Shipping costs are constantly on the rise. If you’re already an owner of a small ecommerce or you’re just planning to start one, the shipping costs are something that you must deal with as soon as possible. We suggest you do it before they hinder the growth of your business. In this article, you’ll find out how to reduce shipping costs, how to keep shipping costs low. You’ll also discover the cheapest way to ship a package.
Why is affordable shipping so important?
The shipping costs erupted in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they never really stopped increasing. While huge corporations can deal with the rising shipping costs with ease, small businesses are facing a real challenge. Depending on how you handle the shipping costs in your company, they can make or break your business.
The only way to stay competitive in the current market conditions is to think ahead and secure affordable shipping costs for your company as soon as possible. But where do shipping costs really come from and what makes them rise?
Key factors influencing shipping costs
- Shipping Volumes
It is not a secret that last mile shipping costs highly depend firstly on the volume of shipments your business sends. The more shipments you pile up for a carrier, the better rates they are going to provide. This is also one of the key reasons why small businesses are not exploring multi-carrier setups. They want to minimize their spending, but at what cost does it come? But there are alternatives, it is just a matter of finding them.
- Parcel Weight & Dimensions
The second biggest influencing factor that has a direct impact on the shipping costs is the weight and dimensions of the package. The heavier the shipments, the higher the costs and the same applies to the dimensions of the packaging. Businesses nowadays have to be very mindful about how they pack their products and how heavy packaging items they are using. Sometimes shedding grams can mean that the package falls in lower tier pricing and results in massive savings for the business. - Fuel costs
Fuel is the main culprit behind the rapidly growing shipping costs. Fuel prices have been rising constantly for the past few years due to the overall macroeconomic and geopolitical situation in the world. Since this is unlikely to change anytime soon, high fuel costs are something that is always accounted for in shipping rates. - Shipping speed
It’s not a secret that shipping speed hugely affects shipping costs. The faster the delivery, the higher the cost. Companies like Amazon can guarantee a 2-day delivery at a relatively low cost, and you need to be able to compete with that in order for your business to grow.
Tips to keep shipping costs down
Shipping might seem complicated at first, but it’s worth remembering that even small companies are able to keep the shipping costs low, and to compete with industry giants. Shipping is all about logistics - if you focus on efficiency, you can stay competitive in any circumstances.
To reduce the shipping costs for your products, best tip is to always pick the most cost-efficient shipping carrier. Sounds simple? But how can you be sure that the shipping service you’re using is actually the best one for your business?
Best option for affordable shipping
Swotzy is an innovative platform that's all about making shipping as simple as possible for small businesses. It goes through the offers of dozens of leading carriers and compares them so you don’t have to - all you have to do is pick the cheapest, fastest or most sustainable option.
Platform allows you to take your business to the next level by creating an efficient, tailor-fit shipping strategy without complex contracts and volume obligations.. With Swotzy shipping platform, you can simply pick the best carrier for each shipment and say goodbye to the stress of handling many contracts and dealing with technical issues. Swotzy makes everything simple, leading to better shipping and happier customers!
