When you're shipping with a company on a constant basis, the costs of shipping can quickly become one of the largest expenses that your company faces. For this reason, many people want to talk to their 3Pl providers and find out if they have any latitude when it comes to the price that they are paying for their shipping. Here are some things to think about when considering attempting a price negotiation for your courier services.
The first, and most important, thing that you have to realize is that if you truly believe you are going to be able to negotiate a shipping rate, it is important that you take the first steps. The end result of such a negotiation will be a lower price for you, which means less profit for the company. This is not something that they are very likely to initiate on their own.
The next thing that you should consider is how often you ship. The only time that you likely have a chance of negotiating a rate in this type of situation is if you ship very frequently and in large quantities. That will show that you are an important customer to the company. These are situations in which they are likely to be more flexible, because they are very interested in keeping your business over the long term.
In combination with the last point, assessing the likelihood of your success in an attempted negotiation on your freight rates can also be based on the size of the courier company that you do business with. A very small company that you ship with is definitely going to be likely to negotiate because of the overall percentage of their business that you represent. On the other hand, unless you represent a multinational firm, the largest courier companies may not be swayed as easily by the leverage of argument.
When you decide that you have reason to try and negotiate a shipping rate, and a reasonable possibility of success, keep this mind. Most discounts that are offered are more in the form of a permanent long term corporate discount rather than a large discount on a single order. You can actually save more in the long run that way, and the company makes a reasonable profit on each order, making that the more logical conclusion of any such negotiations. Ask if they offer discounts to any of their other clients to begin with, and go from there.
Author Resource:-
Paul McDuffy is an international consultant for transportation companies. With exceptional knowledge of local business management, Paul is also becoming an expert with Local Internet Marketing. http://www.247expresslogistics.com/ and http://www.scott-gallagher.net
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