05 Jan 2018 Shipping Rate Increases Effecting Businesses
UPS and FedEx Shipping Increases Giving Businesses the Cold Shoulder
The weather outside is cold but this month shippers may feel they are burning cash. Across the board increases from both FedEx, UPS and soon the USPS are definitely concerning to business because in most cases those shipment costs are increasing by an average on 4.9%. These direct to the bottom line losses from 2018 shipping rate increases have many shippers in a panic.
All of these increases due to an effort UPS describes on their end, as needed to support ongoing expansion and capability enhancements. To read more about the FedEx increases in detail visit here and for UPS visit here.
Shippers Need Extra Auditing Now More Than Ever
Generally, when one of the carriers announces a rate change, you have to dig into the details to figure out exactly how it will impact your shipping profile. Given how intricate these rate increases are, this can be next to impossible. First of all, the story is seldom as simple as the base rate increase, it is also the modification of existing shipping fees and the introduction of entirely new one.
This year, at least we’re lucky the increases are more simple than years past. This year – with a few exceptions – it’s pretty straight forward. It boils down to if you ship, you will see a 4.9% increase.
With all of this in mind, it’s more important than ever to have a parcel auditing plan in place. If you measure and understand your data, you have the opportunity to try and identify savings elsewhere or even to combat these increases head on.
With 2018 shipping rate increases now or soon to be in effect, make sure and that you are on top of filing for any guaranteed service refunds that you are entitled to. Also make sure you are reviewing any address corrections. Depending on volumes and the percentage of expedited shipping that you are doing, just consistently handling these two discounts can add up to 3% savings, almost offsetting the general rate increases.
The good news is that the FREE Franklin Parcel platform allows for easy analysis of these changes in your shipping profile. It will also identify potential claims and streamlines the address correction process.
The even better news is that the Franklin Parcel platform is now free to use. Sign up with this link and start gaining control of your shipping and see how exactly the increases in December have affected you.