Reducing shipping costs is crucial to any organization’s success. You can save money and increase your profits if you pass shipping costs on to your customers. But free or low cost shipping could be the difference between your company getting the sale or your competitor getting it. According to a Forrester survey of close to 6,000 online shoppers, 82 percent of the participants said that shipping costs determined whether or not they would shop at an online retailer.
Since there are numerous ways to reduce shipping costs, consider the following options to reduce shipping and keep more of your profits.
Consolidate
Consolidation provides the single largest way for shippers to lower freight costs. When it comes to shipping, the larger the weight of your shipment, the lower you’ll pay per pound. Group your packages together, wherever possible, and reduce the cost of shipping. There are many ways to consolidate your shipments: Pack multiple orders in the same box, place your shipment on pallets, utilize a full truck, or band boxes together.
Parcel consolidators provide a fantastic way for residential shippers to save 25-30 percent on UPS shipping. If you’re shipping to international customers, you can save money if you place multiple packages on one waybill or negotiate rates with carriers.
Rethink Your Packaging
Weight is not the only factor that affects your shipping costs. The package dimensions can lead to dimensional or billing weight charges that might be higher than the actual weight of the package. If your package exceeds a certain dimension, you may be forced to pay for additional charges for the handling of large packages.
You can save money if you downsize your packages to smaller boxes or separate a large box into two smaller boxes. Don’t fill boxes with packing material when it’s not necessary – there are other ways to protect the content in the box without paying a fortune for a box filled with packing material. For instance, you can switch to crush-proof boxes or use packing material that will absorb the impact if the box falls.
Invest In A Postage Meter
If you send out identical letters in large volumes, then a postage meter is the way to go. Some companies use postage meters with advanced functions like folding, and stuffing envelopes before they meter. Metered mail also has the advantage of faster arrival times – when compared to traditionally stamped mail.
Use postage meters to save on shipping costs. For one, the time savings is invaluable. Imagine running to the post office every time you want to check on the accuracy of your mail or to purchase extra stamps. Since postage meters ensure that you use the exact postage on all your mail, you’ll save as much as 20 percent on your shipping costs.
Get your shipping costs under control because the costs can cut deep into your profits. Make use of these tips and plan your shipping in advance to provide cost-effective and consistent delivery to your customers.
