You may assume that when you think of ‘ground shipping,’ you’re going to get a lousy bargain.
In the past, shipping by water was considered to be a less efficient way of delivering goods. However, with Amazon raising the bar on quick, cheap delivery and ecommerce’s rapid rise, there are more on-demand logistics solutions than ever before, allowing for fast delivery at a reasonable price.
Typically, offering 2-day delivery requires using expedited shipping by air, which is considerably more pricey than ground shipping.
Fortunately, major shipping carriers and other third-party logistics (3PL) firms now have the infrastructure and capabilities to deliver 2-day shipping via ground. Learn how to utilize ground delivery in this post to get your items delivered faster and for less money.
What is ground shipping?
Road or railway transportation are the most cost-effective methods of transporting packages. The most frequent and common way for domestic transit is via ground shipping, since it helps you save money on delivery while also allowing you to provide free delivery (since you can offset the cost when you set a minimum spend threshold that is greater than your average order value).
Ground shipping has a longer last-mile delivery time than air, but with more third-party logistics or 3PL firms extending distribution reach as ecommerce expands, there are now more options than ever to optimize ground shipping and speed up transit times.
Why choose ground shipping over other options
Ground shipping may help offer rapid, 2-day delivery at a low cost by providing a premium shipping choice for online buyers. Ground shipment is good for both local and national transactions.
The notion that ground shipping is slow is a popular misconception. Ground shipping is frequently associated with longer travel times, despite the fact that it’s not always the case. Ground shipping has several different uses, depending on where you’re sending from and where you’re going.
When orders must travel to higher shipping zones or the mile radius from the shipping origin, they take longer (and cost more) to reach recipient. From which we are sending, Zone 1 is the closest location and the further away, the higher the zone.
If you deliver to a location within the same zone as your warehouse, you might save money by sending them by ground.
You may offer faster and more affordable ground delivery by dividing inventory across numerous fulfillment centers in various parts of the United States, allowing for cost-effective 2-day shipping for US customers in those areas. This is all handled without you having to manage your own warehouse(s), thanks to Launch Fulfillment’s scale efficiency.
The impact on the environment is another concern for ground transportation. Ground transport, while not as bad as air shipping, nonetheless contributes to a company’s carbon footprint. Fortunately, ecommerce firms have several options for reducing their carbon effect.
When a company fulfills its own goods, it can either carry out fulfillment itself or hire another firm to do so and still opt into environmentally friendly shipping – one example is using biodegradable material that may be easily recycled or sent in its own box (known as SIOC packaging).
Furthermore, Launch Fulfillment works with carbon-neutral shipping providers like Pachama to offset all carbon emissions from transport. The amount of emissions utilized when a package is sent using Pachama’s technology is calculated, allowing carbon credits to be purchased to compensate for the emissions.