Even though it’s still sunny out and there are good beach days left on the summer calendar, for some, the holiday season just began.
In case you missed it while enjoying the outdoors, last week FedEx announced that yet again it will be playing the role of the Grinch this season by increasing its rates. New holiday shipping-related surcharges go into effect November 1st – and will make it even harder for millions of shippers to have a happy holiday.
The cost of FedEx’s Ground Economy deliveries will increase $1.50-per-piece and will directly affect merchants’ and retailers’ operating costs, as each business must either absorb the increases or pass them on to their customers by raising the price of goods. On November 28, this surcharge increases from $1.50 to $3 per package – which will last until Dec. 12 – before going back to $1.50 for the rest of the season, until Jan. 16th.
That means for the second straight year it will cost all the Whos in Whoville even more money to receive their shipments of roast beast.
In FedEx’s statement, they said they were “…entering another holiday peak season during which we expect continued high demand for capacity and increased operating costs across our network. We again anticipate the surge in residential volume to carry over into the new year.” In other words, the Grinch is coming again, so it’s time to get prepared.
FedEx’s full rate increase schedule is available here, which includes a mandatory $0.60-per-piece increase (starting on Jan. 17th) for retailers whose shipment volumes qualify for holiday surcharges. This increase has no end date.
So what can you do to be prepared? How will these increases affect your bottom line? What are your options for negotiating with FedEx?
Well, if you’re going to be affected by these increases, your holiday present has arrived early. Reveel’s Agreement Management – Rate Modeling and Simulation solution will enable retailers like you to analyze the impact of holiday surcharges before they happen, so you can prepare your pricing for the season.
Reveel’s groundbreaking technology empowers holiday shippers with the ability to run what-if scenario modeling and simulation using their existing shipping data and new fees. The tool makes it easy to clearly see the impact of any Grinch-like changes to pricing bands, minimums, discount tiers and surcharges.
To fully understand the power of Reveel’s Rate Modeling and Simulation technology you should sign up for a free demo here. That way you can be ready for FedEx’s increases and still “…bring cheer to all Whos, far and near.”
The Reveel App uses AI and machine learning to provide an unparalleled look into what’s impacting your bottom line. Through invoice audits, peer benchmarking, and rate modeling/simulations, you can see the health of your operation and assess pricing changes from parcel carriers like FedEx and UPS. Sign up for a free Reveel account today to see how you can leverage automation to synthesize your data, ship more for less, and reduce the time needed to identify issues and action items.
