How To Save Money On Shipping and Fulfillment


Merchants understand that the effort it requires to fulfill and ship orders out can be quite time consuming. Oftentimes, due to this, cost is the last point to be taken under account.

For most merchants, third-party order management software helps expedite the delivery procedure. Others rely on fulfillment companies to do it for them. However, for those merchants who meet orders themselves without having a fulfillment company -- here is some advice on the best way best to save your company some money, and time, and make a much more compact self-serve delivery process for your company.

Equipment and Supplies

The more preparation you put into your order fulfillment operation, the more cost effective it's going to be removing emergency trips to a carrier drop centre or last moment purchasing of boxes and shipping materials. Consider these ideas to help prepare:

  • Purchase all Packing Materials in Bulk Online. Purchasing boxes, tape, envelopes, bubble wrap, labels and more in bulk will reduce costs of these materials. You can stock up on all items by placing a huge order which may be delivered to a place of business. Some reasonably priced material suppliers include: ValueMailers, Fast-Pack. com, G.T. Bag Company, Uline, eSupplyStore.com. Benefit from The USPS Postal Store. Order free flat rate Priority Mail boxes in packs of 10 or 25 minimum or 20 packs of 25 boxes (500 total boxes) for a maximum order. You can also order from The USPS Store labels, shipping and return forms, rubber stamps, scales, postage, envelopes and much more.

    The Postal Store home page.

  • Printing your Postage. Printing postage and shipping labels from your computer is a fast and affordable way to deal with this step. There are numerous options such as USPS postage printing machines such as Postage Meters or online services which use your pc and computer's printer for postage printing such as, USPS's Click-N-Ship, Endicia, and Stamps.com, all which allow for more affordable printing of Priority Mail options, Express Mail and Global Express labels with postage and other special discounted supplies for account holders.
  • Purchase a Parcel Scale. You need great scales to accurately calculate the cost of shipment, and based upon your volume of shipments, you might need several. Research the most economical and effective solution for your company in Amazon.com. Two good choices are The USPS Parcel Floor Scale -- a convenient big item scale for bundles ranging from 5 to 330 lbs -- and the USPS Digital Scale -- a fantastic solution for smaller sized imports ranging from.1 oz to 10 lbs. If you're running a small operation and can not afford a scale, then do your best with an electronic bathroom scale. Price: Digital Scale, $49.99; Parcel Floor Scale, $99.99.

Strategies for Cost Effective Delivery

Getting creative with your meet process can save cash. Consider these delivery approaches for lowering costs even further.

  • Recycle Packing Materials. When you receive packages, save the packaging materials and reuse them to your shipments. If your budget is particularly tight or you're a really small organization, you may even take apart boxes which may have logos or images to the outside, turn them inside out and use them again.
  • Be Creative and Fashionable . Sure, bubble wrap and foam peanuts operate, but see if you can reuse other substances which you currently have and make it a part of your aesthetic of your organization. By way of instance, say you're a uniquely-styled clothing retailer; think about shredding old papers, catalogs and magazines to your packaging materials rather than purchasing any new materials in any respect. Flea markets or used item stores like Goodwill have shelves of old yearbooks, magazines, papers which may otherwise get thrown off and are much less expensive than bubble wrap. Shred them to get an affordable, recyclable and memorable delivery style.
  • Pack Light. Use the right size boxes and use as small, lightweight packaging material as possible. Consider using a padded envelope rather than a box or cardboard products rather than plastic to lower the weight. Extra packaging material uses up your resources faster, increases the burden of shipment and raises costs.
  • Calculate Cost Online. Calculate shipping rates for all national, international and quantity shipments with USPS Online Postage Calculator, UPS Online Shipping Calculator, or the FedEx Shipping Rate Finder depending on the carrier used.

    FedEx Shipping Rate Finder.

  • Know the Current Shipping Rates at All Major Carriers. Bookmark these websites for the current shipping prices at USPS, UPS and FedEx in order to quickly compare and crosscheck the cost and delivery time of each shipment and compare the various priority prices at the same time. Current shipment rates are available on the internet in USPS, UPS and FedEx.
  • Go Paperless. Don't print extra receipts to include in the shipment unless absolutely necessary. Attempt to send email receipts when possible, create electronic PDF invoices and save on paper, ink supplies and printer wear and tear.
  • Price Products with Shipping Included. Consider increasing the prices of your most popular products to incorporate the cost of ground shipping and handling, then listing them in your shop with a"free shipping" option. Be sure the increased prices at least covers the cost of shipping and materials.
  • Use USPS Flat Rate Boxes. The USPS Flat Rate motto is"If it matches, it ships for a low rate." And they mean it. Send anything around 70 pounds for a flat price irrespective of distance. Shipping Cost: Flat Rate Envelope, $4.95; Small Flat Rate Box, $5.20; Medium Flat Rate Box, $10.95; Large Flat Rate Box, $14.95.

Business Accounts

As soon as you're ready to ship, establish a company account with the carrier service you're planning to use and try to stay with that support for both sending and receiving shipments. The more you use the identical service the more likely you will gain efficiencies, and see costs go down. You will also receive discounted prices and other tools that would otherwise not be accessible to you.

  • USPS Business Gateway. Set up an account with USPS and get access to the entire suite of business tools that they provide that may assist with tag and postage printing, shipment tracking and more. The USPS Shipping Assistant is a free desktop program that USPS provides to companies that regularly ship. It can assist with creating the complete spectrum of USPS barcode shipping labels, compute and compare shipping prices, ask USPS pickup at your house or place of business.
  • UPS Business Solutions. Manage all of your UPS shipments, package tracking, billing schedules, package pick up programs and take advantage of additional free useful tools.

    UPS Business Solutions home page.

  • FedEx Business Center. Join with FedEx and handle all of your shipment needs online. It often features discounted rates for business users.

Shipment

Save time and make the most of a carrier's package pickup solution so that you don't need to drive one shipment into a drop-off place yourself. Get your imports prepared at your place of business and the carrier service will come and pick them up.

  • USPS Carrier Pickup. A USPS carrier will pick up any number of your packages at your place of business. Price: Free.
  • USPS Pickup on Demand. Though it adds cost, this service may be useful if you will need a package or packages picked up instantly. No matter number of packages, same day requests are usually picked up within 2 hours. Price: Fixed rate of $15.30.

    USPS Pickup On Demand.

  • UPS Smart Pickup. Get automatic daily pickups and pickup-on-demand alternatives. Price: Weekly flat rate of $10.
  • FedEx Schedule a Pickup. Schedule pickups whenever you need for three significant FedEx services: Express, Ground and Freight. Price: Account setup is free; Monthly cost determined by individual shipping needs.

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