Money Saving Solutions That Will Slash Shipping Costs For Your Business

Shipping can be one of the most expensive outgoings for your small business. Yet it's also essential that you have an effective way to get your products to the people that buy them. The good news is you can find some of the most innovative ways to reduce shipping costs in the post below.

Get the very best shipping rates. 

The very first thing you can do to slash the cost of shipping for your small business is to negotiate the best rates with your carrier. Now you might think that this only depends on your negotiation skill, and while it's important, there are other factors you need to be aware of as well. 

The first of these is that you can negotiate a better price with a carrier if they offer a zone skip service. This is because zone skips means that packages are taken directly to the zone in which they need to be delivered, rather than going through every zone before the delivery address in order. By zone skipping ,your package will require less time, effort, and fuel to be delivered, and so the cost will be lower. 

Prepay 

Another great option that you can use to negotiate for a better price with your carrier is prepay shipping. This means your small business pays up front for a certain amount of shipping per year or quarter. The big advantage of this for a shipping company is that it guarantees them a certain income and makes it much easier to predict the resources and facilities they will need for that period. 

The good news is that because of these benefits to the carrier, it's often possible to negotiate a more favorable rate for your small business too. This means you can save a significant amount of money when you choose a prepay shipping option. 

Custom packaging 

Another useful tactic when reducing shipping costs for your small business is to use custom packaging. The reason that this type of packaging, like these uline custom boxes, is good for lowering costs is because they are designed to specifically fit your products. This means you waste less money sending boxes with unnecessary space inside, and over time, this can help you make a massive saving on the costs of shipping. 

Additionally these types of boxes can be made with custom inserts, which ensure that the products inside are kept secure during shipping. This can help reduce the volume of breakages or damage, and also help lower costs in terms of returns and replacements. 

Production planning software

It's also possible to use software to your advantage when saving money on shipping for your small business. Indeed, software that deals with production planning can be especially useful here because by knowing precisely when your products will be ready for shipping, you can reduce the amount of inventory you need to stock to ship to customers promptly, thereby saving money. Your small business will also need to rely on rush shipping and save money that way too, while still fulfilling your customers' expectations. 

Offer a range of delivery options / and carriers. 

Another way that you can save money on shipping for your small business is to offer your customers a selection of delivery options and carriers. First of all offering multiple delivery options is good for your customers because it means they can select the one that best matches  their needs such as next day, standard, or signed for. Additionally, giving customers these options allows you to demonstrate the value of different shipping methods, meaning you can charge more and cover your costs for the most convenient ones. 

Offering customers the possibility of choosing the carrier that they want to use for shipping can also be another way of reducing costs. This is because it takes the decision of which carrier to use and how much to charge out of the hands of your business, and places it in the hands of the customer. A major benefit of this is that they know exactly what to expect in terms of timescale, and with their expectations managed better in this way, the cost of refunds and complaints over delivery should reduce. 

Consolidate multiple orders 

Businesses like Amazon may be able to ship 5 different products in five different boxes because they come from 5 different warehouses. However, for smaller businesses it's much more likely that orders with multiple items will originate in a single place. What this means is you can save plenty of money on shipping by consolidating these orders and shipping them altogether in a single box.  

The main benefit of this is that you will be able to save money not only with your carrier as they will only be shipping one box, but you will also need to use fewer supplies and packing materials. This not only means lower shipping costs, but a reduced carbon foot print as well which can not only save your small business money, but ensure that it's as sustainable and eco friendly as possible too. 

However, it's worth noting that consolidating orders may mean customers end up waiting longer for their package to arrive. This is especially the case if you do not have all of the items that have been ordered together in stock. Additionally, managing multiple orders that are to be consolidated can be more complex and time consuming for your small business. For example, you will need to have a system in place that notifies you as soon as all of the items are in stock so you can curate and send the package as soon as possible. 

Invest in insurance 

Lastly, when it comes to saving money on shipping, making sure that the carriers and plans you use include insurance is paramount. The reason for this is that accidents do happen, and ensuring that you are covered for any losses and damage can save you a great deal of money. Indeed, if you are shipping high value items, ensuring that they have enough insurance coverage to replace the item if it goes missing is crucial, unless you want to end up being liable for a second or third item when the customer does not receive it.