United Parcel Service unleashed their 2021 General Rate Increase on Friday, October 29th. Overall, UPS Ground, Air and International rates, will increase an average of 4.9%. Remarkably similar to increases set by FedEx last month. Accessorials, fees and surcharges will see an increase of 4.84% -9.82%. While base freight rates mirror last year’s rate increase of 4.9%, Accessorial fees and surcharges will continue to add to the company’s coffers. SurePost service increases have yet to be posted.
For all the details around the UPS 2021 Rate Increase announcement. Click here (AFMS White paper & analysis)

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season right around the corner, it's more important than ever for businesses to understand freight pricing and the need for freight pricing support. Freight pricing refers to a freight rate, which is the cost at which your company's cargo is delivered from one area to another.
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There are three key factors that impact the price of your shipping when it comes to freight. But what are these factors and why do they have such a major effect on your freight fees? Here, we'll dive into the three major things that can impact your freight pricing.

1. Mode of Transport: When you ship your products to warehouses across the country, your products need to get there somehow, and certain modes of transportation for freight are more expensive than others. Currently, the U.S. makes up the biggest chunk in parcel shipping costs with average spending of $119 billion out of the $317 billion total spent on parcel shipping globally. The most expensive options for transport include planes and ships, which is why many companies often opt for rail or truck. If you do decide to ship your cargo by truck, make sure to take advantage of any free offerings your carrier might offer. For instance, FedEx offers a one-time freight pickup at no additional cost for first-time shippers.


2. Weight of the Cargo: Another key factor that significantly impacts your freight rate is the weight of your cargo. This is because certain modes of transportation can only hold so much weight. Even if the cargo is small, it could potentially have a high freight rate because it keeps the truck, rail, ship, or plane from carrying additional cargo.


3. Distance to the Delivery Destination: For your mode of transportation to get from Point A to Point B, you'll need gas and other fuel. That's why the amount of distance between your two destinations will yield a higher or lower freight rate.

Looking for freight pricing support? We've got you covered. AFMS offers a wide array of services to help protect your business from overcharges when it comes to shipping. From freight pricing support to parcel shipping contract benchmarking, we have everything you need to put your company on the right foot. To learn more about our parcel services or to schedule a parcel audit, contact AFMS today.

The holiday season is right around the corner, which means businesses across the U.S. are gearing up for the busiest and most competitive time of the year. For many of those who have experienced financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020, the holiday season could potentially land your business a good chunk of revenue. But it's crucial that you play your cards right to keep your holiday gains from turning into holiday losses.

That said, here are a few tips you can use to help get your business ready for the upcoming holiday season so you don't find your business falling behind in the rush.

1. Make holiday schedules

Now is the best possible time to start figuring out your business' holiday operating hours. It can be tricky to determine who will work when, especially during a pandemic, but by making a plan now and then devising a back-up plan for that plan and a back-up plan for that plan, you can feel secure that you'll be ready to take on the holiday rush. Make sure that you ask your team to request holiday time off by a specific date so you can better plan their schedules ahead. Consider worst-case scenarios, too, so you can plan accordingly. Don't assume employees won't call in sick. After all, the busiest time of the year also happens to be during the winter, which is prime flu season on top of COVID-19.

2. Start hiring now

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make during the holiday season is hiring seasonal help too late in the year and then not having the time to train them properly. The reason for seasonal employees is to help your business stay as efficient as possible when you're busy. To make sure that your seasonal workers are up to the task, start hiring now and begin training ASAP. The more prepared your seasonal workers are, the more productive your business will be when the holiday season finally arrives.

3. Negotiate your shipping contract

In 2018 alone, up to 87 billion parcels were shipped worldwide. During the holiday season, parcel shipping will make up a big chunk of your budget. You want to be sure that you're not losing money because of issues with your parcel contract. If you think your parcel shipping contract is fine, consider the fact that over $2 billion in refunds and credits in parcel shipping go unclaimed by U.S. businesses every year.

If your business has a GSR waiver in its parcel shipping contract, too, you can guarantee you'll be losing money this holiday season and maybe even some customers to the competition. Now is the time to negotiate your shipping contract before the holiday rush happens.

Fortunately, AFMS can help you with parcel contract auditing and parcel contract optimization so you can feel confident your parcel contract is working for your business. For more information on our parcel contract negotiation services and how we can help you get the best possible contract deals, contact AFMS today.

View Original Article on CNN Business
New York (CNN Business)Soon, you may not need a label or a box when you're trying to return something at FedEx.
The company is working with Happy Returns, an e-commerce return technology company. Customers will be able to return products in person — without a box or label — for an immediate refund or exchange from participating retailers.
At the FedEx hubs, returns are sorted by retailer, prepared for resale and shipped in bulk back to the retailer that sold them originally. Refunds and exchanges will be initiated by the retailer at the time of drop off.

Halloween is right around the corner, but it isn't werewolves and vampires your business needs to be scared of. It's the ghosts of your missing packages and the refunds your business has been forced to make on behalf of those packages.

Not all Ground and Express packages are delivered on-time despite carrier guarantees. In fact, if a package arrives late or goes missing, there may not even be any recourse with the carrier. Instead, you're stuck with a complaint from your customers that could impact your bottom line and a loss of revenue by refunding the client's shipping costs.

But how does this incident end up happening and what keeps your carrier from being held accountable for their lateness? It turns out, it could be your parcel shipping contract.

Due to many Americans staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, the e-commerce industry has seen an uptick in business. According to CNBC, FedEx and UPS have seen their best quarter in decades, and traders are expected to back them.

• “New Normal” includes Freight and Accessorial Increases 4.9%-9.5%
• FedEx Introduces 6% late payment fee
• “Frozen Tiers” to end October 2020
• Learn how to mitigate these new increases, See below

​FedEx announced their 2021 General Rate Increase on Monday evening, September 14th. Overall, FedEx Ground Home Delivery, Express and International rates, will increase an average of 4.9%. Accessorials, fees and surcharges will see an increase of 4.9% -9.5%. While base freight rates mirror last year’s rate increase of 4.9%, Accessorial fees and surcharges will continue to add to the carrier’s bottom line. Although SmartPost and Ground Multi-Weight service increases have yet to be posted, suffice to say they are on their way. 

Given the recent rounds of Peak charges introduced over the past few months, 2021 Rate increases should be of no surprise. Due to the ecommerce explosion, rising costs, capacity and yield management concerns, carriers have went on the “offensive”. If you were fortunate enough to have your revenue tiers temporarily “frozen” due to COVID, FedEx will be thawing them out in mid-October. If all of these changes are not enough to digest, you will also want to make sure you pay your bill on time or else you will receive a 6% late payment fee, courtesy of FedEx. 

Keep in mind that these increases are only “service level” averages, while fees and surcharges will incur entirely different increases. Each company’s impact is uniquely dependent on a variety of factors. Let AFMS help you sort out the changes and how they will affect your business.

To get down to the details of this increase AFMS has prepared an expert analysis that you can find here.

Many companies too preoccupied with the key factors of their business to pay close attention to their shipping. This is especially true of small businesses, which rely on a smaller workforce and may not have the time or resources to sit down and go through their parcel shipping contracts line by line.

However, if you're not paying attention to your shipping at all, then you may find yourself losing more money than you think. That said, how can your business save money on shipping costs over time without sweating the details? Here are three ways you can save some serious money.