5 practical levers to reduce your shipping costs

In the full cost of an e-commerce order, transport is often the largest line — ahead of fulfilment and storage combined. Good news: it is also the most optimisable.

1. Adjust your parcel formats

Shipping empty space is expensive: carriers charge volumetric weight. A carton range matched to your catalogue mechanically reduces the bill — and the filler needed.

2. Select carrier by carrier

No carrier is best everywhere. One excels at pickup points, another at express, a third internationally. Routing each parcel to the best option for destination and promised lead time saves several percent without hurting experience.

3. Pool volumes

Carrier grids are negotiated on volume. Alone, you weigh your own parcels; through a 3PL, you weigh the combined volumes of dozens of brands. The difference shows directly on the rate grid.

4. Offer pickup points

Cheaper for you, often preferred by customers: pickup delivery has much lower failure rates than home delivery. Offering it by default on small baskets protects margin.

5. Track disputes

Lost parcels, damage, compensable delays: without systematic follow-up, that money stays with the carrier. A rigorous claims process recovers every pound and euro owed.

Each lever is worth a few percent. Combined, they change a brand's profitability — that is precisely a logistics partner's day job.