Save Time and Money on International Shipping Paperwork
Posted by Rachel Rodenborg on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 @ 04:08 AM
You wouldn't dig an escape tunnel with plastic spoon, right?
I didn't think so.
So, why are you still doing international shipping paperwork the hard/expensive way?
International shipping paperwork is costly--in time, money and penalties. In a day and age of cutting costs and improving throughput, international paperwork is likely to take a big bite out of your shipping department's daily shipping volume.
There's the paperwork and the commercial invoice and the harmonized codes and the signatures and the requirements of each country to get each shipment past customs. Fill out the wrong form, send an incomplete form, or forget to send a necessary document, and at best, your shipment gets held up at the border. At worst, you get assessed a hefty fine for the mistake and your shipment is still delayed or doesn't make it through at all.
With this in mind, many companies have taken to having their shipment carriers--UPS, FedEx, etc.-- handle the international shipping paperwork. While this is easier on their shipping staff, it's harder on their budget as these companies charge a minimum of $20 per international order for this service and could easily charge upwards of $70 per order depending on complexity. If you are a high volume international shipper, the cost of this luxury adds up quickly and and takes a significant chunk out of your bottom line.
So, to save money on international shipping what should you do?
Simple.
Do it in house.
I know, I know. You've tried doing it yourself before, but that was without the right shipping software.
It's like digging an escape tunnel with a plastic spoon. The wrong tool for the job. And the right tool makes ALL the difference.
So, what should you look for in a shipping platform that will simultaneiously cut costs and make international shipping painless?
- Information sharing between systems. Cutting out manual data entry from system to system is a huge time savings right off the back. This also eliminates the chance for human errors and typos which can result in hefty fees.
- Select a "smart" system--that is programmed with all the specifics about each product and auto-populates the documentation with the necessary information.
- Automated international paperwork generation. Choose a software program that automatically recognizes an international shipment and processes the appropriate paperwork for you based on the materials being shipped, where the order is shipping to, or both.
- Choose a system that works with ALL of your carriers. Not having to hop from terminal to terminal or from website to website is a huge time saver on its own.
International shipping paperwork doesn't have to be painful--just make sure you are using the right tool for the job!
Ready to learn how you can save up to $50,000 on your shipping activities, including international shipping, this year? Check out the on-demand webinar, Seeing (Shipping) is Believing to learn how!
Photo credit: Renee_mcgurk