As a business, the last thing you want is tolose money unnecessarily, right? If you want to protect your pockets, you need to use your shipping profile data and business intelligence to examine your transportation costs.
Everyone loves to save money, and such revaluations will reduce total container shipping costs for you.
9 Ways to Save on Ocean Freight Costs
The shipping and transportation industry has been experiencing a slow recovery, especially since the pandemic. That is a considerable hindrance to be overcome by shippers. It means you need to have the best information at your fingertips to cut costs.
Make Sure You Understand the Business Properly
If you are still confused about costs related to the shipment, you need to get up to speed as soon as you can! If you understand where the payments go and what the charges are, you will save a lot of money that way.
You can spend that money elsewhere!
Understand What the Right Mode of Shipment Might Be
There are different types of containers to choose from for shipping. That can either be a full container load (FCL) or a less than container load (LCL). When compared to an FCL, there are many extra charges associated with an LCL. That doesn’t seem too appealing, does it?
Hence, choosing the right type of container becomes crucial, so you don’t end up paying more than what is required. Freight cost benchmarking is also an effective way to know the market rate and vendors’ prices.
Auditing and Invoicing Quotations are Imperative
Whenever you receive quotations from carriers, ensure that they are correct, and don’t forget to tally them. It is a possibility that the carrier might have overlooked some surcharges associated with shipping.
This may pop up later; hence, you would have extra payments to make, which can be super costly, and your customers might be left unsatisfied with their experience. It’s the last thing you want!
Try and Optimize Your Shipping Route
Another method to cut freight costs is the process of route optimization. If you analyze various routes for the optimal one, you can find the cheapest quote for yourself. Delivery of cargo by the carriers need not be unnecessarily expensive.
Effective Planning Can Go a Long Way
When you understand the various facets of shipping, such as the quantities, the frequency, and the scope of business, you can negotiate easily with carriers. Effective planning in this way will allow you to know what the best quote is for the service. It’s time to pick up some study material!
If you clearly understand what you are looking for, the carrier will be able to give you the best value for the task, as well as view you to be credible. That’s a win-win for you.
Understand Triangulation
If you can triangulate containers, you may be given special deals by the carriers. So what exactly is triangulation? When you use the same container for both import and export purposes, it means you have made use of triangulation.
It is a fairly easy concept!
Ensure That You Do Not Incur Any Extra Charges
There is a chance that your customers might be given some unnecessary charges due to demurrage or even detention. That is every customer’s worst nightmare! This can happen if there is improper documentation, and the charges can be so high at POL or POD that the customers might not accept their cargo.
Try and Optimize Your Cargo Packaging
Packaging protects your cargo shipments from being damaged. Ensure that you are using the correct sized bags or boxes and other materials for shipment. This will remove any unnecessary charges in the future.
Partner with an Auditing Company
So you are considering reducing your shipping expenses? In that case, you can partner with an excellent auditing company, like Betachon, who will audit your FedEx, DHL, and other shipping services’ invoices to ensure you save money.
In 2022, transporting items is expected to incur high shipping costs caused by the pandemic, and you need to plan effectively. Supply chain issues coupled with shortages and congestion can lead to major chaos that you want to avoid.
As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Final Words
If you want to save money as a business this new year, make sure to look into the various ways you can reduce total container shipping costs. Realize that ocean freight is just as important as over-the-road transportation.
Newsletter
With inflation on the rise and the pandemic ravaging our businesses, you surely must be wondering how you can reduce ocean freight costs for the year 2022. Maybe it is even your New Year’s Resolution!
There has been a general rate increase in shipping costs since 2014. To be more specific, the increase has been that of 4.9%. Unfortunately, for the year 2022, the rate has now blown up to 5.9%, which can cause a significant hole in your pocket.
Some Interesting News You Need to Keep Your Eyes On!
News 1: Shipping Bottlenecks in the Year 2022
Some good news for your investors, even though supply chain disruptions will persist for the next 6-12 months, after witnessing container line surges, your investors will profit overall. Read more here…
News 2: Shipping 2022 Outlook: What to Expect?
According to the bullish view, there will be an increase in volumes for the Lunar New Year, and the rates will keep peaking. However, according to the bearish view, the US stimulus will significantly affect freight costs. Read more here…
News 3: Why is Shipping so Costly, Especially for the Year 2022?
That is the question on everyone’s mind. The simple reason for this is that the global pandemic has disrupted the shipping business causing spikes in shipping prices. All global supply chains have been affected and will probably be until 2023. Read more here…