5 Cross-Country Shipping Solutions
There are more than 32 million small businesses vying for customers and profits in the US alone. One thing that almost every one of those businesses shares in common is that they’ll need cross-country shipping at some point.
Maybe you get a random order from the Pacific Northwest, or maybe you routinely ship packages across the nation. Of course, not all shipping solutions work equally well for every business.
If you’re wondering which shipping solutions you should use, keep reading for five options.
1. USPS
For overall service, the United States Postal Service is hard to beat. They’ve been around forever. They can handle packages and envelopes of almost any size. Plus, the Postal Service delivers just about everywhere in the country within a pretty reasonable timeframe.
The Post Office also runs programs that benefit small businesses with discounts or spending-based credits. Those programs can shave a bit off your overall shipping costs.
2. FedEx
Another popular option for small businesses, FedEx specializes more in speed than flexibility. FedEx offers 7-days-a-week delivery, which can get your packages or envelopes there faster than most other services.
The catch is that FedEx pricing, particularly on small packages, tends to run higher than other delivery options. Since many small businesses predominately ship small packages, it can drive up your prices if you routinely use FedEx for delivery.
3. UPS
The term small business can conjure pictures of a mom-and-pop shop that mostly caters to local customers. The reality is that a small business might employ a couple of hundred people and manufacture products.
If the business sells those products to other businesses or consumers, their packages may lean toward the large size. Large package delivery is where UPS really shines. They offer flat rate shipping on boxes big enough to fit small appliances.
4. ShipBob
For e-commerce businesses, the world of shipping gets more complicated. Many e-commerce businesses never handle their own inventory. Instead, they use third-party logistics services to deal with storing, shipping, and tracking inventory.
ShipBob handles these kinds of tasks for small businesses and can even get discounts for bulk shipping.
5. LTL Shipping
What if you don’t need to send an envelope or even a package? What if you need to send a full pallet of your product to someone across the country. When dealing with freight like that, you need less than truckload freight shipping solutions.
You can head over here for more info on LTL shipping.
Cross-Country Shipping and You
Sooner or later, virtually every business needs some kind of cross-country shipping service. Whether you’re fulfilling an order or having paperwork delivered, it’s almost impossible to avoid in a world where nearly every business does some business online.
The trick lies in selecting a shipping solution that best serves your needs. Each of the options above excels in certain areas, which likely makes one of them a good fit for your needs.
Are you ready for more business management tips? Check out some of the other posts over in our Business section.
