I know a world I would never want to live in is one where carrier rates are sky-high, paired with poor customer service, and no option but to pass the cost back to the customer. That is the unfortunate world in which most companies live. A false sense of shipper control because the carriers say, “Oh yeah, we can help you negotiate a lower agreement”, or “your rates are great, trust us, have we not taken care of you?” However, they rarely provide benchmarked data for comparison.
(We’ll get into that more in a minute.)

The edge always goes to those who know what others don’t, and who work like hell once they do. Given the current state of shipping, it seems like the only way to run an affordable business is to look beyond. But how can you, if you don’t know where to look?

It always comes back to an article or a book that shares a few secrets—which is why we’re glad you’re here.

Not so long ago, we were at the mercy of just a few major carriers: slow to deliver packages on time, poor service, high costs, and little to no competition to nudge them in any way. Interestingly, we’re still at that point, despite many more options being available. Last-minute delivery services are now ubiquitous, even DHL, which once withdrew from U.S. domestic parcel service, is back in the game—expanding regional delivery networks and focusing on e-commerce fulfillment. Airlines are even stuffing parcel shipments into unused cargo space. That’s how you know there’s blood in the water.

On one hand, this makes the industry harder to navigate than ever, and on the same hand, one finger is pointing at the carriers, because most companies still don’t know where their money’s actually going.
They’re told they have great rates. That their rep is “taking care of them.” But behind the scenes, fees are piling up, and costs are rising for reasons no one discusses.

One reason? Labor.
More carriers might sound like a win for competition, but it’s turned into a war for drivers, warehouse staff, and logistics talent. Everyone’s fighting for the same people. Wages go up. Turnover rises. Training costs increase. And who pays for that? You do; through new surcharges, delivery area fees, and “seasonal” rate adjustments that never go away. We’ve all seen the headlines: top-rate UPS drivers are now earning $50 an hour, with paid holidays, pension contributions, and a benefits package that rivals most white-collar jobs. That’s great for workers, but it’s not free. Someone has to absorb those costs. And more often than not, that someone is the customer.

But It’s Not All Bad News

The increase in carrier options, regional providers, and service models can be a significant advantage if you know how to utilize them effectively. The upside now outweighs the drawbacks. The key is:

1. Access to benchmarked data across the industry, encompassing not only UPS and FedEx, but also USPS, DHL, freight carriers, GPOs, third-party resellers, fulfillment providers, consolidators, and international specialists where applicable.

2. Not placing all your eggs in one basket—but instead knowing which carrier is most cost-effective for each segment of your service mix, based on:

– Your service mix (Ground, Next Day, Freight, etc.)
– Your volume
– Your dimensions
– Your zones

Example: Let’s say you ship a mix of Next Day Air, standard Ground, and a few oversized or heavy packages.

• FedEx may be your most cost-effective option for Ground shipping.
• UPS could edge them out on Next Day Air.
• DHL or a regional carrier might dominate on oversized shipments, avoiding hefty surcharges.

Rather than guessing or sticking with one carrier out of habit, you could assign each shipment type to the carrier that wins for that category—and that’s just the start.

Additionally, we review your UPS and FedEx agreements directly and save an extra 10–25% by restructuring the contracts line by line.

If you’re shipping $2.5 million annually with UPS, that could mean $100,000 to $500,000 in savings, money that goes straight back into your business instead of the carrier’s margins.

If you ship via Ground and Air and require Next Day delivery for certain products, we’ll inform you which carrier offers the most cost-effective service for each shipment type. And we’re not just looking at the big guys. We’ve benchmarked what a $50,000/year shipper should be paying for each type of service, and we compare that to what you’re currently paying.

That’s where real savings live.
When you put all of this together and combine it with a team that is there to answer any of your questions, keep you updated every step of the way, and only gets paid when you save, you have a powerful solution.

That’s when you go from reading an article with secrets to having an edge across the industry.