materials already but we believe that it deserves a more detailed description. Packaging materials come in many different shapes, sizes and materials. The key here is to ensure that it’s economical, not troublesome for the buyer (such as loose foam or packaging that makes a mess), and can potentially be reused if the buyer was to send their own items in the future.

Find the cheapest and most reliable postage services

A great way to trim shipping costs is to look for cheap and reliable postage services. Yes, they do exist, and it’s important that you get a quote from a variety of different shipping companies to see who you can work with. This isn’t an easy or short process, but the idea is to find a reliable shipping company that you can create a working relationship with so you can start doing bulk deliveries which cut down the cost of shipping.

Decide what extras you’re going to include

Lastly, decide beforehand what kind of extras you’ll include with each order. Just sending your customer’s items is fine, but adding a flyer, business card, or even little goodies such as stickers can be a great personalized addition that sets you apart from the competition.