A study found that companies spent $1.49 trillion on shipping costs in 2017. With more and more people shopping online, there’s no doubt this number is on the increase.
You might have some experience with this if your business has experienced an influx of shipping orders due to a recent shopping event. But while it’s nice to have a large number of orders, you might also be wondering how you can lower shipping bills, so that you can improve margins.
This post will provide a few tips on how you can cut your shipping bills. If your shipping costs are hurting your profits, this post will show you how to put a stop to silly shipping prices.
Let’s begin!
Understand What Your Needs Are
One of the most important things you can do when sorting out the shipping side of your business is to understand your needs.
This is because your total shipping costs can vary a huge amount, depending on the information you give the shipping company.
Firstly, you need to figure out how much each item weighs. In doing so, you’ll be able to provide your shipping company with an accurate product weight, and this will ensure you’re not paying more than you need to.
You’ll also want to review the height and width measurements of your packaging. Again, if you know this information, you can ensure you’re buying the right kind of shipping.
Shop Around
Once you’ve identified your needs, you then want to consider how you can reduce your shipping costs.
One way you can do this is by shopping around and comparing the prices of different shipping companies. If you know what your needs are, then it shouldn’t be too difficult to get accurate quotes from each company.
Now, you might find this task difficult if you have highly unique shipping needs.
For instance, if you need to ship items in special containers, you might only be able to work with a small number of shipping companies. This, of course, makes it difficult to shop around.
In such a situation, you might want to find out what you’re items will tolerate best. For example, you might currently pay for a refrigerated container – but you might find that an insulated container works just as well.
You’ll need to experiment with different shipping containers before you figure out what’s best for you. If you’d like to learn more about the kinds of containers you can use, click here.
Can You Cut Packaging Costs?
You’ll also want to look at the way you’re actually shipping items, as you may be able to reduce the amount of money you’re spending on packaging.
For instance, you might want to look for some internal packaging that’s lighter than what you’re already using. In doing so, you’ll be able to reduce the weight of your item, thereby reducing the total shipping price.
You might even want to buy your packaging materials in bulk so that you can experience a discount.
Will These Tips Help You Manage the Cost of Shipping Orders?
The tips in this post should help you deal with the costs associated with shipping orders to customers.
As you experiment with different shipping options, you may inadvertently upset some customers.
While this isn’t ideal, it’s important you’re aware that it could happen. By acknowledging this, you can then develop a plan for how you’ll compensate an unhappy customer.
To begin with, it’s going to be a bit of a rough process. But if you want to improve your profits, this is a phase you can’t avoid.
Do you have any suggestions when it comes to managing shipping orders as a small business? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments section!
