In the years since we founded Reveel, we’ve conducted hundreds of interviews with leading shippers to learn what strategies they use to lower their costs and the processes they implement to make their operations more efficient and effective. What we found is that the most successful shippers all have something in common: they do four things. Not just once or twice a year, but on a regular basis to ensure they are making the best decisions.
These four things comprise what we call Active Shipping Management—a methodology that empowers shippers to proactively take action. More specifically, these leading shippers continually plan, measure, optimize, and monitor their shipping activity and operations.
Understanding Active Shipping Management
With the Reveel Shipping Intelligence™ Platform, shippers now have near real-time access to data that makes Active Shipping Management more powerful than ever. Some of the things shippers can now do with Reveel include:
- Plan: They can forecast shipping expenses and budgets, support strategic decision-making, perform data-driven financial planning and analysis, and execute SKU-level analysis of product profitability.
- Measure: They can optimize operational efficiency, identify the greatest areas of opportunity, report on shipping vital factors, and assess the budgetary impact of carrier changes.
- Optimize: They know exactly which discounts they are entitled to, understand how to ask for discounts, understand where their leverage lies, and compare carrier agreements side-by-side.
- Monitor: They track expiring surcharges and revenue band changes, monitor for discounts and agreement compliance, recover refunds for late shipments and billing errors, and monitor their operations for security and fraud.
Shipping Challenges DTC Beverage Brands Face
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) beverage brands face many unique challenges compared to other ecommerce companies the most impactful being shipping costs and regulations. Shipping costs vary greatly between carriers and factoring in surcharges, rules, and fees impacted by numerous factors, the cost of shipping can be astronomical. With state shipping regulations, DTC companies that sell alcoholic beverages such as wine or beer have even more hurdles to jump through.
To optimize parcel shipping spend and streamline operations, DTC beverage brands should explore the many benefits of implementing a parcel spend management software.
Shipping Optimization Saves Millions for DTC Beverage Brand
Recently, one of the largest online direct-to-consumer beverage distributors embraced Active Shipping Management. With a sophisticated online e-commerce platform, point-of-sale application, and marketplace distribution network, Active Shipping Management provides beverage companies with a complete fulfillment operation that features a full-service shipping organization.
This company utilized Reveels’ shipping intelligence and Active Shipping Management tools to achieve new heights. Most notably, they eliminated close to $1M off of their shipping expenses and positioned themselves to secure $943,264 in recurring annual savings. But that’s not all. The company was also able to strengthen customer service communications and empower departments and functions enterprise-wide to achieve new levels of effectiveness.
