Small Parcel Information
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LTL Basics Have you ever had a bunch of shipping that you needed to do? It was more than would fit inside of a small box, and it's not so much that you could buy an entire truck? LTL fits that middle need. It is a type of shipping that does run full trucks across the country. But the difference is that LTL takes a pallet or a few from you with other customers who also have one or a f...

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FedEx business customers spending around $60,000 or more annually can expect to see a waiver of their “Money Back Guarantee” in their next FedEx Agreement revision, assuming a waiver isn’t already there.  A waiver of the FedEx Money Back Guarantee eliminates a customer’s right to a refund when FedEx fails to meet their time in transit commitment (aka guarant...

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In a global economy you have internal/external pressures to maintain high levels of performance at the same time managing the costs between customers and carriers. The challenge is managing your parcel shipping costs while continuing to reflect the capabilities that makes your company truly unique and drive its value. These capabilities stand out as true differentiat...

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It's that time of the year again! Gather ye e-commerce retailers and all happy package senders...For the holiday shipping season is upon us. But to get those presents or boxes of coal to all the little boys and girls on time, we have to ship them by these deadlines! Also, we have to be mindful that service level guarantees will be suspended according to the schedule below. UPS...

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Let's start right at the beginning. Most people don’t know what a parcel audit is. A parcel audit is the task of going through each and every shipping invoice to look at carrier service errors you can be refunded for. The process is extremely tedious and time consuming. This is where 3rd party parcel auditin...

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You have the achy feeling that somehow, someway, your parcel shipping is draining your company of valuable revenue. Every month you see profits melt away with ever increasing shipping invoice bills that you have no idea if they are correct or just plain filled with mistakes and lost saving opportunities. What are you missing in terms of savings and knowledge about y...

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UPS Peak Surcharges Arrives in the Parcel World *Updated with SurePost Peak Surcharge After experimenting on several high-volume peak shippers last year, UPS announced on Monday that it is implementing Peak Surcharges on select packages tendered b...

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Parcel Forum 2017 has just announced their conference line-up. Our very own parcel analytics gurus Bryan Van Suchtelen and James Matthews will be proudly representing Lojistic at the Forum this year. ...

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Small parcel shipping has become an integral part of today’s business environment. UPS and FedEx dominate the parcel shipping industry with a combined market share of over 90%. This commanding position allows the carriers to dictate pricing and contract rules. Despite the carriers wielding so much control over its users, well informed Power Users of UPS and FedEx can still maximize their savin...

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From lost packages to damaged shipments, shipping insurance is a great way to protect against everything that could happen when a package leaves a warehouse on its way to a destination. The shipping insurance provided by UPS and FedEx is pretty darn expensive, though. And the coverage isn’t that comprehensive. Usually,...

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Last weekend my wife and I were craving a steak dinner. We grabbed the kids and headed to a well-known steakhouse chain, famous for their satisfaction guarantee on their food. Once seated, there it was, clearly stated on the front of their menu. “We guarantee the preparation of this meal to your liking, else you don’t pay.” Everything was great…until I received my steak. It was severely un...

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Well, size does matter but it’s more about how you use it! Since 2015, both UPS and FedEx apply dimensional weight to every package moving through their respective systems. To understand this, let’s say you had a box that was 18 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 16 inches tall. You then ...

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Shipping costs are über-important. For an expense that makes up (on average) 10% of your top line, they definitely deserve your undivided attention. Maintaining a solid relationship with your carrier reps can lead to improved discounts, incentives, and more. No doubt you’ve worked hard to negotiate a competitive pricing agreement and it behooves you to protect aga...

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Are you insuring against lost or damaged packages? If you’re using the carrier’s declared value insurance, you’re most likely grossly overpaying. Here are a few secrets the carriers don’t want you to know. 1. You don’t actually get the first $100 of...

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The Complex Topic of Air Freight Calculations and Dimensional Weight If you need to calculate freight, especially air freight, you might find it’s a little bit more complex than it appears at first. That’s because you need to calculate freight shipping using something called volumetric weight, dimensional weight, ...

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If you are involved in any enterprise that is heavily focused upon logistics, odds are good that you will eventually find yourself selecting a freight forwarder, or perhaps a number of different freight forwarders, to meet your company’s needs. Or, as is often the case, you might be thinking about how to further your career as a freight forwarder after working in a leadership role that has to do...

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Are you considering becoming a freight broker? Freight brokers are an extremely important part of the logistics landscape around the world. A freight broker has important duties that help to ensure cargo transactions go as planned for everyone involved in the process. Also, freight brokers have the opportunity to learn a great deal about logistics conditions in their area of specialization. This c...

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Are you wondering about greening the supply chain? As time goes on, greening the supply chain becomes a more and more important consideration for ensuring that your brand offers your clients the sense of ecological soundness that will motivate them to expand their business with you. Customers are increasingly influenced by social consciousness when making buying decisions between services that the...

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Cost is a perennial concern in everything to do with logistics. Shipping and handling costs make up a major part of the money spent on logistics by most companies in a given year, and so, many efforts are undertaken to reduce shipping and handling costs by improving contract terms and optimizing carrier relationships. However, contro...

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Are you wondering how to determine shipping costs? Shipping costs are, of course, among the most important factors involved in determining the costs of your entire logistics operation. In order to make sure that you understand your costs and can plan for them in the future, you should standardize them to the extent possible. This requires a thorough, point-by-point review of the most basic operati...

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It’s a very common question these days: What is reverse logistics? In many different industries, reverse logistics is becoming more and more important to building brand loyalty and safeguarding the bottom line. Reverse logistic operations can be complex, but they are truly worthwhile to those enterprises who engage in them in an appropriately methodical way. But what is reverse logist...

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When it comes to 3rd party logistics, not every company is familiar with the considerations involved. There are many major third party logistics advantages, but capturing them means first finding the right 3rd party logistics company for you. In a field that is growing very fast, getting a handle on the world of 3PL is not necessarily easy. Still, it is worthwhile for you to delve into ...

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If your organization is serious about capturing true value from logistics, lifting it out of the service role and making it a true profit center for your business, you will have to take steps that many more conventional organizations would not bother with. In so doing, you stand to capture millions in savings and contribute to significant gains in your sales and revenue figures based on the excell...

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What is global logistics? In order to compete in a globalized, international economy, you will have to have a good understanding of how the global logistics situation impacts your business. You will also need to develop custom global logistics that will allow you to expand your firm and its operations internationally without taking on either untenable consulting fees or operational deficits. Custo...

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Is your business challenged by the day-to-day difficulties of business to business logistics? If so, you are not alone. Business to business or “B2B” logistics planning is very distinct from the business-to-consumer or “B2C” landscape that many companies have a greater level of familiarity with. The “B2B” arena of business logistics management comes with all the challenges of “B2C”...

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Wondering about your true logistics costs? Logistics costs are mutable, not fixed, so any one category of logistic cost is subject to your enterprise’s own efforts. Logistic cost analysis is a crucial first step to finding any logistic cost that is out of step with the needs and expectations of your business. In fact, it is the first thing that you need to do in order to implement a truly compre...

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Shipping comparison is one of the most important ways that you can save money on your logistics needs, but that does not mean it is easy to do an enterprise-wide shipping cost comparison. When you compare shipping costs, it is important to be methodical and ensure that you are taking all the pertinent factors into account. That being the case, you might wonder if the investment of time and effort ...

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No matter what industry you are in, you already know that implementing the right logistic solutions is critical to your business. You also know that effective and efficient logistics management is one of the best ways to control your costs as your business grows. However, we can get so caught up in the details of freight management logistics that we apply a definition to the field that is too broa...

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Wondering how to reduce shipping costs? It is important to cut transportation costs in order to make your supply chain agile and ensure that your logistics efforts are sustainable. Many small and medium-sized businesses do not always realize the magnitude of cost savings as applied to logistics costs. When logistics costs are streamlined, a savings of even a few fractions of a penny per transactio...

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No matter which method you use for package shipping (sea, land or air), each of them is coupled with an inherent and uncertain amount of pollution. However, with an assortment of services and programs in existence today, you can rest easy knowing that you're doing your part to keep the planet healthily. Here are a few that tips to get your...

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The tides are turning again for the shipping industry, this time in regards to energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. In the past, there hasn’t been much incentive for any of the world’s major shipping agencies to improve the performance of their ships. Now though, with ship owners being heavily scrutinized on the eco-efficiency...

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Shipping solutions can sometimes feel like more trouble than they’re worth. We know it, and so do you; but this doesn’t have to be the case for the upstart or the entrepreneur. Since the world has grown into an increasingly digital marketplace, more and more solutions to shipping woes are emerging. The legacy ...

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News headlines are always full of doom and gloom when concerning the US Postal Service (USPS) and with probably good cause.  The USPS’ revenue has steadily been declining since 2001 with the advent of email and technology.  Even with more optimization and efficiency measures along with layoffs and office closings, the USPS lost nearly $3 billion per quarter in 2011 and even more in 2012 as the...

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The supply chain has stayed fairly traditional in most businesses for a long time as many can easily chart how their supply chain moves about.  However, on the digital front, the concept has constantly been evolving as technology and user interfaces continue to change at a rapid pace.  As we discussed in previous blog posts, these digital players are quite notable players in the supply chain, af...

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What is risk management?  It is the process of looking at potential sources of disruption to your supply chain that can create financial and physical damage.  The next step would involve the business and supply chain leaders evaluating the assessment and fix the weaker points and preemptively doing their best to prevent the risk from happening in the future.  It may be impossible to prepare for...

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There are discounts available from UPS and FedEx for both small and large businesses.  These deals, however, are not standardized.  A company often must be knowledgeable of what level of discount is possible if they are to receive great shipping rates.  Many companies negotiating with shipping carriers will not successfully achieve best-in-class shipping rates due to a lack of information....

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In the current, uncertain economic environment, when fuel costs are constantly fluctuating, corporations can overspend thousands of dollars with national carriers like UPS and FedEx. Many executives are unaware that they can achieve substantial costs savings simply by monitoring and challenging UPS and FedEx on-time delivery guarantees and taking advantage of FedEx and UPS discounts.An ...

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Virtually every carrier invoice received by your company contains erroneous charges that should be refunded to you. Most carrier billing errors are the result of human error and oversight, which occur regularly and continuously. These overcharges amount to much more than mere “chump change”!Your carrier deserves to be paid for services rendered and you deserve to be billed accurate...

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Every year, UPS and FedEx announce their respective general price increases (GPI). Shippers, both large and small, scramble to determine the effective impact on their shipping costs. Since the announced increases are only averages, the true impact for any given business can vary greatly.In January 2011, the carrier’s GPI had a very substantial impact on accessorial charges, such as: ...

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Did you know that nearly all UPS and FedEx service levels have time in-transit delivery guarantees? Even ground services have a guarantee to be delivered within a certain time frame. Many shippers can significantly reduce shipping costs by improving their organization’s policies and practices related to carrier service level selection for any given shipmen...

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Dimensional weight (DIM) is a volumetric standard that is calculated by multiplying the length by width by height of a package and then dividing by a factor/divisor. Via dimensional weight charges, carriers like UPS and FedEx have the ability to rate lower density shipments at a higher weight…thus increasing the charge for the shipment. In 2011 both UPS and FedEx changed the DIM factor/diviso...

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The global shipping industry may be engaging in some monopolistic practices to shore up profits in these tough economic times. One practice that recently gained attention centers on third party freight auditing consultants who audit shipping agreements and help with carrie...

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Given the advanced technology and automated systems, it is a common (invalid) assumption that the customer billing systems of carriers such as UPS and FedEx are infallible and afford little to no room for billing errors. Shippers subscribing to this line of thought are committing a considerable oversight. Although many components of a carrier’s billing process are automated, there are...

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To ensure your business prospers during these tough economic times, parcel auditors will tell you to seek out reliable, multimodal freight services that provide accurate import and export documentation and up-to-date customs clearances. Whether you need to ship small parcel or palletized freight, you'll need a global shipping solution to meet your needs, time schedule and budget. And to help you c...

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Determining the actual cost of a package not delivered on time can get pretty complicated, since there are so many aspects to this "failure in service." A parcel audit using an experienced parcel auditor can help identify some of these costs. A parcel auditor can help recover the economic loss of a late package. A parcel audit will ...

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Keeping track of endless shipping charges can be a nightmare. If you ship thousands or even hundreds of small packages every month, it's time you looked into freight auditing services. Dealing with an avalanche of invoices and mountains of data can make it very challenging to keep your shipping costs under control. If you're buried under pil...

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While FedEx and UPS guarantee the on-time delivery of your packages, not every shipment is on time. If they're just one minute late, you may be entitled to a 100 percent refund of the shipping charges. They will honor this guarantee—but only after you do some considerable legwork. This can get pretty complicated, especially if you ship hundreds of packages a week or month. After tracking your s...

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Shipments under 150 lbs are typically considered small parcel. Most shipping companies like FedEx and UPS will insure such packages up to $100 of product loss or damage. This is one reason many e-commerce sellers ship low cost items without insurance. If you're shipping something fragile, or if you just need more protection, you can opt for "declared value" insurance, which both FedEx and UPS offe...

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The link below provides a historical chart of the FedEx and UPS fuel surcharge rate. Of note, the UPS and FedEx surcharges (air and ground) are linked to their respective indices with a two month lag (i.e. the surcharge reflects the average fuel price from two months ago). In addition, the indices are typically recalibrated in conjunction with the FedEx and UPS annual rate increase. For example, t...

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