4 Ways to Minimise Your Shipping and Freight Expenses

Shipping and freight can be a very large part of any company's business, especially one that deals in online retail and that makes daily shipments to customers. Unfortunately not all companies understand how to minimise their costs in this area, as they may simply pay full price to a popular carrier for their shipments and never investigate ways to save. If your company has not reviewed your shipping and freight expenses, consider 4 ways you may be able to reduce these costs.

1. Review your rate versus your discount

One common mistake that companies make when it comes to shipping is choosing a company that offers them a large discount without noting the original rate first. They may be offered a discount on an overly inflated rate, so they're not really saving money in the first place. This is similar to a store putting an item on sale when it was already overpriced; the 'sale' doesn't really offer the consumer any savings. To ensure you're saving the most, note the original rate on which you're getting a discount and compare this to other companies and their rates.

2. Be cautious of fixed fuel surcharges

These surcharges are meant to help offset the cost of fuel for the shipping or freight company, but this should be flexible as gasoline prices go up or down. If your freight company has been charging you one set price over the past several years, ask if this can be lowered or changed as fuel prices level off.

3. Know when to consolidate

If you ship less than a truckload of goods or 'LTL', you are typically charged more by your carrier or freight transport service. One way to avoid this type of extra charge is to work with a freight consolidation service. This service will combine your shipment with other shipments so that your carrier has a full truckload out for each delivery. In turn, you are charged a portion of the truckload charge, saving you money overall.

4. Don't waste too much time getting quotes

It can actually be very costly spending hours and hours every week getting new quotes from carriers, thinking that you need to find the cheapest carrier each and every time you arrange a shipment. Instead, get quotes from carriers like Jayde Transport once per month or even once per quarter. Their rates and discounts are not likely to change much over that time period.