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Platform Recap Q4 2018
January 23, 2019
Q4 was a busy month with peak holiday season! See below for a detailed re-cap here at the Shipwire Platform:
- Reminder – FedEx, UPS & USPS General Rate Increases
UPS and FedEx increased their rates in December and early January. We provided customers a grace period through mid-January, and the rate changes took effect in Shipwire on January 13, 2019. Rate changes for USPS shipments will be implemented through the Shipwire Platform on January 27, 2019.
We’re still waiting for additional information from our carrier partners about changes to DHL Global Mail, and will update you on those changes once the information becomes available.
- FedEx Changes:
- FedEx Express package and freight standard list rates will increase an average of 4.9% for U.S., U.S. export, and U.S. import services
- FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery standard list rates will increase an average of 4.9%
- FedEx International Premium® rates will increase
- Minimum rates for FedEx Express® services will increase
- FedEx Ground Multiweight® rates will increase
- FedEx SmartPost rates will increase
- UPS Changes:
- UPS Ground, UPS Air and UPS International services rates will increase an average of 4.9%
- Fuel surcharges will now be applied to Additional Handling, Over Maximum Limits, Signature Required and Adult Signature required accessorial fees
- A processing fee of $2.00 per package will be charged when Package Level Detail (PLD) is not provided to UPS prior to delivery
- USPS Changes:
- Mail service rates will increase by approximately 2.5%
- Priority Mail Express will increase by 3.9%
- Priority Mail will increase by 5.9%
- First-Class Package Service, a lightweight expedited service offering used primarily by businesses for fulfillment purposes, will move to zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of service and to improve value based on distance
- FedEx Changes:
- Reminder – Canada Post & Purolator General Rate Increases
Changes affecting Canada Post and Purolator shipments will be automatically implemented through the Shipwire Platform on January 13, 2019. Canada Post’s official changes go into effect January 14, 2019. Purolator’s official changes go into effect January 1, 2019.
- Canada Post Changes: Canada Post Premium, Standard and Per Item rates will increase by an overall weighted average of 4.4% Unlike previous years, Canada Post has not disclosed much information about upcoming rate changes; our Transportation Team has been actively working with our carrier contacts to learn more about the anticipated impact. The information we’ve received from our Canada Post representative can be found here.
- Purolator Changes:
- Purolator General List rates will increase by an average of 4.9%
- Manual Waybill fees will increase from $1.95 per shipment to $2.25 per shipment
- Signature Required fees will increase from $3.90 per shipment to $4.50 per shipment
- Large Package fees will increase from $55.00 per piece to $65.00 per piece
- Over Maximum Limit fees will increase from $85.00 per piece to $350.00 per piece
- Reminder – Hong Kong Post & FedEx Hong Kong General Rate Increases
Our carrier partners in Hong Kong – Hong Kong Post and FedEx Hong Kong – have recently informed us of annual general rate increases (GRI) that will impact the rates you pay when shipping through those carriers. These changes will be implemented in the Shipwire Platform on February 1, 2019.
- Hong Kong Post Changes:
- Only Hong Kong Post Speedpost service will be subject to the 2019 GRI. Speedpost rates will increase 5.6% over the 2018 base rates
- All shipments via Hong Kong Post will be subject to a $1.00 USD service fee per package for transportation from the Shenzhen, CHN warehouse to the Hong Kong Post hub and processing fees from Hong Kong Post
- FedEx Hong Kong Post Changes:
- FedEx International Economy rates will increase by an average of 2.1% over 2018 base rates
- Battery Shipping Changes – Reminder As a reminder, starting 2018 Q4 many carriers changed their “Dangerous Goods” labeling requirements. This change applies to all shipments of batteries or products that contain batteries. As a reminder, please update required information for all battery related products in your Shipwire Product Catalog. All shipments containing lithium batteries will incur a $0.20/order fee to cover labeling costs.
- New Business Report – Order Transaction Details This new business report provides a detailed overview of Inventory Velocity for the previous 6 months to provide a clear picture of product movement and to assist with future stock planning. Visit the Business Reports in the Inventory Tab of your Shipwire UI for your custom report.
- Search and View on External SKU ID We’ve added the ability to search for proprietary SKU IDs (External SKU IDs) in the search bar on the Shipwire Platform UI. These external IDs are also seen in the Order Details page for any given order, providing an additional way to search for products in Shipwire.
- Inventory Adjustments Codes Inventory adjustment reason codes are now accessible through the Shipwire stock.transition webhook. See our Webhooks Developers Guide for detailed information.
- Billing Statement Updates We’ve edited the Billing Statement format to include more detailed information for added visibility. The statement will now include order summary, external SKU ID and monthly activity summary by service group.
- Commercial Invoice Updates The commercial invoice format has been revised to include carton fees and handling charges.
- See our latest blog posts for insider industry information:
- Starting a Product Company? Follow These Three Tenets for Fulfillment Success
- Smart Scaling: Benefitting from a 3rd Party Logistics Partner
- Fashion eCommerce Shaping the Future of European Retail
- 3 in 4 Americans will be shopping here for toys by 2022
- Record Low Industrial Vacancy Rates Prompt Creative Warehousing
- What’s Trending in Fashion Online?
- Effects of eCommerce Peak Holiday Season
- E‑Commerce Trends Driving Online-Exclusive Shopping for Consumer Electronics
- Check out our recent case studies:
- Other Publications:
- Upcoming Events:
- Reverse Logistics Association (RLA) Expo – Las Vegas, NV – February 5-7, 2019
- E-tail West – Palm Springs, CA – February 19-22, 2019
- MWC Barcelona – Barcelona, Spain – February 25-28, 2019
- Shoptalk – Las Vegas, NV – March 3-6, 2019