Any business that doesn’t sent hundreds of packages a day
falls into the category of small businesses. If you have such business, it
means that your business is a home-based one and you use eBay and other
platforms for the shipping of your products. Or you may have a formal business
address but then, the types and pace of your business operations bring you in
the category of small businesses.
One of the biggest challenges for the small businesses is to
manage shipping in order to contain the costs and improve efficiency and
effectiveness of shipping process. For this purpose, you will first need to
find a shipping service for your business. A few things are worth mentioning in
this regard.
Shipping considerations for small businesses
You will need to find a shipping service that offers you the
lowest overall cost on shipping. There are a few factors that need to be taken
into consideration.
- Product delivery time
- Package’s weight
- To and from shipping addresses
- Package’s dimensions
- Tracking
- Handling
Rates are negotiable
You can negotiate over the costs of shipping if you ship
your products frequently. You can have this leverage by shipping more. However,
it doesn’t really mean that you cannot ask for the lower rates if you are a too
small business.
If you ship 100 products every month, you can ask the
carrier’s representative for discounted rates. They will provide you the
discount if your business is running at a promising pace.
Pickup and delivery of products
It doesn’t sound easy to run to courier’s office every now
and then. Therefore, you can look for the option of free pick-up and delivery.
However, the only disadvantage of this approach is that you are going to rely
on the pick-up schedule.
Package handling charges
There may be the fragile items that you need to ship to your
customers. Fragile items need special handling. For this purpose, there are
going to additional handling charges on you.
Shipping materials
You will need to ensure your product reaches safe to the
customers. For this purpose, you will need to pay attention to the packaging
supplies you use. The most considerable packaging solutions include envelopes, cushioning
material, boxes and tape. You can get advice about these items from your
shipper.
Multiple shipping partners
Dealing with one shipping carrier and negotiating for the
lowest cost may work well but it is going to be even better if you go for other
shipping options as well. Having several options in hand is going to help you
go for the most suitable one.