Effective Ways to Reduce Shipping Cost

The fees incurred when moving goods or packages from one place to another are referred to as shipping charges. Shipping charges are often included in the purchase price of an item when you make an online purchase or trade internationally. These fees cover a range of expenses related to shipping, including packaging, handling, transportation, insurance, customs charges, and any other services the sender or recipient may want.

The total shipping cost can be divided into 2 types – shipping and handling. This entire process will have the following associated costs:

1. Warehouse storage costs
2. Packing materials costs
3. Picking and packing costs
4. Labor costs
5. Transportation costs
6. Customs costs

Several variables can considerably affect shipping prices, including:

• Distance: When calculating shipping costs, the distance between the origin and the destination is important. Longer shipping routes typically cost more since they require more fuel and take longer to convey.
• Transit Method: The mode of transit (such as air, sea, road, or rail) is a factor in shipping prices. Sea freight is typically more economical for large goods but takes longer, whereas air freight is typically the most expensive but is fastest.
• Weight and Dimensions: Shipping charges are influenced by the weight and dimensions of the cargo. Oversized or hefty shipments may be subject to additional fees because carriers frequently have weight and dimension restrictions.
• Packaging: Effective packaging is critical for ensuring the safety of items while in transit. Insufficient or incorrect packaging could result in damages and raise delivery expenses. Shipping costs may also be impacted by specialized packing needs, such as those for hazardous products or refrigeration.
• Freight Class: The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) assigns freight classes for shipments inside the United States depending on elements like density, value, and ease of handling. The shipping costs are influenced by the assigned class.
• Additional Services: Any extra services, such as customs clearance, insurance, warehousing, or specialist handling needs, may increase the cost of shipment.

• Lighten the load on your box.

The actual or dimensional weight of an item determines how much shipping will cost. Carriers utilize the pricing method known as dimensional (DIM) or volumetric weight to calculate the cost of transporting an item based on its volume rather than on its actual weight. You will pay more for shipping an item with a larger real volumetric weight. If you can reduce the volumetric weight of a package and make a small profit on each one, you can save a lot of money over the course of several hundred deliveries. The most common method used by carriers to determine DIM weight is to determine a package’s cubic dimension by multiplying its length, width, and height, here are few methods to reduce shipping cost.

1. 1. Employ corrugated boxes: Packaging that can shield your items from the elements and handling damage is necessary for the shipping procedure. Because they are portable and lightweight, corrugated cardboard boxes make an excellent choice for packaging. Corrugated cardboard boxes, which are frequently used by ecommerce companies and are made specifically for shipment, also shield delicate goods from harm. Traditional cardboard boxes are heavier and thicker in comparison.
   2. Specific packaging Instead of utilizing generic packaging for all products, you can utilize specific packaging tailored for the type of product you are shipping. Custom packaging that properly matches the product’s size and dimensions should be made if you have things that sell well. Over time, this will enable you to reduce your shipping and packing costs.
   3. Ship in own container (SIOC) packaging eliminates the need to buy extra boxes, labor, and packing materials. An SIOC product is one that is shipped in its original packaging without being topped with an additional box. It is the original box itself that is labeled with the shipping labels. The result is both a reduction in costs and a reduction in waste.

• Reduce the size of your boxes

Make sure the box being used to pack the things is just a little bit bigger than the actual item so that less packing material is required to keep it safe, which will eventually lower shipping costs. The cost of shipping will increase as the box gets larger since it will take up more space in the delivery truck.

• Get third-party insurance

Cutting unnecessary services, such as shipping insurance, is one strategy to reduce shipping costs. The value of the item you’re delivering will determine whether this is a good idea. In the event that you do want shipment insurance for your goods, third-party package insurers are typically less expensive than using your shipping carrier — in some situations, the cost is practically halved. Of course, expensive things are where this applies the most.

• Minimize Shipping Distance

Shipping expenses can be greatly reduced by keeping inventory close to areas with high demand. Businesses need to spend less money and time delivering orders to clients the closer the products are to the delivery sites. A third-party fulfillment partner will improve the delivery process and cut down on shipping expenses.

• Select the proper protective packaging material

To protect your goods from damage during transit, protective packaging is crucial. But not all packaging is created equal. To reduce the weight of your shipment, use lightweight packing supplies like bubble wrap, packing paper, foam inserts, and air pillows.

• Ship Early During Holidays

During peak holiday seasons like Christmas, Halloween, or New Year’s, shipping providers impose a premium or costs typically increase. Encourage early purchases from your consumers as one approach to ship early. You might conduct promos and marketing prior to the Christmas season and let your consumers know that they must order early in order to receive their orders on time. This will assist you in controlling delivery costs, and you might be able to avoid using more expensive expedited shipment.

• Think about prepaid shipping

You can anticipate how many shipments your company will send each month or each quarter. Prepaid shipping can be used if you frequently ship packages of the same weight. This implies that you can purchase shipping labels in advance and utilize them as required. You’ll be eligible for a discount from various carriers thanks to this. It is a simple approach to cut your shipping costs in the future.

• Deal with a multiple of Carriers

One of the main reasons Easy ship gives you access to more than 250 shipping options is because of this. Every shipping firm has a different pricing structure, which is mostly determined by the number of shipments. If you ship a lot, think about haggling for better rates with several carriers to find out which one will save your business the most money.