International small package shipping - cheap and easy

Let's start with the exciting news.

My company completed a project years ago where DHL Express was awarded the business. The project was a resounding success and we saved the client over $8 million during the term of the project.

As the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end". The project reached the end of the term. Upon reviewing our results and closing out the exit interview with the client, I realized that even though we completed many successful projects since this one, this particular project stood out as the gold standard of any carrier agreement we had ever negotiated up until then. The discounts were, as my 8-year-old son says, "sick"!

Through an agreement with DHL Express, we kept the tariff agreement (set of discounted shipping rates), but never fully appreciated the asset we had until recently. International selling opportunities are exploding -- particularly in growing economies like China and India. I went back to the DHL agreement to review the rates and they have stood the test of time and remain extremely competitive. Put it this way; you would have to spend $5 million per year or more with DHL Express, FedEx or UPS to enjoy a discount at this level.

In this lens, I will give you two important and valuable head starts to unlocking the revenue that lies outside of the US marketplace for your products. I'm going to give you access to our discounted rates and I'm going to explain a few things to clear up the misconceptions that international shipping is complex. Ready? Here we go!

Here is how the rates work.

We maintain a program called InstantSaver, where we offer use of our DHL international rates to move small package shipments into and out of the United States (other country to country rates available, but not as competitive). The present agreement we hold with DHL has a significant discount from the list rate. To illustrate, compare these shipments:

A 25 lb box originating in the US and destined for Taipei, Taiwan

* FedEx list: $244.67
* UPS list: $255.79
* DHL list: $225.04
* DHL on InstantSaver: $47.44

A 15 lb box originating in the US and destined for Bangalore, India

* FedEx list: $340.15
* UPS list: $245.64 (Worldwide Saver service, no Express service available to this area)
* DHL list: $228.97
* DHL on InstantSaver: $46.89

A 5 lb box originating in the US and destined for London, UK

* FedEx list: $120.22
* UPS list: $125.05
* DHL list: $107.20
* DHL on InstantSaver: $22.68

Discounts also available for import shipments to the U.S.

All shipment examples assume delivery to a commercial address and using the carrier's express/fastest regular delivery service, unless indicated that express is not available. The quotes above include the shipping charges, but not the fuel surcharge or other, optional accessorial charges you may want to include (such as insurance).

Now that you know how we did it, let's talk about how the InstantSaver program is structured. InstantSaver:

1. Has no minimum shipment volume or revenue commitment from you, although we are interested in shippers that can send at least 20 packages/letters per month.

2. Has no term agreement.

3. Is a "pay as you go" program. You will have your own DHL account number under our agreement and will be serviced by and invoiced by DHL directly if your spend is $5,000 per month or more. If less, we will service your account by providing freight payment for the services you use.

4. PA & Associates makes its revenue on a split of the savings you realize as the lease rate and management fee for the program. For example, if an international shipment currently costs you $50 on your present agreement and $25 on ours, you would save $25 for that shipment. PA & Associates will invoice you half of the saved amount or $12.50.

5. We provide an easy-to-use Welcome Kit which contains instructions on how to create shipments online without any software or shipping system.

This program is very easy to engage and to use and will dramatically reduce your international shipping expenses.

International shipping used to require extensive knowledge regarding harmonized tariff codes, customs entry procedures, calculation of duties and taxes and a global appetite to deal with foreign governments and the uncertainty of your product actually making it to the intended destination safely. Things have changed for the better.

For starters, DHL Express features a fantastic set of easy-to-use web tools that can quickly put the following information at your fingertips:

1. Calculation of dimensional weight (where the carrier charges you for the volume your package takes up rather than the actual weight)

2. Quick lookup of Harmonized Tariff Code (HTC). The HTC is the categorization of your product for the calculation of duties and taxes due, if applicable, once it reaches the destination country.

3. Automated completion and filing for any required documentation you will need to export or import your shipment. There was a day when you needed to hire an attorney or expert to help with this...no more.

4. Estimation of duties and taxes. This is very useful if you are finding that your shipments are being refused upon delivery because the receiver was not aware of the taxes that needed to be paid on the item(s). Your sales or customer service group can quote accurate estimated "landed cost" (the full charges of buying the goods including shipping, duties and taxes) up front.

5. Create shipping documents for import shipments coming to you from other destinations into the US. Once completed, you can add an e-mail address of the shipper (maybe your vendor, supplier or a foreign subsidiary) who can log into the site and print a PDF label ready to go, affix and they are done.

And many more useful features.

DHL Express will clear customs while the airplane is in flight, saving valuable time for your delivery. If there are any delays in customs, DHL can alert you through their tracking application, which allows you to receive automated messages for pickup, in-transit scans, delays and delivery. You have control over the types and frequency of the alerts you are interested in. The picture in this section shows the DHL Express Quality Control Center (think NASA Mission Control for your packages). Pretty impressive.

And when you want to talk to a "real person", our account is managed at the top level of DHL Express. We have complete access to the DHL team and have been extremely pleased with their ability to quickly solve issues and escalate to the correct area for resolution, when needed.

The DHL Express network features faster delivery to more international destinations than FedEx or UPS.

Once you create and complete your first shipment, you'll realize how easy this really is.

It is easy to take advantage of this program and be up and running in as little as ten minutes. There are a few things you will need to have ready:

1. Our agreement with DHL Express prohibits us from offering this program to you if you are already a DHL Express customer. What is a "customer"; anyone who uses DHL Express as their primary international carrier. A primary carrier gets either the greater percentage of daily package volume, daily package revenue, or both.

2. You will need to know the approximate monthly international shipping expense. We implement your program based on a spend of $5,000 or more and under $5,000.

3. You will need to have a copy of your current carrier agreement handy for the benchmarking of current rates and for the calculation of savings.

Once you have these items, please contact me personally at rich-at-paaa.com or 866-200-7283 x 201.