Right-Sizing Lowers Your Shipping Costs
Right-sizing became a popular term when dimensional weight pricing for small package shipments went into effect in 2007. This pricing significantly impacted E-Commerce companies’ shipping costs. Right-sizing means that you purchase a container to the exact perfect size, only allowing enough space for the product and essential protective packaging materials. Customizable crates enable companies to maintain this right-size packaging and shipping while still saving money.
Before the new dimensional weight pricing structure, it was more advantageous to buy stock boxes. This means buying a large number of boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Purchasing in large quantities makes them the lowest cost and most readily available option. Any extra space in the box where they are oversized is then filled up with packing peanuts, air pillows, bubble wrap, or crumpled paper. Do you ever open a package and think “Didn’t they have a better-sized box for this?”. That’s what we’re talking about here.
In the process of evaluating right-sizing concepts, large E-commerce companies like Amazon, quickly figured out that any box run in very large quantities was cost-effective. So, it was no longer necessary to buy off-the-shelf sizes. As a result, they adapted their sizes for better fit, lowering their shipping costs.
How Custom Crates Save Money by Enabling Companies to Capitalize on Right-Sizing
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at how right-sizing applies to shipping crates, and how you can save money with custom crates. Our experience has shown that right-sized crates cost less to ship, reduce the risk of damage to goods being shipped, and take up less space in your place of business.
How Can You Determine if Using Custom Crates is Right for Your Business?
Making a wholesale change can be daunting. It raises a lot of questions and brings to light some fairly serious concerns in terms of budgets, lead times, etc. When thinking about making the switch from bulk shipping crates to custom crates that leverage the benefits of right-sizing, consider the following questions to help determine your business.
- Is your shipping crate being re-used?
- What is your cost for a readily available crate?
- What is the empty weight of a stock crate?
- What is your cost for other packaging materials used in a stock crate?
Verses:
- What is your cost for a custom-sized crate?
- What is the empty weight of a custom-sized crate?
- What is your cost for other packaging materials used in a custom-sized crate?
- What lead time can you allow for ordering and receiving your crate?
Roadblocks to Right-sizing
Lead Time
A common reason for using stock or readily available crates is the lead time from ordering to receiving. Purchasing is notified of the need when the item is near ready to ship so it is just easier to order something readily available.
It depends on your business. If you are in manufacturing, then you often have 6-8 weeks or longer lead times before your product is ready to ship, you know what you will need well in advance. However, once in the rhythm of ordering readily available sizes, it is not necessary to act on this information more than a few days ahead of time.
Coordination Between Front-end and Back-End Departments
Making a change to custom sizes requires a step back and a higher level of coordination between the front-end office and the back-end shipping to consider ordering custom crates. In other businesses, you may only have a few days to order and receive your shipping crate.
Quantities
Another common reason we hear for using a stock item is that “we just don’t buy that many so we can’t get a good price on a custom crate”. This simply may be the case in some areas. Rural areas vs. large commerce centers will have significantly different options. If you are in a more rural area, you could order a custom size but you will pay a lot of shipping costs to get it delivered. This can make a custom size too costly.
Benefits of right-sizing
Less Cash Tied Up In Shipping Crates
When you can customize your shipping crates to your needs, you can purchase lower quantities of those crates. This means that you have less of your valuable assets tied up in shipping materials and can re-order more as you need them.
Less Wasted Space
If you are buying a third of the shipping crates, you are gaining back two-thirds of valuable floor space in your place of business. Gaining this space back could mean expanding operations, or hiring more personnel.
Less Packaging Materials
If you can size your crate down to the exact dimensions you need for your shipment plus a few protective packaging materials, you could significantly reduce the number of packing supplies.
Safer Shipments
A better-fitting crate means a more protected shipment. Stop throwing away money by shipping items in crates that don’t fit. Less breakage and damage means happier customers and happy customers are repeat customers.
Lower Shipping Costs
Fewer crates to buy, fewer packaging materials, and more usable space, all add up to an injection of cash back into your operating budget. You could do a lot with this much extra room in your budget. Think about what you could do with the building improvements, technology upgrades, and added staff!
Custom Crates from Ecorrcrate
Ecorrcrate offers durable, water-resistant, custom shipping crates that are stronger than your typical wood, plastic, or other shipping crate materials. Our proprietary material empowers your team to quickly and confidently set up and break down shipping crates that meet your exact needs.
Nothing Additional
With Ecorrcrate, what you see is what you get. We don’t pad our sales with hidden costs like other shipping crate solutions. You won’t need any additional tools, fasteners, reinforcement, or additional packaging materials.
You also won’t be contributing to any landfills with your shipping crates. Our materials are recyclable. Who knows, you might even cut back on your waste management services by making the switch to Ecorrcrates.
Peace of Mind
Take the guesswork out of your shipping and receiving. Confidently ship, and receive your Ecorrcrates again and again before needing to recycle the material. Are you ready to stop losing sleep over high costs, damaged shipments, and wasted materials? Do you have plans for expansion, hiring, or other growth the minute you can free up some revenue? Give us a call. Together, we’ll assess your current shipping needs and demands and find a solution tailored to your business.