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.
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.
- Shipping refunds. A guaranteed service refund ensures that a problem caused by your carrier is handled by your carrier and not by you, the business owner. For instance, if a package was delivered late or not delivered at all, a guaranteed service refund ensures that your business isn't the one paying for the customer's refund. It's important not to sign a shipping contract that contains a guaranteed service refund waiver, or GSR waiver, because it keeps you from holding your carrier accountable. If your carrier isn't required to deliver packages on time, then there's nothing stopping them from delivering them late. As a result, your business takes the fall for the late shipping and ends up paying out of pocket for a problem you didn't cause.
- Flate-rate shipping. Major shipping companies offer flat-rate shipping options. USPS has the cheapest flat-rate shipping, making it ideal for entrepreneurs and other small business owners. Order a few flat-rate boxes from different shipping companies to determine which boxes work best for shipping your products. You'll want to calculate the cost of shipping, shipping time, and box size to determine which flat-rate boxes will save you the most money. Don't hesitate to contact shipping providers to ask for more information about different rates based on the distance the package is traveling.
- Negotiate your shipping rates. The U.S. is the biggest market by parcel expenditure, making up $119 billion of the $317 global expenditure on parcel shipping. AFMS offers professional and experienced parcel contract auditing and benchmarking to determine where your business can save money on shipping costs. From there, we can help to provide parcel contract optimization and negotiations support to help your business get the best possible deal in your shipping contract.