Freight optimisation for online shop owners

#1 The balance between freight price and surcharges

The #1 most important thing to get a handle on when optimising your shipping is the distribution between shipping price and surcharges and fees.

If you have a shipping price of DKK 25, in many cases, it is far from what you actually end up paying to have the parcel sent. Your label might be wrong and on top of that, there are oil surcharges and redelivery of the parcel, etc. .... You see where this is going: you have no longer paid €25 for the parcel to be sent, but €108.

That's why it's so important to include fees and surcharges when you're trying to get an overview of your shipping costs.

If you're comparing two different offers against each other, it's also important to include surcharges and fees so that you get the most accurate picture of what you're paying for.

#2 The better the better!

With shipping, you can often think: The cheaper, the better! But that's not always the bestway of thinking.

In many industries, the end customer expects a certain level of quality. That the parcel is not brokenand the driver was nice and arrived on time - that matters, and it's not necessarilynot necessarily the service you will find the most from the cheapest carrier, so remember the soft values.

#3 Small adjustments = Big difference

Always re-evaluate your quote structure. You might be thinking that you're very happy with the deal you have today. But it might save you money if you:

had a load metre offer instead of a pallet offer?
included a benefit calculation in your freight contract?
had multiple carriers to cover some specific areas?

Saving on the transport line item by making these small adjustments can ultimately make a

huge difference!

#4 Sampling is a no-go

Check all your freight invoices. And yes, I mean all of them!

Spot checks are not good enough - it's easy to miss big as well as small errors.Freight invoices can easily contain these small errors - which can ultimately have a big impact on yourtransport budget a lot.

Therefore, make sure to obtain all transport specifications and you'll be in control of your audit.

#5 2-3% is a lot!

Have you received new freight rates from your carrier? Then remember to calculate what effect it will have on your bottom line.

A 2-3% % increase may not seem like much of a change, but in some cases it can have a surprisingly large effect on your bottom line.

#6 Streamline - save time and money

Systemise your logistics setup and you'll quickly save a lot of time and money.

I want you to get a good overview of the exact freight costs for yourshipments. That way, you can adjust your freight setup to be as efficient as possible.

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