As an eCommerce business, offering your products worldwide is a great way to expand reach to new customers and increase sales, but it is also a big factor in raising your costs and therefore impacting revenue. To ensure that you are optimising your profit margins, it is important to try and keep costs down wherever possible.
That’s why we‘ve put together 5 expert tips and tricks that you can put into practice when shipping internationally.
5 ways to send parcels abroad with the best international shipping rates:
1. Preparation is key
In order to keep international shipping rates as low as possible you need to be prepared! This means knowing the exact weight and dimensions of your parcels as this will help you to decide which method of international shipping will work for you, and provide you with a guide on budgets.
Furthermore, by deciding on the best delivery time for your product type and based on customer preferences, you can further narrow down the most cost-effective way of sending your parcels abroad. For example, if the length of your delivery can be flexible, choosing sea freight may be a good option to keep costs down.
2. Location, location, location
The final destination of your parcels plays a huge role in the overall shipping costs, so having an idea about where many of your parcels will be heading can really help with budgeting.
A great tip to work this out if you are unsure is by checking where your website visitors are located using Google Analytics. From this, you can begin to research the best route for your parcels, what international barriers are present in each location, and what international parcel service can get them there.
3. What Now?
Next, utilising all the information you’ve gathered, begin researching the best international courier service to support your logistics operations. Here are a few things you should consider:
- Reputation
- Customer support services
- Price comparisons
- Insurance cover
- Delivery speed
- Shipping locations
4. Best practice
Running your operations in the most efficient way possible not only improves productivity, it helps you cut costs. Abiding by this practice when deciding on your shipping methods means you can keep your international shipping costs down.
One way to achieve this is by choosing a courier that follows the same concept, such as GFS. GFS’ International eCommerce shipping services provide you with 1 label, 1 tracking number, 1 pallet, and 1 collection to keep things as simple and streamlined as possible. In addition to this, we use dynamic routing for the best-performing and lowest-cost carrier, as well as base our pricing on the combined weight of your parcels rather than the quantity.
5. Last mile delivery services
The final leg of a package’s trip is referred to as the “last mile delivery service”. A local carrier does the remaining leg of the delivery after your carrier drops the parcel at the local post office. If you aren’t tight for delivery times, last mile delivery services could be the answer to cheaper international shipping rates.
Why consider GFS for your international shipping services?
Operating in over 220 destinations, GFS International eCommerce is a dynamic international delivery service that allows you to reach customers around the globe with less risk, cost and effort.
Our operations team does the hard work for you, carefully evaluating the carrier market to route every parcel with the best carrier and service for each country at the best cost.