If you run a small ecommerce business, there is certainly an extended period at the beginning when keeping costs low is an absolute imperative. The reason is simple enough – limited funds without the type of profits that allow you to grow.
Growth, as it happens, is something which only comes along after your first real success, which is defined as stable revenue streams and, even more importantly, a stable cash flow.
That said, there is also a lot of pressure to seize the opportunity for growth when it comes along – and not to miss it. To do this effectively, you need to know when things are beginning to stagnate and then make the necessary upgrade that takes your business to the next level.
When it comes to fulfilment, that normally means progressing from fulfilling orders in-house and beginning to outsource. Shipping and Handling of Texas, a company specializing in cross dock services in Houston advise that, although this upgrade comes with a great many advantages, there is also an imperative to keep up with what your new customer base has come to expect.
When you begin to outsource fulfilment, you can reach a wider customer base and ship to more distant locations. The moment you step into this arena though, you suddenly need to keep up with a generation of ecommerce customers who, thanks to the likes of Amazon and eBay, have come to expect super-efficient shipping and added features such as optional same day delivery. This means that it’s hard to save money here.
Nevertheless, it can be done and there are many ways to cut shipping costs as a small business and still impress customers with an efficient fulfilment service. If your ecommerce business is still small (but growing) you should certainly investigate this because you could be spending money that you simply don’t need to.
Reducing Shipping Costs
The trick to reducing shipping costs is saving money on the things that will not affect the shipping experience from the customer’s point of view. For example, if you cut corners on delivery speed, then this is going to make you stand out (in a bad way) against the other companies not doing this. However, it isn’t only here that costs can be cut in fulfilment. Here follows some other innovative solutions for cutting shipping costs:
Reduce the Weight of Packages
You cannot reduce the weight of the thing you are shipping, but you can certainly reduce the weight of other elements of the package. For example, you can pack in corrugated boxes, which are lighter and actually stronger than ordinary cardboard. This is such a win-win that it is genuinely puzzling why every small ecommerce company isn’t doing it.
Air pillows, packing paper, bubble wrap, foam inserts – these are all exceptionally lightweight and provide excellent protection for delicate products. Air cushioning is effective – and air is weightless.
Use Flat Rate Shipping Where Possible
Once the fulfilment service starts hiking the price with every little incremental increase in weight, things can get expensive fast. Look into fulfilment services that offer flat rate shipping. There will normally be a threshold weight below which you pay a flat rate, and you can try to find this wherever possible.
Use Local Delivery or Pickup
Now, customers often want items delivered straight to their door, and so this might not be an option. Nevertheless, if you use this method in terms of environmental protection and saving fuel, you could appeal to those concerned about the environment.
Cutting shipping costs can certainly be achieved, and it can be achieved while your company grows as well.