The global parcel delivery market will grow from 2024 to 2030 at 4.2%. The factors contributing to this growth are the increasing e-commerce sector and cross-border trade. The purchasing patterns of customers are evolving with more cross-border purchases. Costs and convenience are the driving forces among online retail buyers. Further, technological advancements in the last-mile delivery of parcels are changing. Drones, electric vehicles, and semiautonomous delivery vehicles are the future of the parcel delivery market.
A booming parcel delivery market can escalate the costs of shipping small parcels. Shippers can calculate costs from ordering a good to its delivery to understand parcel spend. Managing parcel spend can lower shipping costs. This article will give you a comprehensive overview of parcel spend management.
Small parcel spend management
Every shipper is worried about the amount spent on shipping. Businesses must know how their dollars are spent/saved. It is challenging to track shipping bills to avoid overpayment. Moreover, increasing carrier rates should not affect parcel delivery costs. To tackle these issues, companies have to invest in advanced technologies. Data analytics gives valuable insights into parcel spend.
Parcel spend management optimizes shipping processes and ensures favorable customer satisfaction. Monitoring small parcel shipping expenses ensures good profit margins for businesses. Managing small parcel spend requires efficient planning. Companies need an effective strategy to understand the cost of shipping small parcels to customers. Following are some of the strategies for effective parcel spend management.
Regular audits of small parcels
Billing mistakes and overpayment are common during small parcel shipments. Wrong surcharges and miscalculated rates increase the shipping costs. Conducting regular small parcel audits helps identify these anomalies. Small parcel audits identify invalid invoices and optimize shipping processes. By reviewing these audits, shippers can reduce unnecessary expenses.
Small parcel audits help companies receive refunds from parcel carriers for service failures. Automated small parcel audits save significant amounts for companies. Further, parcel audits allow shippers to choose multiple carriers for efficient shipping operations. For more on small parcel audits, see our blog article on small parcel audits improving the bottom line.
Saving dollars by negotiating carrier contracts
Selecting cost-effective shipping carriers with on-time delivery of small packages is paramount for shippers. Further, negotiating favourable carrier contracts is essential for parcel spend management. Companies can save dollars by negotiating contracts with shipping carriers. Small parcel contract negotiations are on carrier rates and minimum payments. Negotiating for better terms of agreement optimizes parcel shipping processes.
In addition, carrier contract negotiations focus on volume discounts and accessorials to reduce shipping costs. Volume discounts help reduce prices for bulk shipments and encourage large orders. Negotiating on surcharges reduces shipping costs to a large extent. For example, shippers should negotiate on the residential surcharge for only specific shipments.
Further, service-level agreements (SLAs) ensure parcel carriers meet performance standards. It includes providing high-quality services, visibility to track services, handling fragile packages, etc. It also allows shippers to offset the annual GRIs of various carriers during negotiations.
Packaging optimization
One can control shipping costs by optimizing packaging and decreasing dimensional weight charges. Shippers can save money by making better packaging choices for small parcels. Compact, lightweight packages are lighter on the budget. It is necessary to minimize the weight and size of packages.
Further, choosing the correct dimensional packaging for small parcels reduces shipping costs. Packaging protection aids in protecting small parcels from damage during transportation. Businesses can improve shipping efficiency by using the correct packaging materials. Automation tools are optimizing shipping operations.
Automation in logistics to control parcel spend
Various technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence are integral in automating logistics. Machine learning helps capture invoice data, tracks shipments, and passes on real-time information to customers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) analyzes overall parcel spend while monitoring carrier performance. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) does repetitive tasks without any errors. For example, RPA prints shipping labels for the packages.
Transportation Management Systems helps identify supply chain gaps. It evaluates logistics management with greater data visibility. Further, shippers can schedule orders seamlessly and consolidate shipments. Shippers get better pricing options, thus saving money and time.
How data is the mainstay in parcel spend management
Parcel shipping data gives valuable insights into parcel spend. Business Intelligence tools help companies lower shipping expenses. Businesses conduct market research on all carriers with the help of customized shipping reports. It allows shippers to choose the correct parcel carrier for their shipping needs. Analyzing historical shipping data provides insights into small parcel shipping activity. The complete shipping profile of a business is available at one’s fingertips.
Normalizing shipping data provides users with insights into market trends. Using these trends provides businesses with cost-saving opportunities. Further, the data helps to forecast savings year-over-year. Identification of irregularities with organized data is available on customized dashboards.
Shipping data helps shippers negotiate with parcel carriers over accessorial charges. For example, the shipping carrier may charge an invalid address correction surcharge even if the address is correct. The audited data helps in minimizing these surcharges. Businesses will learn about the reliability of parcel carriers in package deliveries. Shippers presented constantly with invalid charges from their parcel carrier will rethink their options. They will shift to another parcel carrier rather than getting stuck with a costly one.
Parcel Spend Management is made easy with Audintel solutions
Audintel provides intelligent solutions for managing parcel spend. We offer real-time tracking of shipments, changes in carrier rates, and other industry trends. Our Audintel Audit Advantage helps clients save more. Our comprehensive “Line-Item” invoice Audit and claims filing process is exemplary. We have identified more than fifty service failures from parcel carriers, such as
- Late deliveries
- Duplicate charges
- Missing discounts
- Void shipments
- Invalid residential surcharge
- Incorrect weight
- Lost packages, and more.
Our small parcel audits help claim refunds from shipping carriers for service failures.
Audintel has experts with prior experience in parcel carrier companies. These experts advise our clients on different aspects of carrier contract negotiations. We provide tips on how to get favorable carrier contracts. Our team informs clients about changing carrier rates, annual GRIs, and regulations affecting parcel spend.
Audintel provides intelligent solutions for parcel spend management. Our cloud-based solutions provide cost-saving opportunities. Audintel’s intuitive dashboards provide a graphical visualization of the shipping data. We have BI tools that enable clients to make informed decisions based on their shipping spend.
Wrapping it up
Businesses face many hurdles to reduce labor costs and parcel delivery expenses. Shippers with large shipping volumes want cost-saving measures. Parcel spend management lowers shipping costs and gives higher customer satisfaction. Automated parcel management systems identify discrepancies in billing invoices, carrier contracts, and supply chains. Real-time tracking tools and advanced algorithms improve shipping efficiency. It helps in minimizing parcel spending. Further, businesses get more parcel spend visibility for their shipping processes. Data analytics is the backbone of parcel spend management.
Audintel has the expertise to control parcel spend efficiently for businesses. Our parcel audit solutions are valuable for our clients and help them make informed decisions. We advise clients to negotiate better for carrier contracts. Audintel’s RESTful APIs seamlessly integrate into your existing ERPs and other applications. Our AI-powered platform gives valuable insights into parcel spend. Shippers save significantly by partnering with Audintel to manage parcel spend.
Reach us at +1 (619) 354 8539 for more information on parcel spend management services. Some of our articles on small parcel audit services are available here. In addition, you can learn about our audit services at the Audintel website.