Have we found something to join death and taxes as a "sure thing" - the carriers' fuel surcharge increases? The surcharge amounts for August have been announced. They are over 10% for ground and almost 35% for air. And for some carriers these amounts are even greater. YIKES!!
I see fuel surcharges see-sawing up and down, not just as a way for carriers to take money from businesses, but more a way to let carriers be able to offer their services in trying economic times without having to change their rate tables constantly. Recently, the surcharges have gone up and up, but so have oil prices, in fact faster than any US or global company ever expected (except maybe the traders - that's another story). Eventually, I expect parcel carriers to include these operating costs directly in their standard rates with their annual price increase, lowering the fuel surcharges. Or even better, the fuel surcharges fall due to decreased oil costs or increased efficiencies in the carriers' delivery system. All businesses adjust pricing over the long haul in a free market system. As long as the economy changes, nearly all services will increase in price. Just a fact of life we all have to deal with. Now, how to best handle this?
Last time, I talked about "Using Your Shipping System to Get the Lowest Shipping Rates". Keeping your shipping system up to date with the fuel surcharge is absolutely necessary for you to have accurate rate comparisons among the carriers for your packages. Accurate "best rate" shipping (the more automatic the better!) is a primary line of defense against these increased shipping costs. I'm sure you agree that, today, you need every advantage you can get.
Larger shippers might consider using a fulfillment service. The more you can move in bulk that can be delivered from local centers, the more you can save. This can also be seen in services where carriers use USPS for final delivery or in consolidated clearance services for international shipments. In all of these cases the key is in what you have to ship and the best logistics channel to move your goods to market - all balanced against doing it for the least cost. All of these factors mean that the time has ended for freight charges to just be passed to the consumer without any concern about the effects.
Today, this must be done while fulfilling the end customer’s normally high expectations for time of delivery, condition of the end product at the time of delivery, but not losing the sale due to shipping costs and order abandonment.
It's a tall order, but there are professionals in shipping software and fulfillment centers to help.
I see fuel surcharges see-sawing up and down, not just as a way for carriers to take money from businesses, but more a way to let carriers be able to offer their services in trying economic times without having to change their rate tables constantly. Recently, the surcharges have gone up and up, but so have oil prices, in fact faster than any US or global company ever expected (except maybe the traders - that's another story). Eventually, I expect parcel carriers to include these operating costs directly in their standard rates with their annual price increase, lowering the fuel surcharges. Or even better, the fuel surcharges fall due to decreased oil costs or increased efficiencies in the carriers' delivery system. All businesses adjust pricing over the long haul in a free market system. As long as the economy changes, nearly all services will increase in price. Just a fact of life we all have to deal with. Now, how to best handle this?
Last time, I talked about "Using Your Shipping System to Get the Lowest Shipping Rates". Keeping your shipping system up to date with the fuel surcharge is absolutely necessary for you to have accurate rate comparisons among the carriers for your packages. Accurate "best rate" shipping (the more automatic the better!) is a primary line of defense against these increased shipping costs. I'm sure you agree that, today, you need every advantage you can get.
Larger shippers might consider using a fulfillment service. The more you can move in bulk that can be delivered from local centers, the more you can save. This can also be seen in services where carriers use USPS for final delivery or in consolidated clearance services for international shipments. In all of these cases the key is in what you have to ship and the best logistics channel to move your goods to market - all balanced against doing it for the least cost. All of these factors mean that the time has ended for freight charges to just be passed to the consumer without any concern about the effects.
Today, this must be done while fulfilling the end customer’s normally high expectations for time of delivery, condition of the end product at the time of delivery, but not losing the sale due to shipping costs and order abandonment.
It's a tall order, but there are professionals in shipping software and fulfillment centers to help.
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