7 Ways To Cut Parcel Shipping Expenses Right Now - Page 11 of 13

By Jeff Kline

Depending on your volume, a do-it-yourself audit may be onerous. Many catalogers prefer to use a third party that specializes in service audits and has developed automated systems. Most outside of these firms work on a contingency basis and take a percentage of savings.

7. Review packaging and dunnage. By monitoring packaging and dunnage, you can save a bundle by using different dunnage and reducing parcel weight or size. Parcel carriers round up weight when they bill. So a 2.1-pound parcel is billed as 3 pounds. Based on FedEx’s published ground rates, a 3-pound package (zone 8) costs 68 cents (11 percent) more than a 2-pound package.