Lowering shipping costs is the most effective route to better profit margins. Smaller e-commerce companies can reap huge benefits by focusing on reducing shipping rates and streamlining packaging. Free or low-cost shipping options have become vitally important to consumers: high delivery fees may lead them to abandon their shopping cart.  Whether you offer same-day delivery, free shipping or a click-and-collect service, there are ways to reduce your costs.

  1. Negotiate rates with shippers

Third-party logistics (3PL) companies that focus only on a few core logistics services generally deliver the best value for small businesses.   Fit Small Business, recently evaluated 3PL companies and came up with a list of six recommended ones, rating them on these seven criteria:

  • Range of services
  • Customer service
  • Cost and value
  • Startup-friendliness and scalability
  • Simple onboarding
  • Integration 
  • Management systems 

 There is always room to negotiate on price, even for small volumes.

This article was first published on practicalecommerce.com   Read more here