Sticker shock: E-commerce fulfillment costs rising

Recent rate increases for shipping services by UPS and FedEx and the pending Jan. 17 rate increase for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) shipping services, are challenging businesses -- especially small retailers and e-retailers -- to look for new and innovative solutions to optimize their shipping operations, according to Pitney Bowes.



Here is an update from Pitney Bowes on the latest increase by each major carrier:



UPS

• On December 28, 2015, the rates for UPS Ground services increased an average net 4.9%.



• The rates for UPS Air and International services increased an average net 5.2%.



FedEx

Effective Jan. 4, FedEx increased rates by 4.9% and implemented Dimensional Weight pricing on all shipments.



The following services were impacted by this rate change:



◦ FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery,, FedEx SmartPost, FedEx Freight, FedEx Retail, and FedEx One Rate.



Other increases included:



◦ FedEx Home Delivery (residential) Delivery Area Surcharge – increased from $2.85 to $3.00.



◦ FedEx Ground Home Delivery Residential Delivery Charge – increased from $2.90 to $3.10.



USPS

• The Jan. 17 rate change will affect the USPS Shipping Services products, including:



◦ Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select , and Standard Post (which is renamed as Retail Ground).



◦ The average Shipping Services price change is 9.5% which results in an average shipping price of less than $5.50 per shipment across all shipping products.



There is no price increase for First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, or any other Postal Service Mailing product. Meter users still qualify for a ½ cent per piece discount.



Pitney Bowes offered the following three recommendations to help businesses optimize their sending operations and manage costs:



• Match your sending strategy to your customer and business needs. Select the best mix of carriers that best serves your customers’ delivery requirements and meets your business objectives. In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.



• Leverage new technology. New cloud-based sending solutions can help you deploy a consistent, unified and scalable approach to sending across locations and carriers to gain greater control and visibility into the true cost of sending within your organization. New sending technology can enable your organization to:



• Facilitate multi-carrier management enabling you to select the best carrier for each parcel based on a simple view of service level, cost and value.



• Initiate carrier pickup in real-time from the desktop, tablet or mobile device.



• Automatically reconcile all sending charges to one account.



• Improve the package receipt process, so inbound tracking capability becomes as convenient as outbound shipping.



• Eliminate wasted space. With both FedEx and UPS imposing Dimensional Weight Rating on all parcels, outer packaging should consist only of that which is necessary to properly secure the enclosed items and provide protection during transport. Don’t ship small items in a big box.



“In this new world of commerce, shipping has become even more critical as businesses compete for and serve clients remotely and connect with their vendors and suppliers,” said Jeff Crouse, VP at Pitney Bowes. “However, small and medium businesses in particular face an uphill challenge to manage rising costs, increasing complexity and growing volume of sending, which includes everything an organization sends out, from parcels and overnight envelopes to bills and statements.”