{"id":1859,"date":"2021-03-15T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.3dbinpacking.com\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2023-07-13T15:47:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:47:10","slug":"negotiation-of-courier-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.3dbinpacking.com\/en\/negotiation-of-courier-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"How to improve the profitability of an e-commerce business? Negotiate courier rates!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
One of the key factors that impacts e-commerce cost is courier service. Not only is it about the price of the delivery itself, but also about the speed of parcel delivery and the quality of return and complaint-handling. All of them influence the overall delivery cost. Even the level of personal culture of couriers can be \u201cmonetized\u201d, that is, converted into quantifiable profits or losses. That is why it is worth negotiating not only prices, but also the scope and the terms and conditions of courier services. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Negotiating rates for courier services is a common practice that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Before you start the negotiations, you’d better prepare for them, i.e. by analysing your own needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you start negotiating prices or choosing a specific courier company, you need to define your own needs. Here are the most important questions to be answered before starting negotiations: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer to each of the questions above should contain red lines, i.e. upper and lower thresholds for the performance of a given service<\/strong>. This, instead of rigidly set requirements, will facilitate you in the analysis of the offers of individual couriers. You will also obtain greater flexibility when negotiating the terms of the contract with the selected company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, negotiations are easier for sellers who ship tens or hundreds of thousands of packages a month. Such customers are real jewels in the crown of every courier company. As a result, the giants receive gigantic discounts<\/strong>\u00a0which are completely out of reach for small or new start-up stores. This does not mean, however, that they are in a fruitless position. In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, using intermediaries, i.e. parcel brokers, is the best solution. Online brokerage platforms can offer you those very favorable rates which were unavailable to you in direct negotiations. This is possible as the brokers create large volumes from many small orders from various customers. The broker takes over all the trouble of negotiating with the carrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The method of packaging significantly affects the final cost of delivering goods in the e-commerce industry. If you do not exceed the weight and dimensions of standard packages, you may save on extra surcharges for non-standard packages<\/strong>. For example, instead of 100 oversized parcels, you can send 120 sortable parcels and thus realistically reduce the average cost of shipping. Another way of saving on shipping costs is the maximum use of space in collective packaging and on pallets<\/strong>. Very often, it is only a change in the way the orders are packed that may reduce the overall number of shipments. All operations of changing the packing method (different selection of dimensions and number of packages, e.g. in collective cardboard boxes) can be performed with the use of appropriately selected packing planning algorithms. In this \u00a0case, the algorithm for packing a single container will be the most useful. The use of algorithms can also shorten significantly the duration of the packing process. In this way you may save money (lower labor costs) and gain more customers (thanks to faster deliveries).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the key factors that impacts e-commerce cost is courier service. Not only is it about the price of the delivery itself, but also about the speed of parcel delivery and the quality of return and complaint-handling. All of them influence the overall delivery cost. Even the level of personal culture of couriers can … <\/p>\nYour basis for negotiations, i.e. assessment of your real needs <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The big ones negotiate the parcel prices, the small ones go to the broker<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The packing algorithm speeds up and optimizes packing<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n