There are discounts available from UPS and FedEx for both small and large businesses. These deals, however, are not standardized. A company often must be knowledgeable of what level of discount is possible if they are to receive great shipping rates. Many companies negotiating with shipping carriers will not successfully achieve best-in-class shipping rates due to a lack of information.
The following are a few general but relevant points that businesses can apply to their shipping practices to reduce shipping costs:
Best Practices Suggestion:
-If you’re a small business, there are several simple ways to receive UPS and FedEx discounts, some of which can be found on the UPS and FedEx websites. For example: if you ship online, you will receive a 10% discount.
-Speak with your local UPS and FedEx sales representatives. As your shipping volumes increase, the opportunity for higher shipping discounts also increases. The carrier that does not have your business currently will be likely to bid aggressively for your business.
-If you’re a medium or large volume shipper, you need to make sure you have several pieces of information before trying to renegotiate your contract, such as shipping usage variables like weight and service, highest cost lanes and services, volume growth expectations and known discount benchmarks for UPS and FedEx discounts.
-If you do not have the resources or the relevant tools to negotiate best-in-class shipping rates, consider hiring a third party like Source Consulting to help you reduce shipping costs and get UPS and FedEx discounts possible.