Whether you are selling your products worldwide or moving to another country, you are dealing with the costs of shipping. If you and your family are moving, things are somewhat simpler. You can sell or donate the majority of your belongings, and bring the remaining items with you. But, how can you reduce the costs of shipping if you have a lot of items to ship? Let’s assume that you have a small business that is growing quickly. You are obtaining more and more customers in other parts of the world and that’s amazing. Now the time has come to find a way to lower the cost of shipping if you want your business to be more profitable. Our experts at Kokusai Express Japan have come up with a list of useful tips on how to reduce the cost of shipping in order to help you.

Research, research, research

This is the first thing you should do. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of proper and detailed research. Being well-informed on all the possibilities when it comes to shipping is vital. Carefully go through every company’s website before you choose which one suits your needs best. If you know other business owners who use the services of project cargo transport, make sure to contact them and ask about their experience. Or, if you’re relocating far away and searching for options when it comes to shipping your belongings, ask someone who has recently moved. Hearing an opinion of someone you trust and who has experience with shipping can be helpful.

Choose a reliable shipping company to lower the cost of shipping

Every shipping company has its own individual pricing schedules. They are mostly based on the volume of shipments. If you ship often, you can try negotiating lower rates with multiple carriers. Then you can see for yourself which one works best for reducing costs for your business. You might need to ship heavy cargo, valuable equipment, or breakable and fragile items. Try to find a company that offers a wide selection of services, so that you can have less to worry about. Some companies can take care of packing for you. Also, you can look for companies that have shipment tracking on their website. Knowing where your shipment is at all times can spare you a lot of stress and worries along the way.

Don’t forget about insurance

Accidents can happen even with the best companies out there. Therefore, it is always a good idea to invest in the safety of your things. Better to pay a certain amount of money upfront than suffer greater loss later. Different companies charge different rates when it comes to insurance. So, negotiate with different carriers to get the price you can afford. There are even separate third-party companies that offer insurance. Usually, it’s for a much more acceptable fee, so that’s an option worth considering as well.

How to pack in order to reduce the cost of shipping

When it comes to shipping packages, weight is money. The heavier the weight and the bigger the package, the more it’s going to cost to ship. It’s only logical that lightweight packaging is good for reducing shipping costs. There are many ways to reduce the weight of packages.

1. Use lightweight and affordable packing materials. Some packing materials are heavier than others. Lightweight options include air pillows, packing paper, bubble wrap, foam inserts. The aim is to keep items tightly packed and lower their weight.
2. Pack items in corrugated boxes. They are special types of boxes often used for shipping. With rows of small air-filled grooves between the inner and outer layers of the box, corrugated boxes are stronger and lighter than regular cardboard boxes. However, using lightweight boxes might not always be possible. You want your items to arrive undamaged, so use your judgment.
3. Choose the right-sized packaging. Start by taking measurements of your products and figure out how many you typically send at one time. That will help you see what kind of packaging will work for the orders you ship most often. If you’re selling one item at a time, find packaging that would fit the item.

Efficient packing is crucial

 Everything is easier and more cost-effective when you are as organized as possible. If your goods have to be shipped abroad, there’s a lot of tasks to complete. Being organized is key. When packing for shipping, categorize items and put similar ones together. Pack heavy and bulky cargo and ship it together in order to reduce the cost of shipping. Give extra care and attention to the most valuable and fragile items. Insurance might cover your loss, but you could probably do without the added paperwork. Label the breakable items and make sure the carriers know to take special care of them.

Carefully choose the method of transportation if you want to reduce the cost of shipping

In the matter of shipping costs the method of transportation factors in greatly. If you want your cargo to arrive to its destination the fastest, opt for shipping by air. Unluckily, this is also the most expensive method. If time of arrival is important to you, make sure you choose experienced air freight forwarders. Otherwise, consider shipping by sea, as the cheapest option. That way, your goods will be transported safely, although fairly slower.

Storage costs

When a shipment is going far, it can be difficult to coordinate moving dates to the shipping dates that international shipping companies use. In such a case, you may have to pay for storage. Sometimes companies store the cargo until they prepare all the paperwork or they wait for the container to fill up. Other times, companies use storage on the final destination. If possible, try to avoid that, so that you could reduce the cost of shipping as much as possible.