Emily Newton is the Editor-in-Chief of Revolutionized, an online magazine showing how technology is disrupting many industries.
Small businesses already face numerous shipping challenges. These include managing schedules, protecting damaged parts, tracking components and more. While this is a sliver of the situations they handle, there are also the difficulties associated with the economy.
Costs of goods rising, operational expenses and dwindling supplies force small businesses to find creative ways of reducing costs. It’s a daily struggle for any company looking for an efficient flow of shipping supplies.
One of the ways to reduce expenses and improve the bottom line is to lower costs associated with freight.
Here are the top business shipping tips that help you reduce costs.
7 Business Shipping Tips for Saving Costs
1. Consolidate Freight Shipments
One of the best business shipping tips to save on costs is to limit the number of shipments you send and receive. Consider consolidating your inbound and outbound shipments. One leading cost often forgotten is the shipping for inbound supplies. Small business owners can consolidate shipments within the company effortlessly.
To combine your shipments, an LCL (less than container load) or FCL (full container load) method are cost-effective options.
LCL vs. FCL
- LCL is when a shipment is too small to require a full container for shipment. These shipment prices vary by volume and consolidate freight into full containers.
- FCL shipments will have enough mass to require an entire container. You can use this shipment for a flat rate per container.
FCL shipments may be the better option for consolidating shipping, depending on the needs of your business. Deliveries with FCL are quicker and less expensive to ship per unit than LCL. However, LCL allows you to send smaller volumes, which is cheaper than FCL.
2. Use the Right Packaging Material to Avoid Damage
Customers will immediately ask for a refund when your products break during transit or arrive with defects. Unfortunately for you, you’ll have to resend the new items while you pay for additional shipping and inventory costs. In addition to paying more for shipping, your staff has to handle customer complaints.
Customers often share bad experiences, so shipping damaged goods can negatively affect future sales with potential customers.
One way to prevent damaged items during shipment is to prepare with the right packing material. The packaging doesn’t have to be costly or use heavy material. Crumpled paper, padded envelopes and bubble mailers work. Polymailers are also durable and lightweight, providing you with cost-effective shipping for smaller parts.
3. Delivery Speeds
Time is of the essence and also costs money. As a shipper, you have the power to choose shipping options you can offer your customers. Most of the time, though, customers want free delivery.
One thing to keep in mind is that expedited deliveries will cost at a higher rate. So, if you offer free shipping, you’ll still need to find a way to profit from the sale somehow. To make it worthwhile for you and the customer, you could offer free shipping at a certain threshold. Here are some options to consider with fast or free delivery:
- You can offer free shipping via ground service, so you and the customer save on costs. However, ground shipping will take longer.
- Faster delivery could be an option if the customer is willing to pay for it.
- You could also raise prices on your products to account for faster and free delivery. This option makes sense if you’re not competing with low prices.
By understanding your shipping requirements, you’ll have a clear picture of which shipping options are best. One other key factor to keep in mind is being transparent about your shipping options with the customers. Buyers need details so they can decide if they’re willing to wait. So, including policies online will prevent future frustration and save time.
4. Choose the Best Shipping Service
Choosing one single shipping service may not be able to handle all your shipping needs. However, you can work with a carrier to get the best deals overall. Depending on your shipping needs and strategy, this might dictate you to work with several couriers.
The best way to reduce your shipping costs is to work with an experienced third-party logistics provider. A professional provider will be knowledgeable of the entire process. Plus, they’ve built strong relationships with carriers and other logistics companies—allowing you to find the best rates and modes of transportation.
5. Build Relationships with Shipping Carriers
In the logistics industry, it’s all about relationships. Carriers and shippers that build relationships based on repeat business can help each party create fair shipping rates. For small businesses, working with the same couriers is a great way to reduce shipping costs.
The key is to ask them to lower those rates. This tip is especially important if they work with you frequently. You can also create a weekly shipment contract with the carrier to save costs.
6. Ship During Off-Peak Times
One of the business shipping tips to consider is shipping on certain days and times. Shipping during off-peak times can have a huge impact on cost. Consider adjusting shipping days and hours during slow times to reduce the price for inbound and outbound shipments.
On average, high-volume shipping peaks are during mid-week days, like Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Peak shipping times are typical during normal business hours from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm.
7. Reuse Shipping Materials
Reusing shipping materials are a practical way of saving your business and reducing your carbon footprint. Moreover, customers will be excited to hear about your sustainability initiatives to going green.
Some of the ways you can give back to the planet and save include:
- Use shipping management software to automate shipping and orders for supplies—reducing your supply inventory to exactly what you need.
- Use shipping material from returned orders—if it’s in the right condition. Or, you can find a local recycling center that distributes recycled shipping materials.
- Encourage customers to recycle their shipping materials.
Start Saving Today
Now that you have some of the best shipping tips, you can start saving on your costs today. Furthermore, it helps to think of shipping as an extension of your company instead of a central cost to your business. Finding the right shipping methods can help transform your business and give you the competitive edge to grow.
