SEMA Member News - September/October 2009
News
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| Take advantage of the SEMA Freight Savings Program. Siriani &
Associates is a member-service provider for SEMA. Members can take
advantage of discounts with FedEx shipments as well as YRC with heavier
shipments (the expertise of Yellow and Roadway together). |
Take Advantage of Programs That Can Save Money and Avoid Headaches
"Shipping is a necessary evil in my day-to-day business. I just have to live with it.”
“I don’t ship much, so it is not my number-one priority.”
Have you had similar thoughts? As gas prices rise and we all deal with the economy, have you been trying to figure out how to save on daily business expenses? Triina Turula, self-proclaimed “freight chick” and director of accounts at Siriani and Associates, offered some quick tips to help you save on shipping costs.
Weekly service fees or pick-up fees may not be necessary for you. These fees, averaging $13 per week, are for the service of having your parcel carrier (UPS/FedEx) come every day to see if you have ground shipments to pick up. The fees are based on weekly shipping, so if you are more of a monthly shipper (and UPS/FedEx is delivering rather than picking up most of the time), maybe you should change your service from “daily pickup” to “call for pickup.” By making that change, you pay the weekly fee only on those weeks when you actually ship ground packages. You could save up to $520 per year if you ship one week per month.
Express ship-ments may have a per-package fee. If the carrier has to pick up an Express package (overnight, second-day delivery), you may be charged up to $4 per package. Check online to see where there is a drop-off facility, and take the package there on your way home. You will often save even more by using the carrier’s online website to prepare your shipment. You could save up to $96 per year if you drop off just two Express packages per month. And don’t forget that Express shipping supplies—boxes, envelopes and tubes—are free from your carrier.
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Change your service from “daily pickup” to “call for pickup” and pay the fee only on those weeks when you actually ship ground packages. You could save up to $520 per year if you ship one week per month. |
Take advantage of the SEMA Freight Savings Program Siriani & Associates is a member-service provider for SEMA. Members can take advantage of discounts with FedEx shipments (Express, Ground, International and Freight) as well as YRC with heavier shipments (the expertise of Yellow and Roadway together). It’s a free service; there is no contract and no minimums to ship. Overseas shipments? Siriani can help you there, too!
Are you a vendor shipping to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas? Give Siriani a call for competitive rates. Siriani will also be at the Show to help you ship your material home.
According to E-Tailing Group, an e-commerce consulting firm, 78% of online customers said that the prohibitive costs of shipping discouraged them from online purchases. If you sell on E-Bay or your own company website and you aren’t sure of the most economical way to ship, call Siriani (it’s always a free call). They can help.
“Siriani helps us get the best possible price, so we can pass the savings on to our customers,” said Mary Jane Gilbert from J&W Classics in Peoria, Arizona. J&W sells classic auto parts on the Internet, so its team often calls Siriani for quotes. The staff at Siriani is always very personable and patient, Gilbert said. And when J&W does ship on a Siriani quote, “Siriani does all the work,” Gilbert said. “Labels, bills of lading, calls for pickup—it’s all taken care of.”
Remember that your SEMA membership works for you. If you have any shipping questions or want to sign up for the program, e-mail Siriani at info@siriani.com, or call 800/554-0005.