9 Cost-Saving Tips to Offset Rising Fuel Surcharges

To say that the last two years have been a challenge for small businesses would be a tremendous understatement. Countless businesses have been challenged like never before to find solutions to problems most never would have expected to face.

As exhausting as it all has been, business owners once again find themselves facing yet another major shipping industry event that, if not met with creativity and adaptability, will have major implications for their businesses.

Here at ClickShip, your success is our business. So while the challenges ahead may be unavoidable, here are some tips to help you maintain a healthy shipping strategy in the days to come.

1. Ship More, but Less Often

As with every part of the supply chain, bulk breeds benefits.

An easy way to offset shipping costs is simply shipping with less frequency. Consider using a less-frequent pickup schedule for fulfilled orders, or incentivizing customers to purchase multiple items in the same order rather than making multiple purchases.

2. Don’t Settle for One Carrier

Many carriers have their strengths.

By diversifying your shipping strategy, you can be sure that with every shipment you make you are not only getting the best service, but the best price available at the time.

3. Know the Difference Between True and Dimensional Weight

When booking shipments, it’s important to note that most carriers will price a shipment on either the true weight or the dimensional weight, whichever is greater. As such, knowing the difference ca help you better plan your shipping strategy.

True weight is quite simply the actual weight of the shipment in question, regardless of size. Dimensional weight, sometimes known as volumetric weight or DIM weight, is a method that carriers use to calculate their shipping rates based on a pallet or parcel’s dimensions rather than its weight.

4. Know What Services You Need (and What You Don’t)

Additional services often can’t be avoided when shipping pallets, but with the right planning and preparation it doesn’t need to be as detrimental as it may seem.

When possible, plan your shipping strategy around where you are shipping to and from. Check ahead to verify whether or not you will need additional services such as residential delivery, tailgate, or threshold delivery. If and when possible, arrange your pickups and deliveries around locations where these services are not needed.

5. Double-Check Your Paperwork Before Booking

Accurate documentation is essential in ensuring that your shipments travel in a safe and timely manner. While incorrect or incomplete paperwork can stall your shipments, it can also result in substantial back charges, and even fines.

Avoiding such situations is ultimately a matter of due diligence. Before finalizing a shipment’s booking, be sure to double-check all documentation with the utmost scrutiny in order to avoid paying for any mistakes after the fact.

6. Consider 3^rd Party Fulfillment

Services like Amazon FBA are being used more and more by eCommerce businesses of all sizes, and with good reason. For a fraction of the cost of owning or leasing one’s own fulfillment space, hiring one’s own staff, and managing one’s own fulfillment, a business can trust trained professionals to provide all the above.

7. Print Your Shipping Labels In-House

Thermal label printers are relatively inexpensive and have become a staple for eCommerce businesses of all sizes.

This one-time investment can help cut costs by saving your business both time and money that would otherwise be spent printing labels elsewhere.

8. Use Packaging that Won’t Break the Bank

Creative packaging can be an important part of the customer experience for eCommerce, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a huge expense.

Using stamp labels and custom tape in place of custom-branded boxes are just a couple of many ways to keep your packaging creative, but also budget friendly.

9. Trust ClickShip to Offer Better Rates

With the shipping industry being in what feels like a constant state of fluctuation, it can feel like businesses are powerless to have any say on shipping rates. That’s where ClickShip helps.

Our all-in-one eCommerce shipping platform partners with North America’s leading LTL and parcel carrier to offer preferred shipping rates to businesses across Canada! We integrate with leading eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces to offer real-time rates directly at checkout, and all for zero upfront or monthly fees!

Contact one of our shipping experts Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm EST at 1-877-335-8740 or by email at sales@clickship.com and give your business the power to save on shipping.