# 3 recommendations to reduce your shipping costs

Margaux Rouart·
August 30, 2022 ·1 min read

Consumers today expect shipping to be included, whether from an e-commerce sale or even from a store. In turn, shipping costs are increasing for every company.

How can you keep shipping costs down, as consumer expectations rise?

1) **Ship from the closest in-stock location to the customer**  
Don’t overlook the simplest option. Ship from the location closest to your customer. Whether that is ship from store, or from a distribution center, shipping from the closest location will help save you money.

2) **Ship from a distribution center**  
Distributions centers have well-oiled picking, packing, and delivering processes. Staff is dedicated to handling shipping orders—and they do not have to deal with customers. DCs are usually located in a strategic location for distribution, so shipping from distribution centers might be a solution depending on stock availability.

3) **Take a look at your carrier pool**  
Having more than one carrier means that you have to deal with more than one partner, and dividing order volume between them. Consider keeping only one carrier with a better contract. Or, pare down carrier options where it makes sense.

To learn more about Fluent Order Management, [schedule a demo today](/content/request-demo/index.html).

Author: Mauricio Zanotta, Order Management Consultant, Emakina.NL