Just because your freight costs seem fixed doesn’t mean they actually are. If you’ve always just accepted your freight costs as part of your operational costs, now could be the time you finally make a change for the better.
You can reduce your freight costs. You read a few strategies on last month’s post.
And here’s a few more:
- Use Consistent Lane Volumes to Negotiate Savings
Do you know you’re going to ship through your carrier every day? With consistent work flow, your carrier can plan their hauls with great efficiency.
That puts you in perfect position to negotiate a price break.
- Use Only the Dunnage You Actually Need
When was the last time you analyzed how much dunnage you use to protect your product as it ships?
Every air bag, extra foot of paper, or layer of bubble wrap adds up. No, this won’t be the largest opportunity for reducing freight costs. But, every little bit helps.
- Get a Reputation for Fast Load Times
Carriers typically figure 2 hours to load their trucks and about $25 per hour.
What if you could get your own loading processes so efficient it typically only takes you an hour to load?
Not only does this reduce your carrier’s costs, but it actually makes the carrier want to work with you more as a customer. Carriers don’t experience this often – so you’ll certainly attract their attention when you let them know about it.
- Offer a Night Pick-Up
With this one, you can more than likely score a huge savings. Most shippers close their dock from 6 PM – 12 AM. Carriers frequently have to cancel requested pick-up times. So, you can capitalize on that with a later one that allows them to pick up their stuff on a backhaul. Plus, the carrier can still make their other delivery on-time.
By doing this, you’re helping the carrier make the best use of their shipping time and assets. And you can reward yourself with big savings as a result.
- Ask Your Carrier for Recommendations on Building Efficient Pallets
Do you ship your product in a box that fits the product perfectly? Or do you have space leftover? Do you stack your pallets to the greatest extent possible so you use the fewest pallets you can?
Ask your carrier for information on efficiently stacking your pallets, or conduct your own audit.
It’s another huge opportunity for savings.
Yes, you have savings opportunities available. You just have to know where to look.
So consider these, and the ones from the previous post, and figure how they apply to your company…and watch your freight costs plummet.