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
Have a listen to one of our customers talking about his reasons and experience of outsourcing.