Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash
When it comes down to in business, you ideally need everything to be as smooth and as quick as possible. But this only works when you have all of the right frameworks in place. You will find that the more planning and foundations that you lay, the less that is left to chance. And when it comes to shipping, here are a few things that you need to take into consideration for product-based businesses.
Of course, your primary business focus will always be to deliver products in a timely fashion to the consumer. But there are things you can do to make sure that your process is as optimised as possible.
Pool Shipments
If you have many deliveries in a similar region, but sporadic shipments, then you are like wasting a lot of precious time and money. Learning to pull the shipping for a specific region, city, with the whole country – will save a lot of cash.
If you ensure that you have given advance notice of the available dates, other people will book accordingly. You also have the ability to work with another business that can coordinate with their own freights, and deliveries to do the leg work for you. You will still be saving in the long run too.
Increasing Leadtimes
If there is anything that sounds counter-productive, this would be it. When you talk about getting a product delivered in a timely manner, this is all about planning. The further in advance, the carriers have notice of pickup and delivery, the more likely it is that you will be able to find space to free up costs, not only that but you can research the best carrier to do the job.
It might be an overnight freight company that is best for the job, for example. One of the highest costs that you could possibly incur will be when products or trailers are sitting idle. You will still be held responsible for the time here And of course the costs, even without anything being moved. Plan for ahead in advance, for pick up, staging, and of course loading. Carriers will then be able to reduce the oil time, which will reduce your costs, and you will be the one who saves money in the long run.
Supplier Compliance
Before you start receiving anything, you need to make sure that you have the best process in place for managing all of your inbound flight. The early days will see you probably perform an audit every few months, but after that, it will soon move to yearly. Work out what percentage of orders have collect shipping terms, versus what is prepaid.
It is most often the case that a buyer will be the one in control of inbound transportation. There are risks associated with prepaid freight too. And you should pay extra close attention to the amount of sales tax you are paying. Check your bills for freight allowed, or freight included.
Customers
When people purchase something online, they expect to be on their doorstep the very next day. And the closer you can get your product then the more likely it is you can deliver on that promise. This works even if you are B2B. Consider your last-mile delivery very carefully.
Although it is not something always within your control, you need to have a firm grasp on how your customer will be impacted if anything happens. You can also shop around to get the most competitive quotes before choosing anyone.
Make decisions only driven by the data that you have access to, and you will find that you can optimise any process that you have in place for your shipping very quickly. And you will see the benefits in your business bank balance and the satisfaction of both your client and consumers.
