Securing shipping discounts for your business can significantly impact your profits. To get the best for your office logistics, you need to navigate the options offered by different carriers and analyze how they fit into your business model and workflow.
Let’s get started! Read on to learn strategies for securing discounted rates and enhancing your business’ shipping efficiency.
Table of Contents:
- How to Get Discounted Shipping Rates for My Business?
- How to Get Discounts on Different Carriers for My Business?
- How Can I Get UPS Shipping Discounts?
- How Can I Get FedEx Shipping Discounts?
- How Can I Get USPS Shipping Discounts?
- How to Choose the Best Shipping Carrier for My Business?
- Unlock Shipping Discounts for Your Business with Airpals
How to Get Discounted Shipping Rates for My Business?
Discounted rates are reductions applied to the standard shipping rates provided by courier services. These discounts can significantly benefit both individual users and businesses by reducing the overall shipping costs. For businesses, in particular, getting these discounts can be a game-changer, as it directly impacts their bottom line and operational efficiency.
Multi-carrier Shipping Software for Businesses
One of the most effective ways to secure discount shipping is by using a multi-carrier shipping software. This technology allows businesses to compare and access the best saving opportunities across multiple shipping services, ensuring that you always get the best deal available.
Some of the benefits you can get from using a shipping software for your business are:
- Access to exclusive discounts: When you use a shipping software, you can get deals that you might not find on the shipper’s website or through direct negotiations. Furthermore, you won’t be surprised by hidden surcharges.
- Time-saving: This type of software doesn’t just save you money— it can also be a great time saver. Managing shipments manually can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Using these shipping solutions streamlines this process, allowing you to focus on more critical aspects of your business.
- Simplified processes: Using shipping software allows businesses to easily manage all shipping tasks in one place. This centralization simplifies logistics and reduces the chance of any changes or errors.
If you’re looking to use a shipping software for your business, whether it is a big or a small business, Airpals is a great choice to fulfill your shipping needs. Airpals democratizes discounts by offering competitive rates to companies of all sizes; not only to high-volume retailers.
Even if you don’t have a large shipping volume, you can still benefit from reduced rates. However, discounts do vary depending on the carrier and type of service. The discounted rate for UPS Ground isn’t going to be the same as for USPS Priority Mail.
This platform also allows you to compare different shipping options and sort them by shipping price and delivery time, print shipping labels and track your shipments. The user-friendly interface of this shipping solution is particularly beneficial for employees in operational and administrative roles who may need to access your shipments’ information.
How to Get Discounts on Different Carriers for My Business?
Discounts to shipping prices aren’t automatically granted to companies, and simply dropping off packages at various post offices and carrier locations without prior arrangements will result in being charged the standard rate.
The challenge is to find the best price and provider to suit your business’ needs, which can vary greatly from one day to the next. One day, you might need to ship something super time-sensitive, requiring a carrier with next day delivery. Another day, you might need to ship something that isn’t urgent, in which case you can opt for the cheapest way to deliver your package, even if it takes longer.
Given the fierce competition in the shipping industry, maximizing advantages often requires shipping with multiple carriers simultaneously. Understanding the unique benefits each service can offer is crucial.
Working with platforms such as Airpals can help you easily compare the options provided by each delivery service, helping you make the best choices for your business. Additionally, Airpals allows you to keep track of your orders and maintain visibility over expenses across all platforms by centralizing invoices, processes, and accounts in a single, seamless interface.
How Can I Obtain UPS Shipping Discounts?
Open a UPS Account
Before you can qualify for discounts, you need to open a UPS account. Having your own account can give you access to various price reduction programs and tools designed to lower your UPS rates.
Know Their Different Services
Understanding the range of services UPS offers is crucial. Each service has different rates and discount opportunities. For example, UPS Ground is often their cheapest shipping method for less time-sensitive shipments, while UPS Next Day Air and 2nd Day Air offer expedited shipping at a premium price.
Negotiate Your Rates
Don’t hesitate to negotiate with their representatives to get better UPS discounts. If your business has a large shipping volume, you may be eligible for more significant discounts.
How Can I Get FedEx Shipping Discounts?
Open a FedEx Account
Similar to UPS, start by opening a FedEx account. This gives you access to a range of tools and potential discounts tailored to your shipping volume and frequency.
Understand Their Services
FedEx offers a variety of services, each with different pricing and discount opportunities. Knowing when to use FedEx Ground or FedEx Express can help you optimize costs based on delivery speed and urgency.
Negotiate Your Rates
Negotiation is key to securing better rates with FedEx. If your business has regular shipping needs, discuss your shipping volume and frequency with a FedEx representative to see if you qualify for special rates.
How Can I Obtain USPS Shipping Discounts?
Create a USPS Business Account
Open a USPS business account to access commercial rates. USPS offers discounted pricing for business accounts, especially for services like Priority Mail and First-Class Package Service.
Learn about Their Services
There are various USPS Services such as Priority Mail, Media Mail, First-Class Mail, Flat Rate Boxes and Parcel Select. You can even get rates based on your package’s cubic dimensions, which is great for small packages.
Request a Negotiated Service Agreement
You can negotiate further USPS discounts off their Daily Rates through your account manager. USPS will determine your discounted rates on a case-by-case basis depending on shipping volume and frequency.
How to Choose the Best Shipping Carrier for My Business?
Choosing the right shipping carrier for your business involves more than just comparing prices. While cost is a significant factor, it’s equally crucial to consider reliability and potential delivery disruptions, such as severe weather conditions or social events. At the end of the day, the primary objective is to deliver packages on time, so it’s essential to assess all these factors:
Shipping Prices and Additional Fees
Comparing rates, fees and surcharges is a good starting point. Different carriers offer varying prices based on the service level and destination. Be sure to look for any hidden fees or surcharges that might affect the total cost.
Reliability and Speed
Reliability is fundamental when selecting a carrier. Consistent on-time delivery is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction. Additionally, consider delivery times. Some shipments may require expedited services, while others can be sent via standard or economy options.
Customer Service
Customer service is a critical factor in choosing a shipping carrier. Efficient and helpful customer service can make a significant difference when dealing with tracking issues, lost packages, returns, or delivery instructions.
Service Features
Keep in mind the additional features each carrier offers, such as tracking, lost package handling, returns management, redirecting shipments, delivery instructions, and free or discounted shipping supplies.
Understanding the difference between each carrier’s services is key. Detailed comparisons of what each company can do for you will help you make the best choice for each shipment.
An easy way to compare shipping carriers is through platforms like Airpals. Airpals can help you save time by providing a centralized place to contrast prices, services, and features. The platform allows you to make informed decisions quickly, ensuring you’ll choose the best fit for your business.
Unlock Shipping Discounts for Your Business with Airpals
Airpals Multi-carrier Shipping is the ultimate shipping solution for businesses looking to streamline their shipping processes and save on costs. With Airpals, you can effortlessly compare carrier prices and delivery times, find the best discounted deals, buy and print your shipping labels, and manage your shipping billing: all in one place.
This platform allows you to compare prices and delivery times across multiple carriers, including USPS, UPS and FedEx. This feature ensures you always get the best deal available. This significantly reduces administrative labor and saves valuable time, allowing you and your team to focus on more essential activities.
Unlike other shipping solutions, Airpals doesn’t add a markup on shipping labels. Our platform is free to use, with paid subscription available for additional tools and features tailored to your business’ needs. This ensures you get the most competitive rates without hidden fees.
Airpals can become your main ally if your business frequently handles multiple product deliveries. It simplifies the entire shipping process, making it easy to manage multiple shipments without the hassle.
Also, Airpals specializes in interoffice shipping, catering specifically to business-to-business (B2B) deliveries. Interoffice shipping involves moving documents, supplies, materials, samples, corporate gifts, and equipment within a company or between a supplier, client and an employee.
Unlike many e-commerce-focused solutions, Airpals is the only platform tailored to interoffice shipping needs, ensuring seamless transactions for daily operations or projects within a company.
Key Airpals Features
- Shareable tracking page: Airpals offers a shareable tracking page, making it easy for multiple users to monitor progress of shipments in real-time.
- Multi-user accounts: You can set up multi-user accounts, enabling different team members to manage shipping tasks. This is particularly useful for businesses with multiple departments or locations.
- Partnerships with leading carriers: Airpals partners with USPS, UPS and FedEx to bring you the best options for fulfilling your nationwide shipping needs.
Obtaining discounted shipping rates for your business is not just about reducing costs, it’s about improving efficiency and streamlining your operations. By using a multi-carrier shipping software like Airpals you can access exclusive discounts, save valuable time and simplify your deliveries.
Ready to streamline your shipping and save big? Explore our platform for a seamless shipping experience. Start maximizing efficiency and savings today!