Does your company have a budget expense for shipping or is this an adhoc added expense within a transaction? All major carriers announced hike rates for 2009 and the 2010 rates should be released by next quarter. But I thought a look at the actual expenses would help some to seriously consider their sourcing not at just the cheapest pricing but to include the shipping and testing costs involved in a transaction. All things being equal, sourcing closer to home with its generally higher price per unit cost may actually be a cost-effective measure in the long run.
I started my search with this simple phrase “UPS rate hikes 2009” then I looked at UPS’ posted rate fees. If you have ever done this then you know how frustrating an endeavour this can be. If you are fortunate to have shipper who knows their stuff, you are already one step ahead of the game! Because it’s about as consumer-friendly as applied theoretical physics would be to a 6-year old! I truly have a new respect for the guy on the forklift! And he should be a key person to have in on your company’s next annual budgetary review. In any case, I stumbled across this article, “The United Parcel Service Rate Increase: SOLVING the PUZZLE” in the January – February 2009 edition from www.PARCELindustry.com. FedEx charges closely follow UPS so it really boils down to your company’s contract negotiations with each carrier to get the best rates possible. A thorough analyze of your company’s shipping costs over the past 12 months should be a priority since shipping is increasingly a very real expense and should be looked at with an eagle’s eye on reducing this expense, talk to your shipping department, investigate in packaging options, as the fees are charged not only to weight but package dimensions and obviously from where they are being imported and exported, and then compare with the shipping rates because death, taxes and shipping rate increases are a certainty.
To help you further, this web site, Shipwizz.com may help your sales guys get a rough idea on the shipping costs when negotiating pricing with suppliers. It compares the shipping costs with UPS, FedEx, TNT, Canada Post and the USPS. They even have an iPhone app for your mobile workers! The sales force and the receiving/shipping department are not normally in sync when it comes to the company’s bottom line.
If you want to investigate further, these publications from other logistics companies compare the major carriers worldwide:
Analysis of: Global Parcel Rate Increases 2009 Presented by: True North Logistics
Carriers Raise International Shipping Rates for 2009 by AFMS Logistics Management Group
UPS’ shipping rates can be found here.
FedEx’s shipping rates can be found here.
DHL’s shipping rates can be found here.
Let me know if this helped you out.
SandraTBF
10:04:03
