Beyond Earth Hour: Reducing Your Transportation Costs

The multiplier effect—or the effect of a relatively minor factor in causing a great change—is an important reminder that small changes can have a big impact.
Earth Hour started as a simple movement to bring attention to climate change by encouraging people to turn off their lights for an hour. That effort showed the power of lots of people doing things differently and changing the world.

For business owners, small changes can make a difference in one of the costliest areas of a company—transportation. It’s no secret that one of the biggest items on the expense sheet has to do with getting our products and people where they need to be. So what can we do about it? Here are some suggestions.

Reduce Carriers and/or Routes

If you use a carrier to transport goods, it’s important to remember that larger volumes typically enables you to negotiate lower rates. If you have multiple carriers, look into streamlining your approach so that you can negotiate the best pricing.

If your company is in the transportation business, look for ways to reduce or consolidate routes to make them more efficient. Technology is your ally here. Online route planning coupled with smartphones or GPS technology is an inexpensive and easy way to really impact your transportation costs. Plus, lower costs mean you can pass those savings onto your own customers, making you more competitive in your industry.

Consolidating Shipments

The cost of transportation is affected by vehicle type, weight, distance, fuel prices and other factors. While some of these factor are difficult to control or even predict, consolidating trips is an important way to reduce fuel costs and mileage. Again, technology coupled with route planning software offers significant advantages because it’s easy to create multiple, logical routes and make sure your drivers are making the most of their time and fuel.

If your business doesn’t have regular routes, it’s not always possible to consolidate trips. Don’t be discouraged if every day is different. With online route planning, you have a new opportunity with each route to make the most of it. It’s a relatively simple way to not only effect your company’s environmental impact, but your bottom line as well. Think of it as a long-term strategy to reduce costs.

Earth Hour 2015

This year’s Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. local time, and it will likely be the biggest yet. But you don’t have to wait until Earth Hour to make a difference in your business and your community. Look for ways to reduce your transportation costs, and see the different in your environment and your bottom line. To reduce your transportation costs, go to our coupon page and enter the word EHOUR15.

We are all sharing this planet and its limited resources. Even the smallest efforts on your part can have a big impact when compounded with the efforts of other businesses all over the world.