International Carriers Archives | Lateshipment.com

How to Reduce the Impact of Oversize Charge on Shipping Costs

Joelah James — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 15:50:42 +0000

Shipping is an expensive part of any ecommerce business. Therefore, it is wise to cut corners wherever you can to save on costs and grow your business. However, that may not be as easy as it sounds.

Your shipping bills can contain additional expenses over existing shipping fees that can put a dent in your wallet and deter your plans to save on shipping costs.

One of such expenses is an oversize charge, which unfortunately is a common expense for businesses dealing with particularly large products such as pianos, washing machines, refrigerators, etc to name a few.

With the right optimization techniques, businesses dealing in large goods can reduce the impact of oversize charges. But first, let’s understand the basics.

What is an Oversize Charge?

An oversize charge is a surcharge levied on packages that exceed the carrier’s permitted weight. This charge is applied to the package’s actual weight or dimensional weight, whichever is higher.

Major carriers such as FedEx and UPS treat oversized packages differently according to their own calculation and nomenclature.

FedEx Oversize Charge

A FedEx Oversize Charge is applied to packages that exceed 96 inches in length or 130 inches in length and girth.

As we mentioned, the surcharge will be based on the greater of the package’s actual rounded weight or dimensional weight with 90 lb as the minimum billable weight.

FedEx also suggests that the package shape and dimensions may change during transit, affecting the package’s dimensional weight and surcharge eligibility. In such cases, FedEx may make appropriate adjustments to the charges at any time.

UPS Large Package Surcharge

A Large Package Surcharge is applied to each UPS package when its length plus girth [(2 x width) + (2 x height)] combined exceeds 300 cm but does not exceed the maximum UPS size of 400 cm.

Large Packages are subject to a minimum billable weight of 40 kg in addition to the surcharge itself.

UPS does not apply an Additional Handling charge when a Large Package Surcharge is levied.

Catching up with the Price Hike for Oversize Charges in 2022

If these surcharges don’t worry you enough, keep in mind that FedEx and UPS increase the rates of these surcharges YoY. Not to forget the additional peak surcharge during the holiday season.

In 2022, both FedEx and UPS increased the rates of their services by an average of 5.9%. This applies to oversize and large packages as well, making you, the retailer, feel the brunt end of the price hike.

Here’s a quick rundown of the FedEx and UPS Oversized and Large Package price hike.

FedEx price hike for Oversize Charges in 2022

As of January 24, any packages sent under FedEx Express and Ground services will cost a minimum of $110 to a maximum of $145 (which was $105 in 2021) based on the designated FedEx zone of the destination.

Similarly, FedEx Home Delivery will cost anywhere between $135 to $170 from a common $130 for all zones in 2021.

That’s not all! Oversize Packages under International Express and International Ground services will now cost $145 per shipment, a significant increase over $105 the previous year.

UPS price hike for Large Package Surcharge in 2022

Just like FedEx, UPS too has increased the rates for Large Packages with effect from December 26, 2021.

Commercial packages that are considered large and oversized can cost you between $110 to $140 based on the zone under which the destination is marked.

Residential packages, on the other hand, are even more expensive and can cost you between $135 to $165, with an increase of $10, $15, and $20 based on the respective zones.

While this rate change did not come as a surprise to many, it shows shipping carriers’ stand on oversized packages. They have made it downright difficult for shippers to ship heavier items without paying a pretty penny.

What Do Oversize Charges Mean for Your Business?

While retailers are still coming to terms with the effect the price hike will have on their margins, those who deal with furniture, gym equipment, mattresses, home appliances, etc are worried even more. These particular retailers will now have to come up with other inventive means to make up for the loss.

Shipping carriers would no doubt get the better end of the deal when such products are shipped. But, the main motive behind the rate hike seems to be the need to compensate for their significant losses due to COVID-19 without regard for ecommerce businesses, who went through the same ordeal.

However, all things considered. There are still ways for your business to make sure that the damage as a result of Oversized Packages surcharges and regular increases in their rates is trivial.

What You Can Do to Minimize the Impact of This (Significant) Hike

Try renegotiating the terms of your contract with your shipping carrier (in this case FedEx or UPS) and work out a cheaper alternative if you are a bulk shipper.
Consider choosing Freight services if your profit margins are affected too much (delivery usually takes 4-6 business days).
If the alternate service options aren’t working out, you could consider shipping with other carriers who can accommodate oversized packages at better rates.
If the product consists of various parts that could be divided and shipped, then you could dismantle it and then send it. This would work with automobile parts, electronics, gym equipment, furniture, or bikes.
In the case of mattresses, investing in compression boxes or packaging might be a tad more cost-effective than paying the oversize price.

How Lateshipment.Com Can Help

Does your company have an issue with oversized packages? Many shippers really have no idea of what they are paying for when they pay an invoice from their shipping carrier.

In this case, LateShipment.com can help you reduce your shipping costs from additional expenses such as Oversized charges.

Firstly, LateShipment.com helps you regularly audit your shipping invoices and claim eligible refunds to recover up to 20% of your shipping cost.

Apart from delivery issues, this also includes incorrect surcharges and billing errors such as duplicate entries and complex DIM weight errors, helping you save up to $170 per package in 2022.

That’s not all! We can also help you renegotiate your contract with your shipping partner.

LateShipment.com provides you with carrier performance reports that let you dig deeper to uncover gaps, know where you’re seeing profits, and review areas where you’re not.

The reports equip you with good data while renegotiating contracts with shipping carriers and can help things work in your favor.

Not just that, keeping a close watch on carrier performances and claiming regular refunds also ensures better service quality by your shipping carriers.

In conclusion, LateShipment.com’s automated Parcel Audit and Refunds solution can help you with these Oversized Charges and Large Package Surcharge with FedEx and UPS respectively.

The post How to Reduce the Impact of Oversize Charge on Shipping Costs appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

Porch Pirates: How to Handle Them and Prevent Package Theft

Rohan Rinaldo Felix — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:56 +0000

Imagine if a product you’ve longed to collect for years gets stolen from you. And guess what? It was stolen right at your doorstep by fellow people dubbed ‘the porch pirates.’

Package thefts are so frustrating for the customer because of the fact that they can’t hold anyone responsible for the mishap of not being able to get their hands on their much awaited purchases except themselves and the “pirates” who scooted away with their package.

But you as an ecommerce business owner can save your customers from such bad times and stop package theft by porch pirates or if not even drastically reduce them to a great extent.

However, before we get to know the ‘how’ part, let’s take a further look at porch pirates and their impact on your business.

Who Are Porch Pirates and How They Can Affect Your Business?

Porch pirates are average individuals or a group who steal packages off customers’ doorstep or porches when it is left unattended.

Much like kleptomaniacs, Porch pirates are simply opportunists who cannot resist an opportunity to pick up packages they see lying on doorsteps or porches.

A recent study by Safewise found that a staggering 210 million packages vanished from porches across the US over the past 12 months.

The scale of the problem is only getting worse as more people begin to shop online. The problem gets exacerbated during the holiday season because it’s at this time of the year that people shop online the most. And it is common for people to leave on holiday while ordered packages lie on their doorstep.

Worry not! The situation is not out of hand. There are measures your business can take to stay safe from the scourge of package thieves that America is facing. Here are some things you could do.

What Retailers Can Do to Prevent Package Theft by Porch Pirates

There are a lot of ways in which retailers and shoppers can work together to prevent a theft attempt by porch pirates. Let’s take a look at the ways in the timeline of the order delivery cycle even before it gets shipped.

1. Package discreetly

When a package is dropped off on the porch of a house, it can sit up like a duck waiting to be shot. Porch pirates dream about just such a situation. Packaging discreetly can help avoid this situation.

There are many ways to make a package discreet. One way is to avoid excessive branding. Another way to make a package less noticeable is to reduce the amount of product-descriptive text on it.

Larger boxes are more attractive to porch pirates because they give the impression of a larger pay-off. Using a box that fits the size of the product will help make the package less noticeable while also helping to reduce the cost of shipping.

2. Provide your customers with flexible delivery options

It is best to start by leaving things to the judgment of your customers and the utmost importance for them would be the delivery.

There is a multitude of choices when it comes to making your delivery options flexible.

For example: you can provide multiple shipping and delivery options like Same-day delivery, BOPIS, etc to let your customers choose their own delivery time and follow up with offering 4-5 time windows throughout the day.

Apart from package safety, such flexibility in delivery options can also help you increase conversions, lower cart abandonment, and improve brand loyalty in general.

3. Keep your customers updated about the status of shipments

Proper communication is key to eliminating many of the pain points of the post-purchase shipping experience. This is a good way to deal with the risk of package theft as well.

The first aspect of proper communication with customers is to provide them with the right estimate of the delivery date and time.
The next step to be taken is to give them periodic updates on the status of the parcel in transit. These updates can be provided via SMS or e-mail or both. This will help customers be prepared at the time of delivery.
The final step in this process of communication is to drop a message once the actual delivery is about to be/has been performed. A helpline number can be provided to assist in case of discrepancies.

4. Use emerging technologies to ensure safe delivery

Using emerging technologies can help you stay one step ahead of porch pirates.

A lot of businesses today have come up with package guarding technologies that can come in handy for your customers. You can suggest any of these technologies to your customers and play a role in providing a safe delivery. This, in turn, can help in improving their post-purchase experience.

Amazon has come up with the Amazon Key, a smart lock that allows delivery persons to place packages not only at homes but also in garages and cars when the customer isn’t available at home.
There’s also the Amazon locker at select locations, that customers can make use of to pick up their packages with a unique code.
Suggest using package guarding services such as The Package Guard or Door Box to protect your packages via secure locks and anti- theft alarms, etc.
Encourage customers to install doorbell cameras and home security systems to deter porch pirates in most cases.

Such technologies can be especially useful when shoppers are away on a short trip or a long holiday vacation.

That’s not all! If you’re still concerned about your customers’ packages being stolen, know that there are many measures available to them to deter package thieves.

What Shoppers Can Do to Prevent Package Theft by Porch Pirates

1. Route Packages to Office Addresses

Home deliveries are fraught with problems: package thieves looting drop-off deliveries, irresponsible mailmen or carriers leaving packages on the front door without even knocking or ringing the door, pre-signing delivery without consent, or delaying home delivery by sending notifications too early.

All this can be avoided by routing packages to office addresses where they are processed officially. The probability of losing packages to package thieves is much less with office deliveries. This is also why FedEx/UPS charges more to deliver to residential zip codes than to office zip codes.

2. Mandate signatures on delivery

A mandated signature delivery can help in preventing package theft in most cases. An arrangement can be signed off with mutual consent from the sender and the receiver (you, that is). If a package is lost and there is no signature of delivery, a legal procedure can ensure that you receive a replacement or full refund.

3. Place packages on hold when on holiday

If you are away on holiday, you can opt to place your pending packages on hold. While USPS and FedEx offer a free service to hold packages for a certain period, UPS charges for every rescheduling.

4. Opt for in-store pickup

Click-and-collect is increasingly becoming a trend. Using this mode of delivery, you can order online and collect the ordered parcel from an outlet located near your home. This mode is particularly useful for ordering a larger number of items.

Bottom Line

While the threat of package theft continues to increase year on year, some measures can be taken by both retailers and customers to ensure package safety and a smooth last-mile experience. Retailers, shipping carriers, and end customers need to work hand in hand to stay ahead of package thieves.

A Little about LateShipment.com

We at LateShipment.com work hard to make “parcel shipping & delivery” transparent and help businesses be fully in control of their last-mile success.

Here are some ways in which LateShipment.com can help you regarding packages getting lost or stolen:

With our real-time tracking solution, you can step in before customer impact and proactively address them, thereby instilling confidence in your customers.
With automated and customized shipping notifications, keep your customers in the loop about the whereabouts of their order with proactive communication and free up your support time to focus on more pressing issues.

That’s not all! In case of packages that get lost due to carrier negligence, LateShipment.com can also help you automate refund claims from your shipping carriers for service failures to help you save up to 20% on shipping costs.

The value we add to businesses is most evident when experienced first-hand. Learn more about our solution here.

The post Porch Pirates: How to Handle Them and Prevent Package Theft appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

How to File FedEx Claims for Late Deliveries

Sashank Ravindranath — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 05:34:37 +0000

FedEx is one of the top-three behemoths in not just the US but in the worldwide shipping carrier and delivery services space (the other two being DHL and UPS).

Did you know that FedEx delivers more than 12 million packages per day? And in such cases, common delivery issues such as late deliveries are common and inevitable.

However, like all major carriers, FedEx too aims to provide top-notch service and reduce the frequency of such issues. In order to do so, FedEx has a Money-Back Guarantee option that customers can use to claim refunds for delivery failures.

Understanding FedEx’s Money-Back Guarantee before submitting Claims

FedEx’s Money-Back Guarantee is a part of your shipping contract that stipulates that FedEx will refund the shipping charges if parcel delivery is delivered late by even 60 seconds except in exceptional circumstances (natural disasters, weather delays, etc).

However, the Money-Back Guarantee has multiple limitations that you, as a shipper must understand before you start submitting FedEx claims. In most cases, your forms can end up getting rejected if the conditions are not met.

Important clauses from the Money-Back Guarantee to keep in mind when submitting FedEx claims:

Before you start reading down the clauses, make sure that you have not signed a money-back guarantee waiver in your shipping contract. This straightaway prevents you from claiming refunds and is also not an efficient move
Wait for 24 hours from the expected delivery time to claim your refund. There are chances for your lost package to end up getting delivered to your hands. However, you can straightaway submit claims for late deliveries (for select services)
Refund claims requests must be submitted within 15 calendar days of the scheduled delivery date or the date listed in the tracking details or your proof of delivery, whichever is later.

Keeping that in mind, let’s move on to how you can start claiming FedEx refunds by yourself.

How to File FedEx Claims

Login to your FedEx account and choose the ‘File a claim’ option from the support tab
Start a claim by entering your tracking/PRO number and selecting your claim type
Add the supporting documents necessary to validate your claim
Review your form and submit the claim
Check the status of your claim online or request email updates

However, manually submitting FedEx claims is not always as easy as this and can be a tedious process. Here’s why.

Why Manually Submitting Claims Can Be a Hassle

Like we mentioned earlier, manually submitting FedEx claims is a huge headache as there is a list of conditions to be met for them to accept your claim.

As we mentioned earlier, you are required to file the claim within 15 days from the date of the scheduled delivery with the receiver’s name, address, date of shipment, package weight, and tracking number
Your claim must include complete shipper and recipient information, as well as the FedEx tracking number, date of shipment, number of pieces, and shipment weight
The money-back guarantee does not apply to all services and destinations parcels that FedEx undertakes
In cases of international shipments, you have to submit documentation required by the country of origin or destination to support your case
The parcel must have been tendered to FedEx directly and before the stipulated collection time.

That’s not all. With the finer-print terms and conditions, FedEx can still reject your claim for a refund.

So, what’s the smart way out?

Make use of an automated refunds tool like LateShipment.com to claim your refunds. All you need to do is integrate this tool into your existing shipping operations while you focus on your core business functions.

How LateShipment.com Makes Filing Fedex Claims Easier

The money that goes unclaimed in shipping carrier refunds runs to the tune of over 3 billion dollars annually!

But what should matter more to you is this: Experts say that you can bring your shipping budget down by up to 20% if you claim every single refund you are eligible for.

LateShipment.com’s Parcel Audit and Shipping Refunds solution can help businesses like yours hold your shipping carrier accountable and ensure that you do not lose money that is rightfully yours.

Also, monitoring and claiming refunds regularly help you receive better performance from your shipping carrier resulting in more successful last-mile deliveries.

Apart from late deliveries, LateShipment.com also helps you recover refunds for more than 50 service failures such as lost and damaged packages, incorrect surcharges, etc.

Not just FedEx, LateShipment.com also helps you file claims and recover refunds from all major carriers such as DHL, UPS, Purolator… to name a few.

LateShipment.com’s refund recovery process allows you to focus on your core business functions while it analyses every shipment you send, identifies late shipments that are eligible for refunds, and files FedEx claims with supporting documentation.

It also follows up with the procedure and ensures that a refund is credited to you as soon as possible.

The best part is, LateShipment.com has a simple signup process, which takes less than 2 minutes for you to get started on claiming refunds.

Create a LateShipment.com account
Add your shipping carrier credentials.

That’s it! All you have to do now is to sit back as refunds get credited to your account.

What Else You Can Do with LateShipment.com

While claiming refunds are great, they don’t always compensate for your customers’ bad experiences faced in the post-purchase phase. In such cases, the onus of crafting a delightful delivery and returns experiences falls on you.

Therefore, don’t stop with just claiming refunds. Go all out with our post-purchase excellence cloud. It combines stellar delivery experiences with easy, seamless returns – all while significantly reducing your shipping spend by auditing your invoices and recovering eligible refunds from your carriers.

Time to grow your fanbase, savings, and business with LateShipment.com. We’re ready when you are.

Or still have questions? We’re all ears.

The post How to File FedEx Claims for Late Deliveries appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

Shipping Carriers’ 100% Money-Back Guarantee Policies and Why Avoid Signing Refund Waivers

Rohan Rinaldo Felix — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 08:44:18 +0000

Shipping is an area of e-commerce business that is highly risk-worthy and more prone to errors than the other phases of the order journey. The carriers responsible for your customers’ orders during this stage are very much aware of this — hence, major carriers such as FedEx, UPS, Canada Post, Purolator, Royal Mail, DHL, UK Mail, etc, offer the option to claim refunds when they commit a service failure.

Given that over 15% of parcels shipped through them face service failures and delivery issues (it becomes 2x or even 3x during busy seasons such as holidays), claiming refunds is a must to ensure you’re not overpaying your shipping carrier.

While carriers provide the option to claim refunds for different errors from their end, they understand the need for shippers like you to extra-emphasize handling as many late deliveries as possible. This is what led them to specifically come up with a money-back guarantee policy for late deliveries.

What are Money-Back Guarantees or Guaranteed Service Refunds?

Shipping carriers work on the condition that they abide by their contract and one such condition is their commitment to on-time deliveries. If these deliveries are missing their mark, carriers will ensure a 100% refund under their ‘money-back’ guarantee policy’.

Money-back guarantees are refund policies within the carrier’s SLAs that promise a 100% refund on shipping charges for select service types if a parcel is delayed (sometimes even by 60 seconds) except in exceptional circumstances (natural disasters, weather delays, etc.).

Major carriers that provide money-back guarantees for late deliveries

Here’s the list of different terms and conditions on money-back guarantees from major shipping carriers that you can revisit to stay aware of while filing refund claims.

Shipping carriers offer money-back guarantees to assure customers of the reliability and timeliness of their services. I.e., if the carrier fails to meet certain predefined service standards or delivery commitments, then you, the shipper, are entitled to hold them accountable for their service failures and thereby are eligible for a refund of the shipping cost.

Benefits of claiming refunds under the money-back guarantee

Shipping carriers such as FedEx and UPS have money-back guarantees that offer refunds for late deliveries. However, they either don’t get automatically credited to your account nor are not easy to claim. Therefore, shipping invoice audits act as document evidence that can help you recover costs directly associated with late deliveries. There’s more to it.

Firstly, making full use of the money-back guarantee and claiming refunds gives you the opportunity to save on your shipping costs.

Second, regular auditing of invoices and claiming refunds holds carriers accountable for their service level agreements (SLAs). This ensures better visibility into your carrier’s delivery performance and fosters a more transparent relationship between you and the carrier.

As a third, with insights into the form carrier performance metrics such as recurring delays with specific routes, services, etc., you can optimize your shipping and make informed decisions regarding logistics.

Data from audited invoices can also be used as leverage in negotiating better terms (lower rates or improved service guarantees) for future contracts with shipping carriers, thereby enhancing overall logistics efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

However, enjoying these benefits and claiming refunds are not so straightforward, as these money-back guarantee policies often come with certain fine print caveats that make it complicated for you to claim refunds.

Refund hurdles under the money-back guarantee policy

There is a list of eligible services – Only certain services are applicable for money-back guarantees. It is important to check if your packages are sent through a service where the guarantee is valid.
It can be excluded based on conditions – Money-back guarantee is not applicable when delays are caused by natural disasters, weather conditions, incorrect addresses, customs delays, the unavailability of the recipient, or other events beyond the carriers’ control.
There are modifications and suspensions – Carriers reserve the right to modify (increase the permissible duration) or suspend the money-back guarantee during high-volume periods like the holiday season.
The claim process is tiresome and time-consuming – Even if all conditions are in your favor, the claim can still be rejected owing to the reason that the carrier must be notified within a specific time frame after the delivery (typically 15 days). This can be a hassle, especially if you’re filing these claims manually.

What Are Shipping Refund (Money-Back Guarantee) Waivers And Why Avoid Them?

Shipping refund waivers or (specifically called) money-back guarantee waivers are clauses within the SLAs that provide special benefits (typically discounted prices) to shippers in return for giving up (waiving off) their right to claim shipping refunds. Carriers more often than not claim that not signing the waiver will deprive you of saving on your shipping costs and insist you do sign them.

However, signing a shipping refund waiver might not be best for you and hence, must be avoided. Before we look into why you must avoid waivers, let’s see why carriers insist on signing them so much.

Why do carriers want shippers to sign refund waivers?

Now the obvious question arises: Why are carrier representatives so keen on getting shippers to sign refund waivers? Is it because they want to provide them with discounts and help their clients reduce their shipping costs in the bottom line?

Not at all.

So, why are they insisting then? This is why:

Over 3 billion dollars go into unclaimed shipping refunds each year – Unclaimed refunds are just money left on the table and carriers want to keep it for themselves. This money rightfully belongs to retailers like you, but if you cannot claim your refunds because of the waiver you signed.
Fear of accountability despite ever-increasing shipping costs – Shipping carriers have dodged accountability despite higher shipping costs due to a lack of close watch on their service failures and not claiming refunds.

However, the growing demand for refund claims and better service has proved inconvenient for them. This makes them eager to get shippers to sign refund waivers so that they can skirt their responsibilities despite increasing costs YoY.

Now that it is evident that signing waivers only stands to benefit these carriers, let’s consider how you, the shipper, stand to lose because of them.

What are the disadvantages of signing a shipping refund waiver?

Not claiming refunds roughly translates to not holding your shipping carrier accountable for their failures.

With your shipping carrier conveniently left out of accountability, the next thing that happens is you bear the brunt of the delivery issues. And as if that won’t be enough, keep in mind that about one-third of customers won’t repurchase from you after a late delivery.

In the long term, lack of accountability also leads up to the fact that you can’t expect better service performance from the carriers. In a situation where a waiver has been signed, there would be nothing you could do to pull up the carrier for the poor quality of service, leading to your last-mile suffering in a big way.

Amidst growing concerns about on-time deliveries, you end up overpaying your shipping carrier. It is to be noted that the meager discounts that are promised at the time of signing a waiver are often superseded by add-on charges beyond the cost of shipping. Also, discounts promised on waivers usually last for a limited period. On the other hand, the waiver is permanent.

Worry not! At the end of the day, there are ways for you to avoid being forced to sign a waiver of your money-back guarantee.

What can you do to avoid signing shipping refund waivers?

Be prepared with comparative data about the services of various shipping carriers before negotiating a contract.
Ask the shipping carrier representative to provide you with an impact summary to detail how signing a refund waiver will affect your monthly shipping spend and how many packages will be affected.
Before signing the contract, check to ensure that there is no clause waiving off your right to claim refunds.

Congratulations! You’ve managed to avoid signing a waiver and are now eligible to claim refunds from shipping carriers for their service failures. So, what next?

Before you start claiming refunds, there’s one more thing that you must keep in mind.

Manually claiming shipping refunds with carriers is such a hassle for more reasons than one. Therefore, it is a good ploy to start using automated parcel audit companies such as LateShipment.com to do it for you.

Rather than seamlessly cruising through the tiresome process of late delivery claims, LateShipment.com also helps in identifying and claiming refunds for 50+ service failures and billing errors.

The post Shipping Carriers’ 100% Money-Back Guarantee Policies and Why Avoid Signing Refund Waivers appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

5 Tips to Get the Best out of Your Package Shipping Carrier

Ian — Mon, 03 May 2021 11:04:00 +0000

Millions of international packages make their way to destination points and cross borders every day. And the vast majority of them are the goods people buy from eCommerce businesses operating globally.

While it’s no secret that free package shipping does not actually exist and the seller is the one who has to pay for it, international shipping either costs loads of money for a brand, requires lots of workforces, or both.

Plus, there’s always a chance of late deliveries or lost packages. And suddenly, shipping internationally becomes a true headache.

Thankfully, this struggle a seller experiences can be minimized by knowing how to get the most out of your partner shipping carrier.

Carriers often offer a bunch of additional perks to having you as a long-term partner. And it’s an important thing to have in mind when making a new agreement with a package shipping carrier.

This article will give you a basic understanding of how to make the most out of picking and dealing with a shipping carrier for your eCommerce business (or for your shipments). That way, you’ll be able to make a smart choice by saving both your money and your nerves when choosing a partner package shipping carrier.

Quit Overpaying for Shipping

Spending less on quality services is one of the top priorities for you when choosing a carrier, right?

If it’s a yes, the best way to avoid paying too much and find the cheapest shipping carrier meeting your needs is to simply compare pricing. There are many shipping price comparison sites that give you estimated costs from major US shipping carriers such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS.

Using price comparison sites will give you a primary understanding of what shipping costs to expect regarding the destination country and the country you are shipping from. And believe it or not, it usually varies greatly.

But. There’s always a but. Although DHL, FedEx, or UPS are great for international shipments due to long-term experience, smooth processes, and of course, affordable pricing, comparing a few carriers won’t give a full picture.

Regardless of these big players in global shipping, the US shipping market is crowded with less popular package shipping carriers. Possibly, some of them will also be able to offer you affordable pricing and meet your business needs.

So, do your research ⇓

Use the shipping price comparison sites ( e.g. Easyship, Upela, etc.)
Check costs manually with less-known carriers
Request a custom quote based on your unique business needs

Doing all this will guarantee you’ll find the best shipping partner for your business in terms of pricing.

Prepare to Negotiate

When you choose a shipping carrier for your business, you want to have it for a long period. You do know that bouncing from one to another is exhausting, disrupts work processes, and is wasteful.

But what you may not be aware of is that the shipping carrier needs you likewise you need their services. And you can definitely benefit from that.

When you receive a quote or a long-term offer for shipping services, know that it’s not definite. Usually, there’s plenty of room for negotiation that many businesses forget to take advantage of.

You can lay down your own conditions because as much as you’re interested in having them as a shipping partner, they’re interested in having you as a long-term client.

Want better rates, package insurance, or some extra benefits? Just ask for it!

What’s worse that can happen? Nothing. The carrier can say no and that’s it. You’re free to accept the primary offer or head to another carrier.

Be confident and persistent when making this big decision

Choose a Shipping Carrier Wisely

Picking a good shipping carrier sounds quite simple, but it’s easier said than actually done.

To make it less challenging, the best thing would be to choose a reputable and widely-known international shipping carrier. You cannot go wrong by picking from big-name courier services such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS.

However, if your shipments have a specific route, you might look for other options. Let’s say you operate in the States, but your product is purchased amazingly in the Polish market. So, you’re constantly shipping to Poland from the USA.

And what does that mean regarding picking a carrier? It simply implies that you might consider a carrier specializing in this exact route. That might save you money, shorten delivery times dramatically, and prevent shipping fails.

For example, carriers like AEC Parcel Service which specializes in delivering packages to Eastern European countries may provide a better shipping experience than those shipping to every part of the world.

Consider Convenience and Benefits

If you’re trying to actually get the best out of a shipping carrier, you have to consider what additional value the carrier has to offer.

Put simply, you have to look not only through yours as a seller, but also through the customer’s perspective. Will your customer and your business experience the best package delivery possible without any delivery issues?

What’s here to consider in a nutshell:

Figure out whether the shipper offers free package insurance covering your product.
Decide if delivery times and methods are appropriate for your business model.
Pay attention to the shipping refund policy and compensation for late deliveries.
Consider the drop-off locations and whether there’s one next to your business spot.
Will the shipper provide strong customer service for you and your clients? It should.
Check if the shipper has a real-time tracking tool for both your and your customer’s peace of mind.

Do a Feedback Research

Nothing gives a better picture of a product or service than the experiences of others. Getting familiar with opinions from former or current customers helps to compare competitors, figure out if they offer quality service, and actually makes it easy to decide if the business can be trusted.

The best way of doing it is by reading reviews online. Facebook, Google my Business, Yelp, and other sites where customers express their opinions are the most popular places to look at those stars and words about shipping carriers. In fact, in most cases reading reviews dramatically changes the first impression.

On the other hand, it’s easy to find reviews from simple customers, yet businesses do not tend to share their experiences online. So, if you’re operating in eCommerce, you might want to reach out to your business partners or even competitors asking for their experiences with international shipping carriers.

How LateShipment.com Can Help You

Regardless of which shipping carrier you’re going to choose, the top goal here is to avoid late shipment experiences and have an impeccable shipping service operating along with your business.

However, international shipping is a complex procedure and even the best carriers sometimes fail in delivering packages. That’s where LateShipment.com steps in.

LateShipment.com is the world’s only logistics cloud tool that combines shipping refunds with everything you need to create well-managed, branded delivery experiences despite the odds.

LateShipment.com drives savings in your shipping spend, gives you new revenue channels, better repeat purchase rates, and offers your customers premium delivery experiences. Here’s how we elevate the game for your business.

At LateShipment.com, we aim to transform your customer’s post-purchase journey and make it a memorable experience that encourages fierce customer loyalty.

Our Delivery Experience Management platform powers post-purchase CX success for your business by helping you:

Stay on top of delays by tracking your in-transit parcels across carriers in real-time.
Resolve delivery issues proactively with predictive alerts for shipments facing delays.
Over-communicate with customers facing critical delivery issues.
Send automated delivery status notifications via email and SMS to reduce your customers’ anxiety.
Build beautiful, branded order tracking pages, personalized for your customers.
Capture your customers’ Delivery Satisfaction (DSAT) rating after every order delivery.

Our DEM platform also seamlessly integrates with all your tech-stacks such as eCommerce platforms, CRM systems, Help desk, and Email marketing tools, etc without any change to your existing workflow.

Now, how good is that?

The best part is,

In addition to helping you elevate your customers’ post-purchase experiences, you can also SAVE UP TO 20% on your shipping costs with our Parcel Audit and Shipping Refunds solution, which can help you:

Audit your monthly shipping invoices for 50+ service failures
Submit refund claims to your carrier(s) on your behalf
Deposit the refunded amount directly into your account
Save you up to 20% of your overall shipping spend.
Get better service quality from shipping carriers

The value we add to businesses is most evident when experienced first-hand.

Try LateShipment.com now.

Or, get in touch by writing to us at sales@lateshipment.com

The post 5 Tips to Get the Best out of Your Package Shipping Carrier appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

Lost Packages 101: How to Handle Them

Joelah James — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 09:00:16 +0000

When you ship through DHL, FedEx, UPS, or USPS most packages make it to their destinations intact and on time. But, what about those rare occurrences when packages are lost in transit? Who exactly gets blamed when this happens? The seller or the shipper?

In most cases, it is the retailer who bites the bullet. This is because customers the accountability of the package from checkout to delivery falls on the business they ordered from rather than the shipping carrier, a third party.

Customers who’ve lost their packages are often aggrieved and take their grievances to social media and call out your brand. Just like this:

Hey @amazon thanks for ruining Christmas and losing my brother's Christmas present. What's the point in 2 day shipping if you lose the package?
— Eddie Smedley (@GettinSomeSmed) December 23, 2018

And what exactly happens when posts like this catch the attention of their followers/ your potential customers?

Your brand reputation takes a huge hit, customer churn rate hits the roof, and staying ahead of competitors becomes next to impossible (Uff 😤)

Worry not!

Here are some tips for retailers on how to handle lost packages, (spoiler alert!) save on shipping costs, and improve customer loyalty.

Step 1: Determine if the sent packages are really lost

If a package that was en route to a customer goes certifiably missing and has not arrived at their doorstep four or five days after schedule, then it can be officially considered lost.

When you suspect your packages as lost, wait it out a maximum of seven days beyond the day of expected delivery.

Sometimes, there are packages that turn up after being rerouted somewhere along the chain (they might have also been incorrectly scanned or sorted).

In most cases though, the issue is either a wrong address or a weather-related one. Quite simply, it is not unheard of for a package to turn up a day or two late.

In case the tracking number shows that the product has as ‘delivered’ and the customer still files a complaint about the package being lost, then it has to be treated as a stolen package.

Here’s how you can prevent package theft.

Step 2: The packages are lost. Now what?

In case if your customers’ packages are truly lost, they naturally expect a refund or a replacement.

If the shipping carrier is unable to locate the packages, you need to file an insurance claim to cover the combined insured value of the lost packages. This requires the tracking number, proof of value of the item, and proof of insurance.

When you’re shipping valuable products, it is always wise to insure the shipments.

Remember that apart from the insurance sum, the carrier also has to fully refund the shipping costs for failing to deliver the package safely to the buyer.

Once the claim is filed and investigated, you will receive your dues via the original mode of payment be it through check or credit card.

Meanwhile, make sure YOU send the customer a replacement or a refund with a sincere apology.

Step 3: File a Refund Claim for the Lost Packages

File refund claims for DHL lost packages here
File refund claims for FedEx lost packages here
File refund claims for UPS lost packages here
File refund claims for USPS lost packages here

Step 3.1: How do I file a claim for lost packages?

The tracker on your package is usually true to its name and rarely allows packages to get lost. But on the off chance that the shipping label comes off, or the package is torn and the contents scattered, you’ll have no choice but to file lost package claims with the carrier.

Here are a few things you need to keep in mind if you’re going to file a claim for FedEx lost packages.

If the contents of the package cost less than $100, you can complete the entire form online and request a refund without documentation.
In the event of the package costing anywhere above $100, proper documentation is necessary for the claim to get processed.
Documentation can include FedEx pickup records, photos of the damaged or lost contents, and proof of value documentation.
Claims have to be filed within 60 days for US shipments and in 21 calendar days for international shipments (with all supporting documentation filed within 9 months of delivery date).
The tracking number that was initially allocated to the package is vital to the process and has to be provided.

After a scheduled inspection, your claim will be processed and you can track its progress.

In the case of other shipping carriers, you can file claims online through the following links and within the following deadlines.

UPS lost packages claim (file within 5 months online, within 9 months through customer service, and within 45 days if it is an uncollected C.O.D)
USPS lost packages claim (file within 60 days for all services except Priority Mail Express, First class, and Surface Mail)
DHL lost packages claim (file within 30 days)

Note: Filing Refund Claims for Lost Packages by Yourself Is a Huge Hassle

Apart from running your hectic business, manually submitting claims with shipping carriers by yourself is a huge hassle for more reasons than one:

Tedious Process – The process to file a claim manually is an exhaustive one, you will have to deal with multiple forms, proofs, and document submissions

Time-Consuming – After submitting a claim, you won’t get your refund immediately, it takes at least 5-7 days or forever to get a refund for one single package

Not Cost-Effective – The amount of time and money you will spend to get a refund will be greater than the compensation you will probably receive
Inefficient Use of Resources – This process doesn’t have a definitive output and require lots of back and forth communication along with document re-submissions

Worry not! You can make use of a parcel audit solution such as LateShipment.com to help you effortlessly recover refunds for lost packages while you focus on your core business.

Step 4: How Lateshipment.Com Helps You Handle Your Lost Packages

LateShipment.com’s Parcel Audit and Refunds solution effortlessly audits your invoices and helps save up to 20% on your shipping costs. The best part is that it takes less than 2 minutes to set-up and seamlessly integrates with your existing workflow.

Our parcel audit and refunds solution:

Not only submits claims on your behalf but also constantly follows up till issue resolution.
Makes sure that all claims are submitted within the timeframe of the carrier(s).
Not just lost shipments, but also helps you recover refunds for 50+ service failures like late deliveries.
And best of all this, you don’t have to pay anything out of your pockets. We only charge 50% of the refunds you’ve received, that too only when it is successfully recovered.

Sure, refunds are great for your business. But getting them doesn’t help in mitigating the pain of a loyal customer who might have lost packages such as birthday gifts or an anniversary surprises.

That’s when our other feature Delivery Experience Management (DEM) platform can help. DEM is particularly helpful if you are a bulk shipper who uses multiple carriers and would prefer an efficient automated workflow.

Step 4.2: How Delivery Experience Management (DEM) Platform Works

Delivery Experience Management platform keeps you in check the status of the parcel and helps you stay ahead of lost or damaged packages with ease. It is easy to use and tracks every package you send via major carriers like FedEx or UPS.

When a certain package takes a detour, DEM sends out an alert to the sender and the receiver. This helps you foresee a delay and handle it proactively.

If you send out several packages at once, and some of them are suspected lost by our automated system, you are intimated of that as well.

Since you get to know well in advance if one or more packages are flagged as lost, it gives you an edge when you get in touch with the carrier to resolve the issue or send a quick replacement in case of a time-sensitive delivery.

The value we add to businesses is most evident when experienced first-hand.

Try LateShipment.com now.

Or, get in touch by writing to us at sales@lateshipment.com

The post Lost Packages 101: How to Handle Them appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

50+ Shipping Carrier Service Failures That are Totally Eligible for Refunds

Sashank Ravindranath — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 10:05:11 +0000

Have you spent time taking a good, hard look at your shipping invoices?

If not, try it once. You’ll likely end up quite shocked!

Why? You ask.

You’ll discover that you’ve been charged wrongly more than once.

Shipping invoices are often plagued by errors and discrepancies that could be costing your business valuable dollars month-on-month.

When you fail to audit your shipping invoices, you unwittingly become an accomplice to an inefficient shipping carrier.

Or you could follow in the footsteps of other retail businesses that have become increasingly savvy and claim refunds for various shipping carrier service failures using automated shipping audit services like LateShipment.com.

Read on for the 50+ service failures that shipping carriers are prone to and how you can save up to 20% on your shipping costs by claiming refunds for them.

Here’s Why You Should Take a Closer Look at Your Shipping Invoice

Shipping invoices are, without a doubt, complex. However, there is a need to understand them to identify and dispute errors with your shipping carrier.

The onus is on you to understand YOUR shipping invoice because

It is simply not in the best interest of shipping carriers to own up to their failures.
Shipping carriers are known to hide information on service failures such as late deliveries to prevent themselves from being shown in poor light.

Once you’ve understood your shipping invoice from top to bottom, you can immediately start saving!

Imagine a wrongly calculated Dimensional (DIM) weight of your package making your bill go up to $16 instead of $10. While this $6 additional charge may not seem much in a one-off incident, it may prove to be costly in the long run if repeated with many packages. And it’s money that belongs to you.

Once you receive your monthly invoice, you can ensure that every delivery issue or billing discrepancy is identified and have refund claims submitted for each.

Did you know that claiming refunds for service failures like late deliveries could save you 12-14%, and an additional 6-8% could be saved through submission of claims for other billing errors and wrongly-applied surcharges?

This is why it is critical to understand your monthly shipping invoice and optimize your shipping costs.

What Are The 50+ Service Failures That Are Eligible For Refunds

The 50+ failures of shipping carriers that are eligible for refunds can be separated into service failures and billing errors. Billing errors themselves can be classified separately into surcharges & fees and other billing errors.

This classification helps you immediately identify and recognize the types of service failures and billing errors and act accordingly when faced with any of them.

Service Failures

Late Deliveries
Lost Packages
Damaged Packages
Invalid Service Exceptions
Manifested but Not Shipped
No Proof-of-Delivery

Billing Errors - Surcharges and Additional Fees

Invalid DAS (Delivery Area Surcharge)
Invalid Extended DAS
Invalid Residential Surcharge
Unauthorized Charges
Chargebacks
Wrongly-Applied Additional Handling Fees
Invalid Address Correction Surcharge
Incorrect Fuel Surcharge
Invalid Hazardous Material Fees
Wrongly-Applied Refusal Fees
Incorrect CoD Collections
Invalid Holiday Exceptions Fee
Wrongly-Applied Minimum Charges
Charges for Re-Delivery
Incorrect Weekly Service Fee
Wrongly-Applied Early AM Fees
Incorrect Saturday Pickup Fees
Incorrect Large Package Surcharges
Discrepancies in International / Customs Fee
Inapplicable Additional Delivery Fee
Incorrect Proof-of-Delivery Fee
Incorrect Domestic Dimensional Fee
Incorrect International Dimensional Fee
Incorrect Duties & Taxes
Wrongly-Applied Pickup Fees
Wrongly-Applied On-Demand Pickup Fees
Incorrect Package Reroute Charges
Duplicate Charge

Other Billing Errors

Missing Discounts
Incorrect Discounts
Misapplied Incentives
Entered Weight / Billed Weight
Void Shipments
Discrepancies in Calculation of Zone Jumping
Incorrect Combined Weight (CWT) / Multweight (MWT) Shipments
Discrepancies in Insured & Declared Value
Incorrect Weight
Discrepancies in Calculation of Rebates
Incorrect Application of GRI
Incorrect Application of Revenue-Based Thresholds
Duplicate Tracking Number
Duplicate Invoice
Missing Account Number
Invalid Account Number
Incorrect Shipper Billed
Misapplied Payments
Incorrect Exchange Rates

You could manually claim refunds for the service failures of your shipping carrier, or you could make use of an automated algorithm-based service to do so. Here’s why the latter is the better option.

Manual Filing of Refund Claims a Hassle

While shipping carriers allow you to file claims manually, they are not exactly a viable option as they are subject to certain limitations.

It is a tiresome process – Identifying and submitting claims manually is a process that takes up significant time and effort on your end.
It is expensive – The resource cost of claiming refunds is so expensive that you will spend more to get a refund than the compensation you are entitled to receive.
Short eligibility window – Manual claim submission is a tedious process. It might take more than five days to obtain a refund for a single package. Also, refund claims are honored by carriers only if they are filed within a short eligibility window, which can be a problem when submitting multiple claims.
It is error-prone – A positive outcome is not guaranteed for manual claim submission as the communication process with shipping carriers is often inefficient.

For this reason, it is best to use a parcel audit solution like LateShipment.com to claim shipping refunds.

How Lateshipment.Com’s Intelligent Parcel Audit and Shipping Refunds Solution Can Help

LateShipment.com’s automated refunds solution effortlessly audits your invoices and helps save up to 20% on your shipping costs. The best part is that it takes less than 2 minutes to set-up and seamlessly integrates with your existing workflow.

600+ carriers supported – With customers in over 40 countries, we successfully claim refunds from carriers worldwide.
Highly-trained algorithms – Our proprietary technology is built in-house with algorithms trained from tracking over 100M parcels.
Human-backed automation – Our automated claims system is human-backed to ensure that you never miss any refunds.
Maximum refunds recovery – Apart from common service failures, our systems are built to recover refunds for 50+ carrier errors.
No upfront cost – Zero out-of-pocket costs for your business. Pay only a part of the refunds claimed.
Refund claims for previous shipments – We don’t wait for you to ship out packages. Our systems can backtrack up to 45 days and claim refunds even for past shipments.

How you can start claiming refunds right away

It is never too late to start claiming refunds. Every parcel you ship and get billed for by your shipping carrier, you could be losing an opportunity to claim refunds and save up to 20% on your overall shipping cost.

Here’s how easy it is to start claiming refunds:

Create a LateShipment.com account
Add your shipping carrier credentials
That’s it. You’re all set!

Our automated shipping refunds solution:

Audits your monthly shipping invoices
Submits refund claims to your carrier(s) on your behalf
Deposits the refunded amount directly into your account
Saves up to 20% on your shipping costs

The best part is, it takes less than 2 minutes to see LateShipment.com in action without any change to your existing workflow.

The value we add to businesses is most evident when experienced first-hand. Try LateShipment.com now.

The post 50+ Shipping Carrier Service Failures That are Totally Eligible for Refunds appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

Guide to Cross-Border Shipping in 2020 (And How to Easily Save up to 20% on Shipping)

Rohan Rinaldo Felix — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 14:33:13 +0000

Your business is doing well locally and you are looking to ship overseas, but you don’t know where to start. Does this sound like you? Help is at hand, so read on!

If you’re from Canada or the US, there’s more for you: an entire section dedicated to helping you get started with shipping across the US-Canada border and some insights about shipping carriers that you won’t find elsewhere.

The Last Mile Counts

Until recently, growing a customer base was about having a digital presence and a strong communication and marketing game. These days, more is required. The last-mile delivery experience you provide can determine your brand’s success.

There’s plenty of material covered on this page. You can click on a link to be taken to the relevant section.

Should You Ship Across the Border Or Use a Warehouse?
Shipping to a Few Countries Vs. Shipping Globally
International Shipping: A Minefield Of Challenges
Cross-Border Fulfillment Partners: Bridging the Divide
Using 3PLs for Fulfillment
US-Canada Shipping: A Game Of Its Own
Great Strategies to Optimize Shipping Costs
How You Could Save 20% on Shipping!
Common Questions on Cross-Border Shipping & International Fulfillment

Before you go international, you need to choose between two options. The first is to store your products in your home country and ship internationally using your shipping carrier. The second is to store your products in the destination country and ship to your customers from there. So, which one should you choose?

Should You Ship Across the Border Or Use a Warehouse?

Use cross-border shipping if your business cannot handle the cost of setting up a warehouse or partnering with a third-party logistics company. This is similar to shipping locally but involves customs duties and complying with the regulations of the destination country. It also increases the time required to deliver to your customers.

Storing your products in the destination country will suit your business if the scale involved is large and time-bound delivery is critical. It will also reduce the cost of each delivery for your customers as there are no duties to be paid. This option, however, involves significant costs associated with setting up a warehouse or partnering with a third party in the destination country.

Now, with the first decision out of the way, you need to think about whether you will be shipping only to a few countries or worldwide.

Shipping to a Few Countries Vs. Shipping Globally

The scale of your business will determine the types of service partners and strategies you will use.

Shipping to only to a few countries involves a different strategy from shipping worldwide. There are many options for both.

Shipping to a few select countries will involve research on your part about their laws and the duties and taxes involved. You will also need to zero in on a third-party logistics company that has a strong presence in these countries.

On the other hand, shipping globally requires choosing a shipping partner that has a worldwide footprint and can handle large volumes. At this scale, researching procedures and duties for each country simply isn’t feasible. Your shipping partner will be able to do this for you.

Getting Started with Cross-Border Shipping

Before you ship across the border, there are a few first steps to take.

Localize the content on your website to suit your international customers.
Price your products keeping in mind the currency and duties & taxes involved. Display this information on your site.
Provide information about your shipping carrier on the checkout page so that customers are able to track their parcels.
Have a returns policy that is prominently displayed on your international site.
Next, choose a shipping carrier or use a cross-border fulfillment partner.

International Shipping: A Minefield Of Challenges

Shipping internationally can make your business more profitable. At the same time, getting your products across borders involves overcoming a whole bunch of challenges.

You need to be aware of the complex laws and regulations surrounding international shipments and of the documents required for cross-border shipments to be permitted.
You need to study exchange rates before pricing your products.
You need to provide options for international customers to pay by their preferred methods.
You will have to constantly observe the product trends within the target markets to stay relevant.
International fulfillment takes much more time than local fulfillment.
You will need a liaison in destination countries to handle communications and returns.
International returns are expensive, so you may need to spend on a cross-border fulfillment partner to absorb the impact of returns.
Your customers will have to cover import duties and taxes on their orders. This will increase the cost for them.

There are many ways to make things easier for your business. Meet Exhibit A: the Cross-Border Fulfillment Partner.

Cross-Border Fulfillment Partners: Bridging the Divide

A cross-border fulfillment partner can simplify the shipping process for your business by integrating their secure shopping system into your pre-existing system. When an international customer wishes to purchase a product, they are led to a checkout page that resembles your own. This page, however, contains product information and prices in the local language and currency. The final bill includes applicable shipping fees and duties.

Once the purchase is completed by the customer on your cross-border fulfillment partner’s billing page, the fulfillment partner buys the product off your website. You then ship it to the partner’s local fulfillment center making use of your usual method of shipping. From this point onward, your partner will handle the shipping across borders and even returns.

Cross-border shipping partners take many challenges out of the shipping process and help you focus on more pressing concerns.

Meet Exhibit B: the 3PL.

Using 3PLs Partners for Fulfillment

A 3PL partner, or third-party logistics company, is a warehouse in your target international market. You could consider using the services of a 3PL if your business is large enough. This is how things typically work with a 3PL partner:

Your shipping carrier collects a shipment from your facility and transports it internationally.
The products are then sent to the warehouse of your partner 3PL company.
The 3PL partner handles the storage, sorting, packaging, final delivery, and returns on products.

3PLs make your job easier and less stressful. However, like everywhere else, you need to do your research before choosing a 3PL partner.

Your 3PL partner needs to have the facilities to store the kinds of products you ship.
Make sure the partner you choose has robust processes in place to handle inventory.
You need to do a detailed comparison of the prices of various 3PLs and the services they offer to arrive at the best fit.
The 3PL partner you use should have its warehouse located near the destination of your shipments to save you money.
Make sure the 3PL partner you choose is able to provide the kind of packaging you need for your products.
Lastly, ensure that the 3PL partner you choose is able to scale up alongside your business.

Common Mistakes When Shipping Internationally

When starting out with international fulfillment, avoid these mistakes:

Don’t try to handle all aspects of the shipping process by yourself. You will make mistakes.
Don’t ignore studying the documentation required and customs duties to be paid.
Don’t rush through deciding upon a cross-border fulfillment partner or third party logistics warehouse.
Don’t neglect labeling your packages with the correct details.
Some shippers neglect the quality of product packaging. Don’t be like them.

Is your business based out of Canada or the US? If so, there are steps you could take right now to supercharge your cross-border shipping game!

US-Canada Shipping: A Game Of Its Own

The scale of shipments passing through the US-Canada border is huge and always on the rise. Both countries have signed numerous agreements that have helped boost trade volumes.

While the US and Canada share a fraternal relationship, they are still sovereign nations with laws of their own and restrictions on the shipping of certain items.

Items Prohibited / Restricted in Canada

Explosive, radioactive, flammable, and otherwise dangerous items cannot be mailed within Canada. Also, only items that weigh less than 30 kg (66 lbs) are accepted for mailing. Illegal items that are shipped into Canada are removed from the mail stream and destroyed by the authorities. There is no option to return to the sender.

Items Prohibited / Restricted in the US

As with Canada, the US places restrictions on the shipping of certain items and bans others outright.

The following items are banned outright from international shipments:

Explosives
Air bags
Marijuana whether medical or otherwise
Ammunition
Gasoline
Aerosols
Cigarettes
Alcoholic beverages
Poison

Cigars, medical devices, certain medicines, and lithium batteries are some restricted items.

Documentation for US-Canada Shipments

Businesses that ship between the US and Canada will need to have the following documents in order:

A Bill of Lading that lists the goods that are part of a shipment and details about size and weight and contact information.
A Proof of Delivery that is signed when a shipment is received in good order.
A Commercial Invoice that is required when shipping from Canada to the US. This invoice is attached to the bill of lading and includes complete details about the products being shipped.
A Canada Customs Invoice is required for shipments into Canada.
A Certificate of Origin is required in both countries. This document shows the source of the shipment so that NAFTA regulations around customs duties can be complied with.

Now that you know a fair bit about the documents required for shipping between Canada and the US, the next step in your journey of enlightenment involves learning about the shipping carriers that deliver across the US-Canada border.

Carriers for US-Canada Shipments

Some major carriers that ship between the US and Canada are USPS, FedEx, UPS, Purolator, and Canada Post.

The cost you will pay on shipping through each carrier depends on factors like delivery speed, the distance between origin and destination, package size, mode of transport, value-added services, etc. Follow these links to view the pricing information of major careers:

When deciding on a carrier to handle your international shipments, doing a comparative analysis is helpful.

Unfortunately, the large carriers are famously opaque with service-related details. At LateShipment, we audit the performance of shipping carriers to ensure our customers get the service they deserve. We also help them claim refunds from their carriers for over 50 types of service failures. We save our customers up to 20% on every shipment. Signing up is free and only takes 2 minutes. Why don’t you give it a shot?

Here’s an example of the kind of valuable information we possess at LateShipment.

Shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS often claim near-perfect on-time delivery rates. Most retailers are forced to take them at their word. Unfortunately, these claims are often false.

Shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS often claim near-perfect on-time delivery rates. Unfortunately, these claims are often false.

Our audits show that the percentage of our customers’ shipments delivered late by these carriers often reaches double digits. Stats don’t lie, and we have them. Take a look at these charts.

For shipments from Canada to the US between August 2018 and January 2019, both FedEx and UPS under-performed on their claims.

During the holiday season months of November and December, FedEx delivered 7.05% and 14.53% of our Canadian customers’ shipments late. The delay rate in January 2019 was 12.87%.

Percentage Of Canadian Customers’ Shipments to the US Delayed by FedEx

UPS had delay rates of 14.39% and 12.98% for shipments from our Canadian customers in November and December 2018. The rate for January 2019 was 16.16%.

Percentage Of Canadian Customers’ Shipments to the US Delayed by UPS

Both carriers had worse delay rates for our US customers delivering to Canada.

FedEx had a delay rate of 21.89% in November and 10.57% in December. The rate for January 2019 was 12.27%.

Percentage Of US Customers’ Shipments to Canada Delayed by FedEx

UPS, meanwhile, delivered a whopping 35.86% of our US customers shipments late in November. The rates for December and January were 25.63% and 28.76% respectively.

Percentage Of US Customers’ Shipments to Canada Delayed by UPS

Never take shipping carriers at their word!

Once you have enough information of this kind to work with, you could consider some strategies to save money while shipping.

Great Strategies to Optimize Shipping Costs

While it’s true that international fulfillment can be costly when starting out, making the right decisions upfront will help your business save plenty.

Stay informed of the legal requirements of the shipping process (even if you outsource).
Include the shipping cost in the price for international customers (else YOU will have to pay).
Be transparent about your pricing.
Mention the delivery time clearly in order to avoid costly returns.
Use the right kind of packaging to protect your shipments, but don’t over-package and waste money and material.
Reuse packaging as much as possible.
Track your packages.
Negotiate rates assertively with your shipping carrier.
Sign up for a service that handles refunds from your carrier for delays on their part.
Consider insuring your shipments if you ship valuable items.

How You Could Save 20% on Shipping

Shipping across the border can open up opportunities for your business. But it also comes with many challenges like handling refunds from your shipping carrier and tracking your parcels in real time.

If you own a business that ships products, consider signing up for a free LateShipment account. LateShipment will audit your shipping invoices to identify over 50 service failures and submit refund claims to your carrier on your behalf. Businesses that use our services save up to 20% on every shipment.

That’s not all! LateShipment provides access to advanced analytics tools that will help you track every shipment in real time and fix delivery errors even before they happen. With a LateShipment account, you can rest easy in the confidence that you will be able to handle delays before they affect your customers. Visit www.lateshipment.com for more information. Signing up takes 2 minutes, and you have nothing to lose!

Common Questions on Cross-Border Shipping & International Fulfillment

1. Why is shipping to Canada so expensive?

Shipping to Canada is expensive because of the duties and taxes involved. There is also a handling fee on certain shipments. For complete information on tariffs to be paid when shipping into Canada, visit this page by the Canadian Border Service Agency.

2. Which is the cheapest way to ship from the US to Canada?

The cheapest way to ship from the US to Canada is through the USPS. Fedex and UPS have higher fees based on the service types being used. Click here for FedEx fee information.

3. How are package sizes calculated?

The basic way to calculate ground package sizes is by using the formula:

Length + 2x Width + 2x Height

For packages that are irregularly-shaped, calculate the length, width, and height from the extreme points. Visit this UPS page for more details on how package sizes are calculated.

4. Which items are banned from shipments into the US?

Some of the products banned from shipments into the US are ammunition, cigarettes, gasoline, marijuana, explosives, nail polish, dry ice, and alcoholic beverages. Certain items can be shipped as long as restrictions on their transport are fulfilled. These include medicines, cigars, and lithium batteries. The USPS has more information on this.

5. Which items are banned from shipments into Canada?

Explosive, radioactive, flammable, and otherwise dangerous items cannot be mailed into Canada. Narcotics and other controlled substances are subject to restrictions on their shipping. Perishable items like meat, vegetables, and fruit may be shipped if properly prepared and not in contravention of applicable requirements. Canada Post has more information on this.

6. What are some useful resources for international shippers?

Here are some useful resources for those wishing to ship internationally:

The post Guide to Cross-Border Shipping in 2020 (And How to Easily Save up to 20% on Shipping) appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

10 Must Know Tips to Negotiate Shipping Contracts With FedEx or UPS

Deepa Shankar — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:46:31 +0000

When was the last time you celebrated after closing in on a tough negotiation?

The ability to successfully negotiate a contract hinges on several factors. Especially when it comes to negotiating deals with your shipping partner. You need extensive data on their performance stats, the impact they’ve had on your clientele, and much more.

Besides, if shipping prices hit too high (cue the hikes you see every quarter), you’ll have to change product prices to match them. So it makes a huge difference if your negotiation prowess can be put to use.

Here’s a checklist that will be of great use when you negotiate contracts with FedEx and UPS.

1. Surcharges

A look at your shipping invoice will give you an idea of how many additional components your shipping bills contain.

You can read more on various surcharges here. In a nutshell, there are several surcharges in your shipping bill. Oversized packages, residential zipcode destinations, fuel hikes and many such aspects attract surcharges. All carriers have their own set of surcharges. Every surcharge added to your shipping bill has its own terms and conditions. So, you need to be in a position to identify surcharges that do not apply and filter them out, when you negotiate with your shipping vendor.

2. Impact of DIM

In recent years, both FedEx and UPS have shifted to dimensional weight for billing purposes. Earlier, packages were billed according to their actual weight. According to the new order, the package weight to be billed is determined by the dimensions of the package. This is because the space the package occupies in a container is what counts, logically speaking.

You can save a lot on your shipping bills if your packages can come down in size along with actual weight. This requires a close look at packaging strategy. If you are packing odd shaped packages, check out how to optimize shipping costs here.

3. Arm yourself with data!

Before you start your negotiations, arm yourself with data on past performance of shipping carriers. Study individual costs and work out a plan to reduce costs, going forward. Make a list of cost components that can be reduced or done away with. Optimize as much as possible and then take the list to your shipping carrier to negotiate on what can be negotiated. When you assemble the data, make sure you have a list of cases where the shipping carrier has failed to perform, as promised.

LateShipment.com is a one stop tool that provides you with all the data you need for this purpose. It can tell you everything about every shipment you have sent across, with data on geographical performance, where it has been delayed, et al. Here’s a graph showing geographical representation of delays across specific areas in the US.

Data used had been generated by LateShipment.com

4. Read the fine print

Your shipping vendor gives certain promises to deliver the package on time. Failing which, they have to refund your shipping money. Now, this is stated as a USP in their sites. But what you are blissfully unaware of, when you sign up with the carrier is the fine print. The fine print has dozens of conditions that FedEx and UPS can use to NOT refund your money. Invest time in reading the fine print. A firm grasp of the fine print can give you an edge when you discuss terms during the negotiation.

UPS and FedEx offer similar money back guarantees. And the process to retrieve the money in either case is equally circuitous. Despite having an in depth knowledge of everything the fine print entails, you can miss out on refunds if the carrier considers them ineligible. your claim can be revoked on account of season, weather conditions, unexpected delays out of their control and unstable political ambience.

5. Are you giving up your right to refunds?

Every retailer should ensure that he/ she does not give up the right to refunds through the carrier money back guarantee. No matter how attractive the discount offered may be, holding shipping carriers accountable for their performance by monitoring all your packages and claiming refunds for the ones with delivery exceptions is a must.

As we have seen earlier, you are entitled to a full refund of your shipping bill if the carrier fail to deliver the package in the promised time. This can be a significant savings if done diligently. Bring this up in your negotiations. Also, waiving your money back guarantee for a hefty discount would mean forgoing the ability to hold the carrier accountable for service failures.

6. Leverage competition

A very critical part of running a business is knowing your competition. Enrol yourself in associations where most of your peers are involved. You would facilitate healthy competition while getting to know what your peers do. This would help you in forming business strategies, and negotiating better discounts with the carrier if you’re already aware of the discounts others of the same caliber avail. Using a common forum, you can get to know best practices in the industry and follow what suits you best.

7. Protection against rate spikes

FedEx and UPS are infamous for sudden spikes in their rates with several reasons ranging from seasons to fuel costs. So, it’s a good point to bring that up when you negotiate. Ask for protection against such sudden price inflation.

You can read more on the UPS and FedEx recent price hikes here.

This is a regular occurrence. A single rate change in shipping can affect your logistics costs and your bottomline. You certainly need cover against such rate changes.

8. Holiday Shipping Rates

Holiday seasons happen to be the most rush period in eCommerce and shipping. Predictably, shipping rates go up and the money back guarantee also ceases to apply for most shipping service types (if you haven’t specifically asked for it during negotiation) during these times. You should make it a point to request for the money back guarantee during holiday season as well.

9. Review the contract

Periodically, review the contract and try to figure out a middle ground where you and the shipping carrier can benefit from each other. Revisit your contract before renewing it every time.

The period for these reviews is something you need to take a call on. It could be monthly, quarterly or half yearly, based on factors like

The number of packages you send

The number of times your carrier changes rates and how you get impacted

And, whatever your reviews tell you!

10. Multiple carrier negotiations

Do not stick to a single shipping carrier at any point of time. if you negotiate with FedEx and UPS at the same time, you leverage competition against each other and you benefit from better rates. Also, you can choose the best performer for each type of delivery and use that effectively.

During negotiations, you can bring this up and note differences in carrier performance.

Here’s a bonus point for you.

11. Maintain good relationships

It is very important to maintain good relationships with your carrier representative. These are people who can help with your negotiations. You would be making it easier for them if you could hold your end of a civil business relationship.

Like with every other relationship, business and otherwise, your interpersonal skills will help you get better deals and make your business running easier. This can even help you get access to association rates that only the representative can work out. So a good working rapport will reward you with better pricing and access to offers and schemes.

And that’s your checklist for successful negotiations with FedEx and UPS representatives. The smartest path to take would be to sign up with a service like LateShipment,com to obtain data to help you with negotiations. You can make use of this data to stay ahead of competitors this holiday season.

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Green Logistics: DHL Treks Toward Zero Emissions 2050

Joelah James — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 16:07:55 +0000

The green fever is catching.

Slowly but surely, Green technology has infiltrated almost every field there is. Including logistics.

A notable example would be DHL’s attempts to stem the production of greenhouse gases in all its operations with DHL Go Green, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol is one of the treaties signed by over 192 countries to reduce the level of greenhouse gases emitted by their respective industrialized nations. Incidentally, Germany is one of the nations who have ratified the set target of bringing down emission levels, while the US has not ratified.

DHL’s Go Green Initiative

The global logistics giant not only officially commenced its new Mybill (an e- bill instead of the traditional paper bill), it has also stamped a $3 fee on every paper bill that is requested. This new regulation implemented from July 1, 2018 clearly shows the company’s take on opting for a more environment friendly choice of billing. Customers are encouraged (or subtly pushed) to choose the electronic billing option unless they are willing to pay extra for a paper bill.

The Deutsche Post DHL group which was founded in Germany has been built on the foundation of environmental awareness and contributing to the well being of the planet. This might explain why they have become the first logistics company to take up the mantle of bringing down the level of GHG in all their logistics operations. The company went so far as to purchase the electrical vehicle manufacturer Street Scooter in 2014 to produce its own vehicles that used clean energy sources. Full operations are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2018.

Image source: DHL

Here’s what the company does to help the climate change program:

Calculates all transport related emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (when a client opts for DHL Go Green), and provides a comprehensive carbon report.
The carbon report maps all emissions from the DHL network, and is also featured on an online carbon dashboard that can map emissions upto individual shipment level.
Issues annual certifications for public use and authorized third party verification for emissions.
A multitude of other environmental options suitable for businesses like waste management, extended producer responsibility and lead environmental partner.

Image source: DHL

Climate change goals

Complete transparency and reliability are assured by DHL in optimizing carbon emissions, and creating a green logistics sphere.

These are the future goals for DHL Go Green that have been delineated by the company.

As the 2020 goal of 30% reduction in GHG emission was achieved earlier in 2016, a new goal of 50% was set for 2025.
The long term goal is to achieve zero emissions logistics by 2050.
Employ electric vehicles and bicycles to bring down local air pollution in the last mile by 70%
Make more than 50% of customers’ supply chains greener by helping them incorporate Green solutions.
Join partners to protect our forests by planting one million trees every year.

Image source: DHL

The environment friendly Mybill

DHL has now begun aggressively pursuing its goals of nudging clients towards an environmentally sustainable future. The environment friendly Mybill has the following advantages:

Paying invoices online across multiple payment options
Email notification for new invoices
Reviewing payment history online
Dashboard that can track all DHL accounts
Select individual items on invoice for further details

You can find more information on Mybill here.

DHL can be commended for its notable efforts to approach the logistics industry in a manner considerate to burgeoning environmental needs, and trying to influence the supply chain industry to do the same. Innovation and implementation have gone hand in hand for this logistics company, and in doing so they have raised the stakes for other US based major shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS. Stay tuned to see what DHL’s competitors are willing to do with the ball in their court.

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10 Important Shipping Carrier Errors That Could Cost Your Ecommerce Business

Revathi Karthik — Thu, 31 May 2018 16:25:56 +0000

Have you looked at your FedEx or UPS invoice lately? Shocked to find your shipping costs at an all-time high? The reality is that FedEx and UPS have slapped a 4.9% shipping rate hike (read more about 2018 shipping rates) forcing merchants to rework their shipping strategy. While retailers are still weighing up the domino effect of these new rates on their bottom lines, they often overlook claiming the money that they are entitled to. Shipping carriers often commit errors in the form of service failures or invoicing mistakes that amount to around 20% of your shipping costs. A deeper inspection of your shipping carrier invoice could reveal numerous hidden money-back spots. However, these errors occur randomly making it a painstaking process for businesses to identify them let alone dispute them.

Luckily, you don’t have to embark on this scavenger hunt alone. At LateShipment.com, we automatically audit your shipping invoice for over 50 carrier errors and recover refunds that are directly applied to your shipping invoice.

Here is a snapshot of the ten most expensive shipping carrier errors that are eligible for refunds

Delayed Deliveries – Sample this: You are a wine retailer who has had a merry sales season. Just when you are toasting your big wins with that chilled Chianti, you are interrupted by a distressed call from your customer. As luck would have it, his favourite bottle of chardonnay was going to arrive late. To keep him happy, you speed deliver another bottle, it’s Christmas after all! But then you get another call and then another. Before you realise, you are flooded with order delivery complaints and end up spending the better part of your holiday salvaging delivery disasters.

The real cost of late delivery is a disjointed customer delivery experience and losing repeat buyers. One harrowing delivery experience could get you blacklisted by even loyal customers.

Damaged shipments – True, when an expensive order is found to be damaged, it causes a dent in your profit margin. But far greater is the resulting negative impact it has on a customer’s brand perception.

Lost Shipment: The message on your customer’s tracking page reads: Delivered to the front porch. When your customer enquires about the package whereabouts, with casual indifference, you quote the delivery status update. Surprise! They don’t even have a front porch.

Lost shipments could turn out to be devastating for retailers and their customers alike. Especially when they are marked as delivered by the shipping carrier.

Residential surcharges: There is a fee applied to packages that are shipped to non-commercial addresses. But what exactly is considered as a non-commercial address? UPS states that a residential surcharge would be applied whenever a package is shipped to any address that is a house and does not have an entrance open to the general public. Let’s say you’ve got an artistically designed, quaint office with a side entrance and a carefully camouflaged garage- it’s quite possible that residential charges will get applied even if it’s situated in the middle of a bustling city.

Address correction charges: Instances of packages delivered to wrong addresses are aplenty. Agreed, the address could be incorrectly mentioned on the package by the shipper. That still does not absolve FedEx or UPS of taking responsibility when packages are delivered to wrong addresses. Nobody wants their brand new purchase sitting on somebody else’s doorstep.

Dimensional weight pricing: When you ship a 3 tier cake or a pound and bench toy that weighs less than 6 lbs, how much do you pay? You may have to pony up the charges for a 13 lbs package. Dim weight pricing is one of the trickiest charges to calculate. Finding an optimal package size for orders remains a challenge for retailers. Pad it, you pay extra. Skimp on the cushion, you face unhappy customers. Adding to worries of a toppled cake, is an application of incorrect DIM weight charges.

Void shipments: Remember those labels that you created but never used? They generally account to about 0.22% of total packages. At an average cost of $5 per shipping label, cancelling unused labels could recover a significant amount, especially if your shipping volume is quite high.

Delivery area surcharges and extended delivery area surcharges: Did you know an additional fee is applied every time a package has to be delivered to residential, rural or commercial rural area? Packages tagged under DAS are charged a $4 – $4.5 whereas those tagged as eDAS are charged a whopping $130-$150. Even more appalling is the fact that there is a good possibility that 20% of your ecommerce orders fall under either of these categories.

Fuel surcharges: The most contentious and least surprising fee applied to a shipping invoice has been fuel surcharge for all service types including ground shipments. Adding to the complexity of validating your invoice charges, fuel surcharges keep fluctuating on a weekly basis.

Duplicate charges: Is it possible to bill a tracking number twice? Tracking numbers theoretically are unique. But in practice, the same tracking number could be assigned to two different orders. Although straightforward and low in occurrence (.07%), depending on the charges that are duplicated, the amount you could save from auditing for duplicate charges could be significant.

Image source: Disneyinstitute

Inspecting each shipping invoice and searching for errors is like playing catch blindfolded. You have no clue where or when you are likely to bump into an error. An automated auditing process, on the other hand, could systematically catch all possible errors and request refunds on your behalf. All you have to do is, say the word: “Audit”! ( And of course follow it up with a 2 minute sign up process with LateShipment.com)

Credits

https://parcelindustry.com

https://ecommercenews.eu/primary-reason-orders-dont-arrive-time/

All charges mentioned are as published by FedEx/UPS

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Why should your retail business automate shipping invoice audit process?

Revathi Karthik — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 13:30:23 +0000

Shipping cost constitutes anywhere between 5 to 15% of the total expenditure for Retailers. Adding to their tightening margins is the steady 4% year on year increase in FedEx and UPS shipping rates. The complete monopoly of these shipping carriers in the small parcel shipping market leave retailers with no other option but to let shipping costs eat into their profits. Not anymore! Shipping carriers can be easily held accountable with an in-depth shipping invoice audit. Although most retailers invest in in-house shipping audit, it is not as efficient or impactful as their automated counterpart.

The most compelling reason to switch to an automated audit process is that manual process could be time sinking as well as labor intensive. Moreover, the cumbersome process of auditing your invoice takes your focus away from building a successful business. Listed here are the definitive advantages of using automated parcel shipping invoice audit over manual in-house process.

As noted in the illustration, the first step towards logistics digitalization is automating the auditing process of FedEx and UPS shipping invoices. LateShipment.com is a service that helps you audit upto 50+ service failures committed regularly by your shipping carriers and save instantly upto 20% of your shipping costs. Our realtime tracker also empowers your business to predict delivery exceptions and help you make data driven logistic decision.

Are you willing to take a calculated leap and step out of your in-house process? Sign up now to automate your shipping invoice audit process.

The post Why should your retail business automate shipping invoice audit process? appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

Compare Shipping Rates of USPS vs UPS vs FedEx vs DHL in 2018

Bianca Barath — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 12:54:28 +0000

Dimensional Weight Pricing

UPS and FedEx have recently started to charge a dimensional weight fee. Until recently, your shipping rates with these two carriers depended on package weight. Now, the package size matters. So, if you have been shipping light weight goods that occupy significant space in shipping trucks or planes, you will be expected to pay more now. Dimensional weight pricing was applicable only with packages that are larger than three cubic feet. If you shipped smaller items, there was no change in your shipping rates. But that again has changed and now, every package is subject to dimensional weight rules.

FedEx had changed its dimensional weight divisor from 166 to 139 on January 2, 2017, for only U.S. ground and Express shipments. Now, in 2018, FedEx SmartPost is also added to the list of service levels with the 139 dimensional weight divisor. UPS has a dimensional weight divisor of 139 for packages bigger than 1,728 cubic inches or one cubic foot. And the weight divisor is 166 for smaller packages.

Peak Shipment Surcharge

UPS announced a new peak surcharge fee in June 2017. And then, UPS updated it twice to expand its geographic reach. There are also added extra charges for excessively heavy packages going to Puerto Rico, Hawaii or Alaska, as well as packages from Hong Kong or China.

General Rate Increases

UPS raised its air and ground service rates by 4.9% in 2017. FedEx has raised rates differently for these services.

Negotiable Rates:

FedEx and UPS account managers have the authority to lower your shipping rates if you offer volumes. So, if you are a higher volume shipper, ask your account manager to lower rates. FedEx depends on several middlemen to deliver their goods. So, there are bound to be more taxes in their invoices.

DHL is a great choice if you are looking to ship internationally. Within the US, it’s not a viable option. This is because DHL is headquartered in Germany and not in the US. They excel in international shipping. So, choose DHL services if your shipments are predominantly in overseas markets.

The USPS has affordable options within the US. In fact, it is the most affordable choice among all four. There are no surcharges for fuel, remote areas, additional handling etc. Their delivery speed is not excellent but it works well if you are on a budget. If you deal with non-urgent, small-scale and nearby deliveries, USPS is your best bet.

Shipping costs of FedEx and UPS – Compare for best deals

How To Choose The Right Shipping Carrier?

5 Smart strategies to master International Shipping

The post Compare Shipping Rates of USPS vs UPS vs FedEx vs DHL in 2018 appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

International Carriers Archives | Lateshipment.com

How to Reduce the Impact of Oversize Charge on Shipping Costs

What is an Oversize Charge?

FedEx Oversize Charge

UPS Large Package Surcharge

Catching up with the Price Hike for Oversize Charges in 2022

FedEx price hike for Oversize Charges in 2022

UPS price hike for Large Package Surcharge in 2022

What Do Oversize Charges Mean for Your Business?

What You Can Do to Minimize the Impact of This (Significant) Hike

How Lateshipment.Com Can Help

Porch Pirates: How to Handle Them and Prevent Package Theft

Who Are Porch Pirates and How They Can Affect Your Business?

What Retailers Can Do to Prevent Package Theft by Porch Pirates

1. Package discreetly

2. Provide your customers with flexible delivery options

3. Keep your customers updated about the status of shipments

4. Use emerging technologies to ensure safe delivery

What Shoppers Can Do to Prevent Package Theft by Porch Pirates

1. Route Packages to Office Addresses

2. Mandate signatures on delivery

3. Place packages on hold when on holiday

4. Opt for in-store pickup

Bottom Line

A Little about LateShipment.com

How to File FedEx Claims for Late Deliveries

Understanding FedEx’s Money-Back Guarantee before submitting Claims

How to File FedEx Claims

Why Manually Submitting Claims Can Be a Hassle

How LateShipment.com Makes Filing Fedex Claims Easier

What Else You Can Do with LateShipment.com

Shipping Carriers’ 100% Money-Back Guarantee Policies and Why Avoid Signing Refund Waivers

What are Money-Back Guarantees or Guaranteed Service Refunds?

Major carriers that provide money-back guarantees for late deliveries

Benefits of claiming refunds under the money-back guarantee

Refund hurdles under the money-back guarantee policy

What Are Shipping Refund (Money-Back Guarantee) Waivers And Why Avoid Them?

Why do carriers want shippers to sign refund waivers?

What are the disadvantages of signing a shipping refund waiver?

What can you do to avoid signing shipping refund waivers?

5 Tips to Get the Best out of Your Package Shipping Carrier

Quit Overpaying for Shipping

So, do your research ⇓

Prepare to Negotiate

Choose a Shipping Carrier Wisely

Consider Convenience and Benefits

What’s here to consider in a nutshell:

Do a Feedback Research

How LateShipment.com Can Help You

Lost Packages 101: How to Handle Them

Step 1: Determine if the sent packages are really lost

Step 2: The packages are lost. Now what?

Step 3: File a Refund Claim for the Lost Packages

Step 3.1: How do I file a claim for lost packages?

Note: Filing Refund Claims for Lost Packages by Yourself Is a Huge Hassle

Step 4: How Lateshipment.Com Helps You Handle Your Lost Packages

Step 4.2: How Delivery Experience Management (DEM) Platform Works

50+ Shipping Carrier Service Failures That are Totally Eligible for Refunds

Here’s Why You Should Take a Closer Look at Your Shipping Invoice

What Are The 50+ Service Failures That Are Eligible For Refunds ​

Service Failures

Billing Errors - Surcharges and Additional Fees

Other Billing Errors

Manual Filing of Refund Claims a Hassle

How Lateshipment.Com’s Intelligent Parcel Audit and Shipping Refunds Solution Can Help

How you can start claiming refunds right away

Guide to Cross-Border Shipping in 2020 (And How to Easily Save up to 20% on Shipping)

The Last Mile Counts

Should You Ship Across the Border Or Use a Warehouse?

Shipping to a Few Countries Vs. Shipping Globally

Getting Started with Cross-Border Shipping

International Shipping: A Minefield Of Challenges

Cross-Border Fulfillment Partners: Bridging the Divide

Using 3PLs Partners for Fulfillment

Common Mistakes When Shipping Internationally

US-Canada Shipping: A Game Of Its Own

Items Prohibited / Restricted in Canada

Items Prohibited / Restricted in the US

Documentation for US-Canada Shipments

Carriers for US-Canada Shipments

What Are The 50+ Service Failures That Are Eligible For Refunds