Special Offer PARCEL Forum

 

One new idea can pay for this conference and save your firm thousands in shipping costs. The PARCEL Forum, October 5-7th at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chicago, is the only conference and exposition dedicated to serving parcel shipping and logistics professionals of all sizes.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the entire Conference Program, Click Here. You can also download our Conference Brochure which includes a registration form if you prefer to register via mail or fax.

Many of you are dealing with shrinking (if any) educational budgets. But, we’re all in this together! That’s why PARCEL has expanded the industry-first; Conference Travel Rebate Program. You make the commitment to attend the conference, and PARCEL will make the commitment to help cover some of your travel costs ($150 airfare or $50 drive-in rebate). On top of that, your conference registration includes admission to all of our Special Event food and beverage functions such as; Opening Day Keynote Luncheon, Opening Night Networking Reception,
Carrier Roundtable Luncheon and Conference Refreshment Breaks over the three day event.

Lastly, in keeping with the theme of adding more value, PARCEL Forum has strategically co-located with DOCUMENT Strategy Forum
and Mailing Systems Technology Conference. Register for PARCEL Forum, and you are given free access to any of the conference sessions taking place at these two events as well as the DOCUMENT Strategy Forum exhibit hall which is located right next door.

Advanced Registration ends on Friday, September 18th. This is your last chance to save up to $200 on your conference registration or receive a Free Exhibit Hall Pass to meet with 60 industry-leading companies.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot one more important thing. PARCEL will be giving away a $5,000 to one lucky attendee on Wednesday, October 7th in the exhibit hall between 11am -12pm. To qualify, you must participate in an on-site program and be present in the exhibit hall at that time.

I look forward to seeing you in Chicago!

Why We Don’t Care How Much We Pay for Shipping

 

In my last post, I shared a real life example of a company that could have saved over $2,000 on shipping. I explained that ground service was guaranteed and would arrive at the same time as 3 Day Select for specific zip codes. I asked him if he would begin to compare rates and his response is astonishing—yet one I have heard too many times. He said no.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because we bill our customer for the shipping charge.” He responded.

“But you could save the customer 50% on those packages.” I replied.

“It doesn’t matter; it is too much of a hassle to change and it doesn’t save us any money.”

I see his point. Yet this is a serious problem. The carrier is the only one that benefits from this scenario. Why should he change? Why should he try to set up a system to compare service levels if it does not save his company any money?

What do you think?

5 Actions to Offset Today’s UPS & FedEx Rates Increase

The largest percentage increase in ground parcel rates from both UPS and FedEx go into effect today. While they announced that the average increase is 5.9%, it is important to know that this is only an average. Certain weights and zones are much higher.

What can you do about it?

1. Minimize surcharges; the cost to ship to a residence is 30% more than a business. Ship your package to your recipients’ office rather than home.
2. Compare rates with other carriers; look at the cost to ship the package with the USPS or regional carriers. It could be as much as 50% less
3. Get a discount; if you have a discount, now may be the time to reassess your rates. If you want a professional analysis of whether you are getting the discounts that you deserve, let me know.
4. Eliminate mistakes; the cost of an address correction has increased by $2 or 33%. It will cost you $8 extra if you don’t have the address correct. Use the carrier’s website or third party software to validate the address.
5. Ship it with a cheaper service; ship it ground instead of express. Compare delivery times and days.

Retired DHL VP Shares Inside Secrets for Slashing Shipping Cost

Jerry Hempstead retired as Vice President of DHL in January 2006 after 33 years in our industry. At the National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment, Jerry moderated the panel discussion of experts (I was one), entitled “40 Ideas to Reduce Shipping Costs”.

I asked Jerry to if he could provide advice for small business shippers, eBay sellers, and online merchants on how they might be able to cut their shipping costs. In this video, Jerry shares, what he calls, the best kept secrets in the industry for saving on shipping.

Jerry believes that the best way to cut express shipping is to use the carrier’s pre-paid products.

DHL has a product, called ShipReady. You can purchase letter, legal, packs or boxes. The minimum quantity is 10. I looked at the price and it was $16 for an envelope guaranteed to arrive the next day before noon. I then looked up how much it would be to ship that envelope across the country using http://www.dhl.com. The price was double!

Prepaid services don’t have:

• Residential surcharges
• Delivery area surcharges
• Weight limits
• Fuel surcharges

This is a GREAT way to save money. Thank you Jerry!

Taylor’s Tip #10, “Purchase prepaid express envelopes; save 50%!”