When you shop for your next car, do you expect to shop only one dealer and pay the window sticker price? Probably not, however, if your business currently relies on a carrier based shipping tool like UPS’ WorldShip or FedEx’s Ship Manager you are doing exactly that for your business’s shipping.

Businesses often choose a carrier based platform because they mistakenly believe that other tools complicated to implement. However, a multi-carrier platform can often be easier to implement and can cut shipping costs by 15% or more.

Evaluating the benefits and costs of a single-carrier system vs. an integrated, multi-carrier system is crucial to determining which approach is best for your company. Key areas to consider include:

• Flexible Choices Single-carrier systems limit your ability to compare rates and select another carrier’s services. A multicarrier system allows you to do a side-by-side comparison of all carrier rates and delivery options and select the one that is most advantageous for you.
  

• Knowledge While carrier rates may be similar, surcharges and special fees can have significant impact on your total shipping costs. A multi-carrier system is more likely to display all relevant fees up front, allowing you to make a more informed decision on the carrier and service you would like to use. Typical surcharges and fees you should be aware of include commercial delivery area, residential delivery area and fuel surcharges as well as address correction fees and dimensional rating charges. A multicarrier system with automatic address correction will avoid duplicate delivery fees on a single shipment.
  

• Ease of Use While single-carrier solutions may be free, it will be necessary to install multiple one-carrier systems in order to have complete carrier shipping information. This is a cumbersome approach and often requires different applications and user interfaces. It will also complicate integration with order entry systems and often requires more training.
  

• Integration Single-carrier solutions generally need to be installed on individual computers while a robust multi-carrier system can be installed on a central server and accessed from multiple locations. Further, a multi-carrier system provides seamless integration with your warehouse, carrier vendors and your ERP systems thus improving cost efficiencies, data accuracy. Reps may view shipment status through a single interface, eliminating the need to access individual carrier sites, which improves your customer responsiveness.
  
  

To select a shipping system with the highest ROI, look for the following characteristics:

1. Retrieves your carriers up-to-the-minute routing and relevant shipping data
2. Side-by-side comparisons of services from multiple carriers, their rates and surcharges
3. Integrates seamlessly with your order entry and customer address databases
4. Eliminates manual re-entry of order info
5. Consolidates carrier billing
6. Easily automates internal business rules
7. Allows uniform address books
8. Customizes screen views, labels, forms and reports within minutes