Kevin Hill of Quality Scales Unlimited explains how to increase efficiency and reduce your shipping and fulfillment costs.
Those in the business of supply chain optimization know one thing to be true: shipping and fulfillment can cost a pretty penny. Thankfully, there exist a wide range of high-quality and affordable solutions that reduce these costs by maximizing warehouse efficiency. Here are 5 ways to slim down your shipping and fulfillment budget:
1. Do Your Homework Before Shipping Overseas
Thanks to the globalizing power of e-commerce, today’s consumers can order products for delivery from virtually anywhere in the world. However, overseas shipping comes with its own rules and guidelines, making it more complex than domestic shipping. Every country also has its own packaging and labeling requirements, tax rates, and insurance policies.
To avoid inconveniences at customs, make sure to understand well in advance precisely what your shipping needs are and what delivery options you can offer. That way, customers can choose which method of shipment is right for their location, and you can charge them accordingly. Ensure that everyone involved in the product’s shipment is able to track the package from the warehouse to its final destination.
It's creating a logistical nightmare.
2. Control Package Weight
If there’s one factor that contributes most to sky high shipping costs, it’s package weight. To keep this in check, have tools such as floor scales, truck scales and digital scales readily available. When every package is accurately measured prior to shipping, it’s crystal clear exactly how much you will need to spend on shipping and how much to charge the buyer.
With this information in hand, you can also employ creative strategies to control or cut down package weights. Even a small reduction in weight can help you save a lot of money in the long run, so don’t be shy when it comes to investing in scales and thinking “outside the box”!
3. Keep Tabs on the Industry
The shipping industry, and the supply chain in general, is ever-changing. It’s crucial to review and update your protocols regularly — these include your preferred carriers, costs that are being passed to the customer, and the levels of service you offer. Re-check your locked-in shipping preferences at least once a year. Tracking your actual outbound shipments and calculating when you should be spending more or less will also put you on the path to cost-effective shipping.
4. Buy in Bulk
Because the cost per unit is usually lower, buying in bulk is a surefire way to save money on your business’s operational needs. This principle applies to packaging materials as well: buy them in bulk and store them at your distribution centers, so you’ll always have supplies on hand. You can even look into custom packaging options, if you get a good deal on them.
Think beyond just typical mailing boxes — to truly maximize savings, you can buy a number of other shipping materials in bulk, such as labels, shipping forms, scales, rubber stamps, and envelopes.
5. Embrace Automation
As technology advances, automation is becoming ingrained in nearly every industry, and shipping is no exception; by automating different processes, you can increase accuracy within the facility and decrease overall delivery costs. One example of the transformative power of automation: while customer and parcel details once had to be manually entered for every shipment, now you only need to do it once, and the information will be automatically populated for future shipments.
Automation can also reduce processing charges from shippers, which lowers overhead costs and saves on both labor and the restricted use of shipping materials. You can even use automated scales, which allow for a greater degree of accuracy.
You can help your business grow by employing the best shipping practices in your facility. So don’t wait another minute: increase your savings by implementing the above mentioned practices, if you haven’t already.
