Technology can help small businesses with shipping in other ways. There are a number of software applications on the market as well as Web sites that can help with shipping — for example, by helping companies compare costs from various
BY JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — When 2007 arrives, it will bring increases in rates at FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. and a possible jump in postal rates. Savvy small business owners already know how they’ll deal with their escalating mailing and shipping costs.
Len Oppenheimer, owner of a box and packaging business, called FedEx to inquire about discounts for the entrepreneurs’ group he belongs to, and found that the big delivery company was willing to give him a discount. It’s currently working with the group on a discount as well, he said.
“I was actually very mildly surprised,” first when a FedEx representative returned his call, and second, when the company was willing to work with him on price, said Oppenheimer, owner of The Golden Box Inc. in East Rockaway, N.Y.
Oppenheimer, who’s been running his company since 1992, described himself as well-versed in business practices, but it never occurred to him or his fellow entrepreneurs that a company like FedEx would work with him on price. But just as negotiating a discount is part of life for almost any business, it’s what delivery and shipping companies do — small business owners probably can get a better rate with any delivery or courier service, even small, local concerns.
Steve Holmes, a spokesman for UPS, said the big shipping company works on discounts for volume shippers — which many small businesses are — and it also has discounts for groups and associations. UPS also provides small businesses with help to improve the efficiency of their shipping operations.
UPS said it would increase ground shipment rates by an average 4.9 percent, while rates for air express and international shipments from the United States will go up an average 6.9 percent; however, there will be a 2 percentage point reduction on a separate fuel surcharge for air and international shipments, resulting in a 4.9 percent net increase in those base rates.
FedEx, meanwhile, plans to raise its express shipping rates by 3.5 percent on Jan. 1, and will also be raising its ground shipping prices. And a request to raise postal rates is pending before the independent Postal Rate Commission. If approved, the proposal, which includes a 3-cent hike in the cost of a first-class stamp to 42 cents, would take effect next spring.
As with many other aspects of running a company, a small business owner can save on shipping and mailing costs by learning how to do those tasks better. You can get help from the shipping companies, from their representatives and from their Web sites, but you might find that talking with other business owners who do a lot of shipping is your best resource — they’ve already learned some of the short cuts.
Holmes noted that often business owners end up paying too much for shipping because they really just don’t know how to do it better. For example, he said, “We’ll look at a package size, see if the packaging is larger than it needs to be, resulting in higher charges than they have to pay.”
Some small businesses are able to dramatically reduce their shipping and mailing costs because they can use e-mail or Internet-based services to deliver printed materials. Lisa Braun Dubbels, who owns Catalyst Publicity & Promotion Group in Minneapolis, used to send out hard copies of media kits, client status reports and press clippings. Now, the materials are either e-mailed, or clients can access them through a Web site.
“I know I saved a couple of thousand dollars in the past year just by going digital,” she said.
Technology can help small businesses with shipping in other ways. There are a number of software applications on the market as well as Web sites that can help with shipping — for example, by helping companies compare costs from various vendors.
