The further you can deliver, or the wider an area you can source from, the more resources you have on hand. Appealing to a wider market is always preferable of course, because it means more chance of sales and higher revenues. However, it’s also true that while logistics is easier than it ever has been, you may have some quirks to consider.
For example, many mail delivery services refuse to transport alcohol or other products that may be necessary to your business remit. Moreover, getting a package from A to B is a simple prospect, but doing so quickly, safely, with great communication at every stage of the journey? That’s harder.
Is it possible to widen and improve your logistical output, then, without incurring massive cost of huge infrastructure changes? It’s not always clear. In this post, we’ll discuss how you might do that:
Consider Dropshipping Utilities
Dropshipping gets a bad reputation sometimes, but there are some great ways to use it that can solve your logistics issues at low cost, provided you find suppliers who keep the same quality standards you would, because their packaging and delivery speed becomes your reputation. You can test different suppliers with small orders first, see how they handle shipping times and customer service, then build relationships with the ones who get it right.
A bonus about dropshipping is you can offer products you’d never be able to stock yourself, expanding your catalog without the warehouse space or upfront investment. Some businesses dropship CBD products to offer more variety if they’re not capable to deal with the storage and regulatory complexities themselves right now. Just make sure you’re transparent with customers about shipping times and have a solid system for handling returns or issues, because you’re still the face they’ll come to if something happens.
Negotiate Flexible Terms With Carriers
Most small businesses just accept whatever shipping rates and terms the big carriers throw at them, but there’s usually room to negotiate if you know what to ask for. Volume discounts are obvious, but you can also negotiate certain aspects like pickup schedules, packaging requirements, or, perhaps custom delivery options for your usual customers.Â
If you ship a decent amount each month, carriers will of course want to keep your business and might be willing to work with you on pricing or service adjustments here and there. It can’t hurt to ask.
Collaborate With Other Small Businesses
It’s possible to share the load with businesses that complement yours but don’t compete directly. You might partner with another company to split shipping costs on orders going to the same regions, or work together to meet minimum order requirements for better carrier rates too, provided you demonstrate how that works and why such a partnership is good for them. This works great for seasonal businesses too if you do it right, as you can share warehouse space or delivery routes during each other’s off-seasons.
For instance, maybe you know another business owner who ships to the same area, and you can sync your shipments to split costs. Or perhaps you can cross-refer customers who need services you don’t offer, building goodwill and potentially sharing cross-promotions too. It’s a nice way to back off one another’ system and build another friend in the industry.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily build your logistics network, but without great cost.
