Did you know that sometimes Ground service can be as fast as Express service, but at a fraction of the cost? We have first-hand experience with this. To help you find these same money-saving opportunities, we have a Shipping Service Optimization report that assists you by identifying routine shipments that could use Ground instead of Express services.
What is Shipping Service Optimization?
Shipping Service Optimization is the process of choosing the most cost-effective and efficient shipping method for each package, without sacrificing delivery reliability or customer satisfaction. It involves using data, technology, and strategy to ensure you’re not overpaying for speed or under-delivering on customer expectations.
As you may know, all service levels, even Ground, have a guaranteed delivery date and time. Ground packages are guaranteed to arrive by the end of the day, generally 1 to 5 days from the shipment date. This usually depends on many factors, especially the sender’s and recipient’s zip codes.
Express service delivery guarantees can vary by time of day and depend on the sending and receiving zip codes. For example, Priority Overnight may mean delivery by 10:30 A.M. in some locations, by Noon in others. When the Express guaranteed delivery time is later in the day, Ground service delivery times are often comparable, especially if the recipient is reasonably close or the carrier is especially speedy that day.
To summarize: depending on the zip codes, Ground service can provide equivalent results to overnight, 2-day, or 3-day service. So, how does this help you?
| Express Service | Express Days in Transit | When It’s Equivalent |
| FedEx Express Saver / UPS 3 Day Select | 3 Days | Zones 2–4 (typically 1–3 business days) |
| FedEx 2Day / UPS 2nd Day Air | 2 Days | Zone 2–3 (usually 1–2 business days) |
| FedEx Standard Overnight / UPS Next Day Air Saver | 1 Day | Zone 2–3 (usually 1 business day) |
Shipping Service Optimization Report and Benefits
We’re proud to introduce our service optimization report. This report gives you the needed information to make cost-saving decisions like ground vs. express delivery. It analyzes previous express shipments, identifies the packages that were guaranteed to arrive after noon (meaning an early-morning delivery wasn’t important), and checks the ground guarantee for that same package. The report shows a list of packages matching these criteria. Each package is an opportunity to save money while receiving the same or very similar service from the carrier.
- Lower shipping costs (often 10–30% savings)
- Faster or same-time deliveries at lower service levels
- Fewer unnecessary surcharges
- Better customer satisfaction and consistency
- Smarter use of contracts and carrier discounts
It gets better! The report also notes repeat combinations of service, sender, and recipient zip codes. If it happens often, it’s an opportunity to use a different, less costly shipping level, reducing your shipping costs even more. Here’s an example:
As you can see, this shipper sent 41 Express Saver and 20 Priority Overnight, which would have arrived at the same time or a little later with Ground to those zip codes. Several other repeat opportunities—some 2-day, some Standard Overnight—appear as well.
How to Use These Reports
- Download the list in our spreadsheet format, sort to find common repeat addresses, and keep these in mind.
- Create a table of repeat combinations and a list of zip-code pairs. Give this to your shipping department, so they’ll know which shipments don’t necessarily need express service.
- Manage your overall shipping costs by receiving guaranteed next-day, 2-day, or 3-day service at a Ground rate.
- Pass on the savings to your customers by offering cheaper options that guarantee speedy delivery. It’s a win-win solution for everyone.
Clearly, the Shipping Service Optimization report can help you reduce your overall shipping costs by choosing less costly ground services at just the right times. This is just one more way Refund Retriever is trying to help you save money on your shipping.
If you ever have any ideas or discover a need for a particular report we don’t yet offer, please let us know. New reports are often useful to a wide variety of our clients, and we will do all we can to create a new product to fit your needs.
