How To Keep Shipping Costs Down

It seems that every time you turn around, your shipping costs are increasing.  FedEx and UPS increased fuel surcharges and implemented dimensional (DIM) weight pricing for all ground practices.  Consumers are demanding fast and free delivery.  What are the best practices you can use to manage those shipping costs and protect your profit margins? 

As Rob Martinez, the CEO of Shipware LLC, discussed recently, a key strategy in reducing your shipping costs begins with evaluating your options.  For example, “Regional parcel carriers offer many benefits when compared to the national carriers, including a larger next-day delivery footprint, later pickups, earlier deliveries, easier contracts with fewer accessorial charges, same day-delivery options and customized solutions. Furthermore, most regional players offer better pricingand more favorable dimensional policies compared to FedEx and UPS.”  The U.S. Postal Service offers other options as well.  And ensure your packaging is as efficient as you can get it, to reduce the impact of DIM weight pricing.  But how do you evaluate the options, choose the best for your business, and get them implemented? 

The answer is to leverage your fulfillment services partner.  They should be dialed in to the latest industry news and ready to employ those options on your behalf.  They can provide ideas on transportation, logistics, carrier operations, warehouse technologies, packaging optimization, customer service, and more.  Here at Vision, we embrace change and help our customers to leverage change to maximize return and strategically grow their business.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment

Fulfillment Warehouse

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

Stacking your B2B pitch deck for success

Congratulations!  You finally got your foot in the door to present your product line to your dream big box retailer (e.g. Walmart, Target, etc.) and you’re putting together your presentation and the team to deliver it.  This is your big chance to break into B2B (business to business) commerce.  But what else can you do to stack the deck in your favor and convert that presentation into an order?

First, know that the demands of B2B (business to business) e-commerce differ significantly from those of B2C (business to consumer).  B2B fulfillment tend to be heavily weighted towards accuracy – typically requiring compliance with a very detailed and exacting “routing guide” provided by the retailer.  Failure to follow these specifications can result in very large penalties, or “charge backs” – and too many problems can derail future orders.    

Adding a strategic 3PL partner to your team demonstrates not only your understanding of B2B logistics requirements, but also your dedication to making the relationship work efficiently from the get go.  It’s just one more factor that weigh in on the side of the “Yes, let’s do business” equation – and it’s a factor you can control.   At Vision, we have decades of expertise with hundreds of successful retail program implementations under our belt.  Ask us specifically about our successful history of chargeback management.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

Why go 3PL?

Business is always competitive, but the current environment of rapidly evolving technologies makes it even more so these days.  Product development, customer acquisition, global competition – there are so many areas you need to execute with excellence - but is logistics one of them?  Should it be?

Using a 3PL fulfillment company (a third-party logistics provider) allows you to outsource part, or all, of your supply chain management functions.  Basically, you outsource the storage of your product (warehousing) as well as the fulfillment, or shipping of your product to the end consumer (fulfillment).  By outsourcing logistics to a firm for whom supply chain management is the focus, you’re able to capitalize on their experience, infrastructure and industry relationships.   A 3PL can provide a flexible and scalable logistics solution option, helping you manage the changing demands of seasonal highs and lows and growth.  Rather than trying to navigate the swiftly evolving transportation environment of today with no map, a great 3PL partner can guide you to solutions for managing rising transportation costs and supply chain challenges, allowing you to focus on your product rather than how to get it where it needs to be - and that can be key to your company’s success.  So go 3PL and talk to Vision – we can help you understand and plan for your transportation future.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

Strategies for B2B Success

Business-to-business (B2B) is commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer.  An example is a company which supplies product to another company for resale – for example, shipping several pallets of a company’s product to a big box retailer such as Target or Walmart.  This is a business to business, or “B2B” fulfillment transaction.  The demands of B2B (business to business) e-commerce differ significantly from those of B2C (business to consumer).

B2B fulfillment generally involves a smaller number of orders than B2C, but each order is much larger. And although B2B orders can involve speed, they tend to be heavily weighted towards accuracy – typically requiring compliance with a very detailed and exacting “routing guide” provided by the retailer. Failure to follow these specifications can result in very large penalties, or “charge backs” – and that ruins everyone’s day!  

Your strategic 3PL partner can contribute key support and expertise as you execute your B2B strategy. At Vision, we have decades of expertise with hundreds of successful retail program implementations under our belt.  Ask us specifically about our successful history of chargeback management.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com
CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com