eRetailers know that managing the costs of warehouse fulfillment services and transportation methods is challenging. Fulfillment warehousing costs include the expenses associated with receiving inventory, product storage, and processing orders. In contrast, transportation costs include multiple rates and assessorial fees for the delivery of products to customers. Optimizing these fundamental aspects of an e-commerce business can significantly impact profitability.
There are key cost-saving measures and factors to consider when reviewing fulfillment warehousing and transportation costs. These include:
Warehouse Location: Choosing strategic warehouse fulfillment center locations for your products can significantly impact transportation costs and delivery timeframes. When launching a business, it’s common for eRetailers to operate initially from a single location. However, they soon realize the importance of catering to customers across the entire country. By strategically placing popular products in fulfillment warehouses closer to major customer bases, eRetailers can significantly reduce shipping distances and transit times. This not only improves customer service but also helps in minimizing transportation expenses.
Inventory Management: Efficient inventory management practices help reduce both fulfillment warehouses and transportation costs. Optimizing stock levels ensures that products are readily available for order fulfillment while minimizing excess inventory and associated warehousing costs. Today’s technologies for warehouse management and regional distribution help provide analytics about a company’s products. Carrying non-moving and slow-moving products becomes a drag on the business and should be dealt with on a regular cadence.
Packaging and Dimensional Weight: Proper packaging can optimize space utilization during transportation, reducing shipping costs. Optimizing package dimensions and weight to meet carrier-specific guidelines can help avoid dimensional weight charges, which are often based on the size of the package rather than its actual weight. There are numerous shipping methods and carriers to evaluate for your brand and packaging specifications. Assessorial charges may be buried behind the carrier’s base rate grids.
Carrier Negotiations: Many 3PLs provide transportation management services and save retailers time and money with volume discounts and shipping options. Negotiating contracts with shipping carriers can help businesses secure better rates based on shipping volumes and delivery requirements. The same principle applies to the expenses incurred for shipping returned packages. Moreover, there are opportunities to utilize USPS for “last mile” services, which are often more economical, albeit slightly slower in delivery time, typically taking a day or two longer to reach the destination.
Order Consolidation: Consolidating multiple customer orders into a single shipment whenever possible can help reduce transportation costs. This practice minimizes the number of individual shipments and takes advantage of economies of scale.
Automation and Technology: Implementing warehouse fulfillment and transportation management systems can improve efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. Automated processes, such as order processing, inventory tracking, and label printing, can reduce labor costs and enhance operational efficiency.
Data Analysis: Analyzing data on fulfillment and transportation costs, customer locations, order volumes, and shipping methods can provide valuable insights. This analysis can help identify patterns, optimize operations, and make informed decisions regarding inventory placement and shipping strategies.
Customer Expectations: Balancing costs should be done in a way that aligns with customer expectations. Offering various shipping options (e.g., standard, expedited) allows customers to choose delivery speed while considering associated costs.
It’s important to note that the optimal balance between warehouse fulfillment and transportation costs may vary depending on the specific business, industry, and customer requirements. Regular evaluation and adjustment of strategies based on performance metrics and customer feedback are important to maintaining cost-effectiveness while meeting customer expectations.
Boxzooka offers extensive warehousing fulfillment services that encompass a powerful transportation management system. We are excited to collaborate with you to develop cost-effective strategies specifically tailored to your brand and clientele. For more information on our transportation management services, please visit our website or complete a form to connect with one of our fulfillment experts.
By Tom Behnke
