Ways to save time and money on international shipping

If you wish for your business to develop and grow further it’s bout time to consider entering the international trading waters. Modern technologies and a fast supply of information helped our world turn into a global village. It has never been simpler to conduct business activities all over the world no matter where your headquarters are located. Worldwide trade grew by a staggering 3.6% in 2017 alone. Companies like Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress, and Alibaba lead the way in this field. One of the fastest-growing markets in the world is Saudi Arabia. If you wish to take part in this interesting market you must first find reliable logistics companies in Middle East. Also, if you wish to stay competitive you must find ways to save time and money on international shipping while keeping your customers satisfied. We will use this article to present you with a few ideas that will help you to achieve this, so stay tuned for more.

The best way to save money and time on international shipping is to find a reliable logistics partner

When you are selling your products all over the world that means you won’t be able to control every aspect of your business model. In other words, once the products leave the production line, they will be handled by whichever cargo transportation company you decided to work with. Needles to say, it is absolutely crucial to choose the right shipping partner. So how can you be sure that you are dealing with a professional logistics company?

• Does the company have a dedicated website with all the relevant info about their business?
• Do they offer a wide array of different logistics services? If they do this means that they have experience in dealing with all sorts of international shipments.
• Are they using the latest technologies including shipment tracking?
• In what state are their vehicles, planes, and ships?
• Is their personnel friendly, polite, and ready to assist you? Do they have a customer support center with lines available 24 hours a day?

  

Few useful tips that will help you to save time

It is not possible to compensate for the lost time, and that makes it the single most important resource in the world. Furthermore, timing is often crucial in any business, and it is very important to learn how to use it in the most efficient way. We will show you some tricks that could give you the edge in the race that is international trading:

• Pay attention to your paperwork. The root problem for most shipping mistakes is messed-up documents. People do everything right and then put the wrong dates and shipping addresses. This mistake will cost you money and precious time, and you will also leave a bad impression on your customers. You should consider renting a local warehouse for this purpose.
• Use slower shipping. While this might seem weird, please do hear us out. Your boxes will travel slowly, but you will ship them in advance. Your customers don’t know about his, and you will even be able to advertise fast shipping. You will save some money, and your customers will get their goods on time.
• Use electronic documentation when possible to save time.

  

How to save money on international shipping

One of the ways to stay competitive is to offer a lower price for your products. You can achieve this by cutting costs. While it is not wise to save on materials used because the quality of your product will suffer as a result, you can always make cuts on shipping costs. Here is how to do it:

• Find a logistics partner with regional expertise. Not every national shipping company of Saudi Arabia presents a good choice. Do in-depth research and see what logistics partner best suits your shipping needs.
• Optimize your packaging. The goal is to find packaging that is lightweight and that leaves minimum wasted space while protecting your valuable shipments. Pick shipping boxes according to the product’s height, weight, and volume.
• Consider cargo insurance. Most freight forwarding companies offer some kind of cargo insurance but they usually cover only several cases and have many exceptions. Your shipments should be covered in the case of damage and theft if you wish to avoid unnecessary costs. On the other hand, if you don’t have many returns, cargo insurance might be a waste of money.

  

Learn more about customs regulations to save time and money on international shipping

Most of the delays and returns in international shipping occur when companies are not familiar with laws and rules of international shipping. You should always read if your products require special import permissions and certificates. If you don’t know your right and obligations your shipment might get stuck and never pass the customs clearance procedure. One way to tackle this problem is to hire a local freight forwarding company that knows Saudi customs regulations inside-out, and that offers customs clearance services.

Additional tips

• Opt for USPS pricing if you are shipping heavy boxes. This pricing method takes box volume into consideration, so you will immediately reduce the costs.
• Rely on several shipping partners instead on just one. It is better to have more options, right?
• Consider hiring a 4PL. This is a fourth-party logistics provider that takes partnership one step further and manages your resources, technology, and even infrastructure.
• Don’t lie about the weight on the bill of landing. Carriers have their scales, and failing to provide true info about your shipments may result in hefty fines.

All things considered, the best way to save time and money on international shipping is to choose the right logistics partner and to have basic knowledge about customs regulations of the country you are exporting to.