Having an in-house shipping function can work well however when this is one person managing all export and import function this is certainly a risk. The employee, will at times, be under pressure to deliver a quality service to customers as workloads fluctuate leaving the business exposed. This is further exacerbated during holiday times and unplanned absences, such as sickness.
From a cost perspective having an in-house shipping department means staff need to be adequately trained and kept up to date with the forever changing legislation.
You therefore need to ask yourself is an in-house function as cost effective as it would appear to be?
We believe the better option would be to have several people covering the function. This will ensure there are no gaps in service and consistent cover is provided to your customers all year round.
Let’s look further at the reasons why you might want to outsource your shipping department
- More costs effective, perform a cost comparison between providing an internal function vs outsourced shipping and consider the following costs
- Salary
- Training
- NI & Tax
- Holidays
- Desk space
- Continuity of support from a team of specialists with shipping knowledge that is constantly updated
- Providing an end to end service from order despatch, providing the right documentation to ‘proof of export’
- VAT compliance from an HMRC perspective ensuring that the regulations are adhered to keeping your business safe from any unwanted surprises
- Managing the ‘peaks and troughs’ of the business for movement of goods providing a consistent level of service throughout the year
- Constant feed to the business of new information regarding changes to legislation that could affect existing processes and any financial aspects of the business
- Ability to negotiate freight rates for efficiency and cost savings
- Ensuring goods are insured correctly by using the appropriate Incoterms on all shipping documentation
- Provision of support for new market entry i.e. knowledge about specific country legislation, documentation requirements
- Finally, you can concentrate on growing your business, and as you grow, we can grow with you!
Have a listen to one of our customers talking about his reasons and experience of outsourcing.
