The cost of shipping greatly affects the profitability of your company, so we find that most companies seek to reduce shipping costs. In general, every company needs to follow methods that help it reduce shipping costs, and this is in order to increase its profit percentage, save other expenses, and direct it in other more important works that benefit it. And the process of reducing costs is based on a number of criteria. In this article we will show you everything you need to know about how to effectively reduce shipping costs.
What Are the Main Categories Associated with Shipping Costs?
There is a set of basic fees associated with shipping costs, which will have the effect of reducing shipping costs.
These categories are extra costs in the form of fees associated with your shipment, some of which are unavoidable and some that can.
Here are the most important which are the main categories associated with shipping costs:
1. Shipment insurance
A fee that is one of the main categories associated with shipping costs, and is charged to protect your products throughout the shipping journey.
The higher the value of your shipment, the higher it will require insurance than other shipments.
This means that the higher the value of your shipment, the higher the costs of insuring it and therefore the higher the shipping costs in general.
2. Track the shipment
One of the additional fees associated with shipping costs is those related to tracking the shipment and confirming its receipt, which would not reduce shipping costs.
3. Shipping fees and taxes
Customs fees and taxes may add to the shipping cost of shipped items, depending on the destination or country that the shipment is destined for.
In general, shipping fees and taxes differ from one country to another, so it must be borne in mind that customs fees are not equal in all shipping cases.
What Factors Impact Your Shipping Costs and Times?
With the multiplicity of shipping and transportation methods around the world, many people are looking for ways to help them reduce shipping costs.
There are a group of basic factors that affect shipping costs and times, and the following are the most important factors that can affect reduce shipping costs:
1. Fast shipment delivery
Shipping costs vary based on how quickly the shipment is delivered, as there is an inverse relationship between shipping cost and delivery time.
Therefore, we find that shipments that require speed in delivery have a higher shipping cost, but in return it helps to deliver the shipment faster.
2. Where the shipment is located and where it is going
A large part of shipping costs is determined on the basis of where the shipment is transported to its shipping method, whether the airport, port, or land transport.
As the farther the distance, the greater the cost of transporting the shipment, and the same applies to the place of delivery of the shipment.
The closer the place of delivery to the place of arrival of the shipment, the lower the shipping costs, so it is one of the factors that affect reduce shipping costs.
3. Weight of the package shipped
One of the basic criteria on which the shipping cost is determined is the weight of the shipment.
As the greater the weight and size of the shipment, this leads to an increase in the cost of packaging and thus an increase in shipping costs.
4. Dimensions of the shipment
Shipment dimensions affect shipping costs and delivery times as well, as product dimensions are another starting point in determining shipping costs.
Since the larger the dimensions of the shipment, this leads to an increase in the cost of the shipment, and the more you can reduce the size, this helps to reduce shipping costs.
Ways to Reduce Shipping Costs While Maintaining Shipping Speed
There are a number of ways that can help you reduce shipping costs, and the following are the most important of them:
1. Using a third-party logistics partner (3PL)
One of the most important ways to reduce shipping costs while maintaining speed is to use a third-party logistics partner (3PL).
Which will facilitate a lot of the tasks that you do, as 3PL handles a number of tasks for you, which will enable you to focus effort on other important activities.
3PL also handles matters related to logistics services such as warehousing, warehouse management, shipping and receiving, as well as picking and packing.
As well as taking care of reverse logistics, as well as processing and customizing your shipment.
Diggipacks is one of the best overseas logistics service providers that you can deal with, which has a team of experts.
2. Choose the appropriate shipping method
If you want to reduce shipping costs, you must select the appropriate shipping method to avoid expensive means.
For example, if the place of shipment and the destination of the shipment are well connected through roads, then you must use the road freight method via trucks.
Which will save you more expenses, on the contrary, if you choose air freight, you will incur double expenses.
3. Using the hybrid transportation method
Hybrid transportation helps reduce shipping costs as well as shipment delivery time.
Through which they combine shipping methods that achieve the lowest cost and the highest speed of delivery.
4. Off-peak shipping
Shipping during peak times will cost you a lot of expenses, so you should know about off-peak times in your area in order to make the best use of these times to ship your products and reduce shipping costs.
