5 Small Business Shipping Solutions to Save Money

Despite what people think, owning a small business is no walk in the park. Small businesses fail at an alarming rate.

Most people dream about one day having their own business, not realizing how much work and money actually goes into keeping it running.

If your small business does a lot of shipping, it may be even more difficult to keep numbers up.

However, small business shipping solutions exist that can save you and your business time, effort, and money.

Read on to learn 5 ways to save serious cash on shipping expenses!

Save on Shipping Labels

Shipping labels are a must for small business package shipping. Hand-written addresses done in Sharpie don’t exactly scream “we’re professionals!”

However, picking the right company to order shipping labels is essential in getting quality, quantity, and the right price.

You can order pre-printed shipping labels with your business return address as well as blank labels compatible with printers for custom sending addresses.

Pick the Right Carrier for Your Needs

Being a savvy small business owner means knowing when to cut back and when to spend. It also means knowing how to discern between companies offering the same services to find the one that best suits your needs.

When picking a carrier, take your time and research each one. Which will offer the best small business shipping solutions for your business? Ask the following questions:

• What are the pros and cons of each?
• Do they have good reviews?
• What are their average rates?
• Do they offer lower costs with greater quantities?
• Do they have promotions or special programs for small businesses?
• How flexible will they be with your schedule?

As your business grows, your shipping needs will change. Ideally, your current carrier will grow and flex with you. However, it’s not uncommon or unwarranted for you to change carriers if necessary.

Remember, your business always comes first.

Negotiate

Once you have decided upon a carrier, you can begin to establish a professional relationship with them.

As your relationship grows, you may be in a position to negotiate costs, especially if your volume has increased.

Don’t be shy. Talk to your carrier about patron discounts or volume-related deals. Most carriers are flexible and willing to negotiate to keep their clients happy and loyal.

Packing Materials

Finding the right small business shipping solutions for your business can be as easy as picking the right packaging materials and ordering them from the right companies.

Depending on the volume you ship, this may mean the difference of hundreds to thousands of dollars a month.

Find the companies that offer the lowest prices for boxes, shipping envelopes, packing tape, and packaging protection such as packing peanuts, bubble plastic, and foam.

Pick-up Option

Depending on your carrier, they may provide a free pick-up option. If this is the case, you can save time, money, and gas by allowing them to come to you.

However, not all carriers offer this option for free, so it may or may not be worth it. This can also be a deciding factor when deciding which carrier to choose.

Additionally, even if it isn’t free, it may still be cost-effective to pay the extra fee, rather than leaving the business or hiring extra hands to do the job internally.

Small Business Shipping Solutions and Everything Else Business

There are so many ways to make your small business successful aside from small business shipping solutions.

Remember, small businesses fail every day, but yours never has to. For all things, business and finance, check out our blog!

Good luck!