If you are in charge of importing and exporting products for your company, you have probably noticed that it is not cheap to get things from one place to another these days. If a country you are shipping to has high tariffs, it can greatly increase shipping costs to the point where it may not make economic sense to sell your product there.
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can reduce your freight forward shipping costs. If you follow them, you should see significant savings within a few months.
1. Consider all of The Different Methods of Shipping
The first thing you should do is look at what your current shipping method is costing you. In most cases, Ocean Freight is a cheaper method of shipment than air freight is. However, you may want to consider the size and frequency of your shipments.
When you ship something by ocean freight, you are charged by the container. Ocean containers are eight feet high, 8 feet wide, and either 20 or 40 feet long. If your shipment is too small to justify buying a shipping container, you may have to share one. Space in another party’s container may or may not be available when you want your product to ship.
If your shipment is large and dimension but light in weight, it may end up being less expensive to ship by air. If you are contracted to have a product to a retailer by a certain date, it may be in your best interest to ship by air, as the timing of an ocean freight can be very precarious.
2. Work Out a Deal with a Shipper
If your shipping needs are fairly simple and can be handled by one or two shippers, you may want to ask them about a long-term contract. Loyalty to any company normally pays off. They will benefit from your steady business, so they should be able to offer you a lower price on your shipping costs.
3. Ship Off Peak
Shipping products by plane, boat, or train is not entirely different than traveling by any one of those methods. It is less expensive to get a seat on an airplane or train on a Thursday than it is on a Saturday, and freight shipping costs also have peak and off-peak days. This is especially true for road shipping. Both Mondays and Fridays tend to be less expensive for freight shippers.
4. Make Larger Shipments
You may want to try shipping more less often. This can be especially effective if you are using ocean freight. You may be able to get a shipment that will last for months to your customer. Before you do this, you should make sure that your customer has a place to warehouse extra items.
5. Hire a Freight Forwarder
You may want to think about hiring a professional freight forwarding company to do the work for you. They will charge you a flat fee to handle the logistics of shipping. Although they will obviously charge you for their services, they will have relationships with shippers that will make the shipping itself less expensive. They will also save you a lot of time and time is money.
The world deserves to see your fantastic product. If you save money on shipping, you can spend more money on marketing and let people know all you have to offer.
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