How to Up Your Value by Tapping into your Small Parcel Provider

How to Up Your Value by Tapping into your Small Parcel Provider

 As your business faces high inflation now is the time to ask your suppliers how they can best provide additional value. An often overlooked source are your small parcel carriers. Many of their offerings provide hidden benefits that may align well with your business goals.

Sales Growth

If e-commerce is a major driver of your business make sure you ask your small parcel carrier the following questions:        

• How can we improve our email and SMS marketing strategies?
• Any recommendation for search engine optimization improvements?
• Best practices for providing customer loyalty and reward programs?
• Direction on website design and optimization?
  
  

Providers like UPS and FedEx have either external partnerships or internal marketing resources to assist with your demand generation initiatives. Their ultimate focus will be on your customer and providing them a clear and pleasant pathway to purchase your products.

International Expansion

Entering or penetrating global markets can be complex. Shipping carriers are a great resource to help overcome perceived obstacles.

• How can we best proactively manage customs clearance to avoid shipping delays?
• Processes to help quantify brokerage and confirm landed costs?
• Obtain information by country on currency exchange and prohibited articles?

All of the major providers in the industry have internal resources that can play a critical role in supporting your global expansion strategies. Partnering with your carrier’s International Account Executive would be a wise step when planning to expand to new international markets.

Cost Reduction

With staffing constraints being such a significant challenge today maximizing process efficiency and mitigating risk become vital cost components to your operations. Do not hesitate to ask for recommendations.

• How can we create a more efficient process from our order entry application to our shipping system to reduce processing errors and improve production?
• Suggested process improvements from our shipping system to our accounting platform to reduce day sales outstanding?
• Credit card fraud is a major issue, how can we mitigate this risk
        

The larger small parcel providers offer several value added technology solutions to support system integration and efficiency. In addition they have subsidiaries or partnerships that offer insurance products that can mitigate risk to your business.

With shipping carrier rate increases almost a guarantee each year it is imperative to ask each of your transportation providers how to maximize their impact. Reliable time in transit and shipment visibility alone are not enough.

Your company deserves greater value. Make sure you ask for it!

Marty Polizzi is a 35 year sales training professional with a specialization in Supply Chain negotiations. He is currently the Director of Education for APICS Long Island-NY City Chapter. This follows a 33 year career as a Sales Training Manager for UPS for the greater NY area. He has developed and facilitated extensive negotiation training with an emphasis on understanding key negotiation principles and practicing specific behaviors. His workshops are high energy and very interactive. Marty graduated from New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications and received his MBA in Marketing from Adelphi University.