In today's video, we're going to discuss dimensioning and how it can save you a lot of money with your shipping needs. For decades, dimensioning has had a small niche in logistics and material handling. Now it's getting new attention as an opportunity for savings across the industry.
First, here's a little overview for you. Carriers like UPS and Fedex now determine shipping costs according to the size and weight of packages being shipped. This can make shipping more difficult since sellers can't just throw a box on the scale anymore. You also have to physically measure the length, width and height of a box as well. This isn't that big of a deal for a handful of boxes each day. But what if you're shipping hundreds or thousands of boxes each day? The rapid growth of the e commerce industry has squeezed margins, made warehouse space more valuable, shortened fulfillment windows and increased the need to find efficiencies wherever possible. Dimensioning technology is undergoing a rapid evaluation. A new generation of hardware and software solutions make it simpler to dimension your entire warehouse.
Back in the day a loaded truck might back up to your dock and you might have wondered where is all this stuff going to fit? Without dimensioning you wouldn't know for sure. In fact, many warehouses run at less than 80% capacity because without dimensional data, they have no way of accurately predicting space requirements that translates into lots of unused space that could be earning revenue. Now, with dimension systems in place, it could lead to 20% or more increased efficiency. That's like getting a bigger warehouse.
One difficulty for e commerce businesses is correctly estimating shipping costs for orders placed online. It was hard enough with weight alone and now dimension based rates have upped the challenge and in most, there is no opportunity to recoup any underestimated charges. Integrating dimension data into your order system means you can predict final shipping costs with much greater accuracy and collect the right money for the right package. Research shows that customers are more inclined to buy from companies that reduce excess packaging. Dimensioning makes it possible to satisfy customers, cut pick times, reduce material costs, reduce returns, and shrink your shipping bill all at once.
There are three things you can be certain of.... death, taxes, and rising shipping rates. Companies who aren't dimensioning have no way to predict, let alone control their shipping costs. Some sellers report that they can only guesstimate their spending until the carrier invoices them which is a disaster for managing margins. With dimensioning on your outbound line, you'll know the size of every parcel as well as its exact cost. Even better, by integrating a multi carrier shipping solution, you'll be able to instantly compare national and regional carrier rates in real time. That equals significant cost savings.
Finally, with the dimension system, you'll have the ability to keep your carriers honest, by auditing invoices. Honest errors do occur and they can be costly. We've heard numbers of around 3% that a company could possibly recover by identifying errors. Using a system certified for accuracy is essential. Your manual measurements with a ruler or measurements using an uncertified system won't hold water when you contact your carrier for a refund. Dimensional data gives you another edge as well as leverage when it's time to renegotiate carrier contracts, you'll know exactly how carrier rates compare based on your specific shipping history. Just negotiating for a slightly higher dim weight divisor, for example, can have a significant impact on annual spending.
I hope this video has helped you better understand the importance of measuring your boxes for shipping. If you need additional assistance with any dimensional weighing solutions, be sure to visit our website for more information.
Resources:
[ Ссылка ]
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Shipping Carriers use Dim Weight
00:50 Accurately determining Dim Weight
01:13 Increase Warehouse Space
01:34 Dim Weight Measurement for ecommerce
02:20 Controlling Shipping Costs
03:27 Conclusion
