USPS Software Ship Options for Your Business
More and more businesses are shipping goods than ever before. As the internet grows there are massive amounts of small enterprises opening daily and the national shippers are fighting for their business. A lot has changed over the last few years. DHL who came across the seas from Europe after buying Airborne Express recently decided they could no longer make a run of it here for domestic shipping of packages and has pulled out of the market. In this article, the best of the remaining options for shipping domestic packages will be discussed.
There are several factors to think about when deciding who you should trust with your domestic shipping in the United States. Cost is always a top priority, especially in difficult economic times such as these. UPS and FedEx have been ramping up their programs to capture market share and recruit those who previously shipped with DHL. The regular ground shipping rates between these two carriers are comparable.
You can estimate a ground shipping package in boxing under the 12" cubed package and 3lbs to cost roughly $8 to go from coast to coast. The US Post office also has options and is trying to gain market share for this business. They offer their own boxing for free and on small shipments such as CD's or books or soft clothing their rates are a flat fee and can really save money.
Typically their fixed rates for a coast to coast shipment on the smallish packages described are about $5. Add in the cost of packaging they provide and you'll save more. Their rates begin to lose competitiveness when package size goes up and they no longer provide free packaging. For example, if you were shipping a basketball, the USPS does not provide packaging for free for this and their rates may exceed those of UPS and FedEx slightly.
Software is another factor to consider when deciding which carrier to use. All three companies mentioned above will provide software to install on your home or business computer for faster label making, address verification and tracking number production. They consistently have upgrades and UPS and FedEx may even provide free label making machines and labels saving the company on ink and production costs.
The US Post Office has online capabilities that are a more specific and quite powerful. Customer service is also easier to connect to at USPS.
Technology and tracking information will be greatly appreciated by customers and clients. In summary, USPS and the software options they provide can benefit businesses depending on the level of service needed and the size of packaging. If many smaller packages are going out and the need for tracking the shipments along the way is not necessary, that may prove to be the best choice. If more communication and larger shipments are necessary one may one to pay up a bit for service and customer satisfaction.
Posted on August 24, 2018
