Is your business expanding and starting to make international shipments?

If you're not using a package consolidation service, you're throwing out a lot of money you could otherwise use to continue growing your business.

That's right. You're actually paying more for multiple small packages than you would for a single, larger package.

Take a look at this international shipping guide and find out why you should be using a package consolidation service for your future deliveries.

What Is Package Consolidation?

Package consolidation is a helpful service that lets you combine multiple US purchased orders from multiple vendors, into one, larger shipment.

In other words, consolidation services take large orders and consolidate them into smaller volumes so you get better shipping rates.

This might sound like a lot of unnecessary work, but package consolidation services actually come with a lot of benefits.

But first, let's take a closer look at how the process works.

How Does Consolidated Shipping Work?

This is a service used for international shipping. Because the rates for international shipping are expensive, you can save a lot of money if the items you're shipping are in as small a box as possible.

But that's not something that happens with typical purchases within the U.S.

Shipping rates in the U.S. aren't bad, so items are often delivered in boxes that are much bigger than they need to be. If you sent these items in the original boxes to international locations, you would spend a lot more money than you need to spend.

That's how package consolidated shipping services come into play.

International Shipping Charges

When you ship something overseas, your packages will be charged by actual or dimensional weight.

Actual weight refers to how much the package weighs, including the weight of the packaging materials.

Dimensional weight refers to the estimated weight gathered from the size of the package (width, height, length, etc.)

And the charge you have to pay will be based on whichever weight is heavier.

For example, even if your package only weighs 20 kg in actual weight, if the dimensional weight weighs 30 kg, you will have to pay the charge for 30 kg.

So the smaller the size of the box, the less you have to pay. That's why consolidating your packages and making them as small as possible can be such a game changer.

The Consolidation Process

When a consolidation service receives the items you want to ship internationally, they will start by making sure they have everything in your order.

After they are sure they have the right items, they will start to consolidate them.

This means they will take the items out of all their packaging (except the original retail packaging), which will make every item smaller and lighter.

They will then put all your items into a single, bigger box. Though this box must be big enough to hold all your items, it will still be as small as possible. The service will then prepare the package for shipment.

How Your Items Get Shipped

When the service is ready to ship your package, they will combine it with all the packages you ordered from other vendors.

Instead of paying for each order individually, you are consolidating them all with your other purchases. That means you don't have to pay nearly as much as you normally would.

Benefits of Package Consolidation Shipping Services

The biggest benefit of package consolidation shipping services is the money you'll save. But that's not the only benefit.

Take a look at some of these examples.

Access to Every US Based Store and Website

Many US-based stores and websites do not offer international shipping as it is often deemed not worth the hassle or the expense. This severely limits your ability to shop for the US product you know, love, and enjoy.

By using a consolidation service, you get the benefit of shopping where you want and get the shipping done easily, economically, and efficiently.

Multiple Ways You Save Money

There are multiple different ways you can save money with a package consolidation service.

To start with, carriers charge more money for the first pound of your package than all the following pounds. So if you have multiple small packages, you are paying extra for that first pound multiple times.

Items that are packaged individually will also weight more than if they are packaged together. This is because all the extra, unneeded packaging materials are removed.

You will also save money on the delivery method itself when you consolidate your packages.

For example. Often times a processing fee is charged for each package shipped internationally when you go to retrieve them. But when you consolidate your packages, you avoid that unnecessary cost and hassle.

Here are some more good ways that you can save money while running your small business.

Less Chance of Damage

When your items are consolidated, each one requires less handling. They are also packed tightly together, so there's little risk of them sliding around inside their packaging.

Both these things greatly lower the chance of damage.

Better Quality Control

If you find out one of your items has been damaged after being shipped, you can begin quality control measures right as you hear there's a problem - before they get shipped overseas.

For other shipping methods, you would have to wait for the supplier to send you another item, which slows your timeline down.

With consolidated shipping, you can take care of quality problems right as they come up.

What to Know About Package Consolidation

Package consolidation makes your international deliveries much cheaper and easier. But because this type of shipping has the extra steps of consolidation, it may take a little longer than shipping direct.

However, the extra time is well worth the money saved.

When you make the switch to a package consolidation service, you'll find yourself with more money you can put back into your business.

That means you can keep making all the deliveries you need while growing and delivering your business.

Looking for reputable package consolidation shipping services? We can get your packages where they need to go. Take a look at some of our services and see how we can help you