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How manufacturers can keep shipping costs low

barrels41840423.jpgManufacturers are always looking, for ways to cut costs. One of the areas where they can significantly cut costs is through shipping. This is because in manufacturing, one of the costs that go into the final product price is the shipping costs. Even if a business has the customers pay shipping separately, it can still affect profits. Every company wants to ensure that their customers return for additional business, so the focus must be on keeping prices as low as possible. The bottom line is that one of the best ways to help keep any product affordable is to keep the shipping costs as low as possible. Here is what you need to know about how manufacturers can keep shipping costs low-

  • Ask for a discount-If you are using a retail shipping department, you can work with your account representative, to make sure that you are getting the best discount program available. You may never thought about discounted prices. Remember that the only way that you are going to get the discounted price is to ask for it, so do not be afraid to ask.
  • Look for alternative shipping options-Remember that if your cost is a bigger factor, than the delivery time for your products, than you do not have to choose the fastest option. You should look at other shipping options that your current carrier offers, such as slower shipping methods that cost less than priority shipping, or you can even look at alternate shipping methods.
  • Use only one provider-Most carriers will offer some kind of incentive, if you do all of your shipping with them.They may even offer incentives that are based on the volume of shipping, that you do with them. These are known as threshold or earned discounts, depending on the carrier that you use. In addition, by using one shipper for all of your shipping needs, you can easily qualify for these discounts, in addition to base discounts, and rewards to customers, who meet certain shipping levels. It is important to remember as well to make sure that you are using the right carrier, for your shipping needs by shopping around, and comparing prices.
  • Consider using hundredweight pricing-If your business sends out shipments of multiple packages to a single location, it could be eligible for something called hundredweight pricing, (also referred to as multi-weight pricing). With this method of pricing is used, multiple packages that are being shipped to the same destination, are rated as a shipment, at a rate per unit weight, rather than weight per package. When shipping multiple packages to the same address you also should look into both shipping prices, to see which price is going to be the lowest. Remember that not all cases will result in hundredweight pricing, being the low cost option.
  • Monitor for surcharges-You might not think surcharges can greatly increase your shipping costs, however, you should keep in mind that nobody but you is going to monitor them, to ensure that you are being charged the right amount. It is important to understand that certain surcharges, are higher for residential packages, and these are charged in addition to the standard residential and fuel surcharges, that your carrier charges. Another thing that you should watch out for is address correction charges. You want to make sure that you get the address right the first time, so that you do not have to pay additional fees, such as shipping it out again to the correct address. You should also try and avoid having the packages picked up for shipping, because most carriers will charge you a small pick up fee. All of these surcharges can add up quickly.
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