To say that the last two years have been a challenge for the shipping industry 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 Freightcom, 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. Consolidate Your Shipping

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

An easy way to offset shipping costs is simply ship with less frequency. This is especially effective if your company ships frequently to the same address or area, as it allows you to easily consolidate your shipping schedule.

2. Compare Services and Prices

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 can 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. Ship Off-Peak

Peak Season can be trouble for many shippers, and if recent events are any indication of what the rest of 2022 holds in store, it’s certainly possible that this year could lead to heightened peak surcharges.

While it may take a certain degree of projection and planning, minimizing the amount of shipping you plan to do between early August and mid-December could significantly reduce your business’ overhead leading into the holiday season.

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

Paying extra for shipping accessorials is often inevitable, 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 limited access delivery. If and when possible, arrange your pickups and deliveries around locations where these services are not needed.

6. 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.

7. Consider 3^rd Party Logistics

3PL services are being employed more and more by 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.

8. Choose Your Packaging Wisely

It’s true that more packaging can be beneficial in keeping your goods secure while in transit, however too much can potentially add enough weight or volume to the point of making it cost-ineffective to ship.

Being smart about your packaging choices, such as using the correct dunnage for your needs, can help in both reducing shipping costs, and in consolidating multiple orders into a single shipment.

9. Trust Freightcom 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 Freightcom helps.

Our all-in-one multimode shipping platform partners with North America’s leading LTL and parcel carrier to offer preferred shipping rates to businesses across Canada, 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@freightcom.com and give your business the power to save on shipping.