Sample Shipping Cost Analysis and Shipping Calculator

By Mackenzie Oakley | October 18, 2022

Much like everything else, businesses have seen shipping and freight costs increase dramatically over the last few years. For some companies, shipping is an unavoidable cost and many have had to face the sticker shock head on in order to remain operational.

National shipping companies do tend to offer programs and discounts for small business owners looking to save on postage and shipping. There are several purchasing platforms in the marketplace that do the same. There are, however, caveats to each one.

For example, the United States Postal Service offers discounted shipping rates depending on order sizes. You might be able to save with UPS if you ship a certain volume of packages. Others may compete with each other to price-match and win business if you’re considered a favorable or a high-volume customer.

While this seems like a decent option, it can be tricky to navigate the relationships with these suppliers and your points-of-contact, and to remain confident you’re getting the best prices available. Trying to budget in the current economic climate when shipping surcharges can fluctuate often is also difficult.

How to lock in discounted shipping prices

In the face of ongoing supply chain disruption, selecting the right carrier to entrust with your shipments is a big deal. As a group purchasing organization, Una has established relationships with the nation’s leading shipping providers. This allows us to offer members access to several discount shipping programs so businesses can manage logistics confidently and conveniently.

Any business, regardless of size, can join Una and take advantage of discounted shipping rates. Members can save an average of 20% on everything from ground, express, exporting, freight, and more.

In addition to savings on domestic and international services, Una’s contracts come with built-in price protections to fend off volatile price hikes and increases in surcharges.

Learn more about group purchasing here.

Una's discovery process

Una’s mission is to increase your organization’s profitability quickly and help procurement leaders save money, time, and effort. We accomplish this by following the same process for each category of interest, including shipping.

Step 1. Discovery Call
As the first step to savings, this is where we get to know each other, define what success looks like for you, and set a timeline for the connection process.

Step 2. Cost Analysis
This is Una’s time to shine and where we can show real value. We’ll send your spend data directly to our supplier base to compare cost and identify savings.

Step 3: Connect to Suppliers
After the cost analysis, we’ll work quickly to get you connected so you can start saving as a GPO member right away.

member journey

Sample shipping cost analysis

To get the most accurate savings amount, the Una team will ask for certain information related to your shipping spend. These items include things like shipping from and shipping to zip codes, dimensions of the items shipped (length, width, and height), the item’s weight, any additional surcharges that were paid, packaging type, and the total cost to ship each item.

Once shipping spend data is collected, we will conduct a cost analysis comparing your information to the pricing within our contracts. We can do this across several shipping providers to find the best value for your organization.

After the analysis is complete, you will get a spreadsheet returned back to you showing the results and how they compare to Una’s pricing, along with the percentage of savings shown.

The sample shipping cost analysis shown here is based off of real data from a current Una member and shows over $650,000 in annualized savings.

shipping cost analysis

Shipping calculator to estimate savings

We realize not every company will have millions of dollars in shipping spend each year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t savings to be found. In fact, our contracts tend to benefit small to medium sized companies who have at least $10,000 in annual shipping expenses.

We created a free shipping calculator to show firsthand one of the many types of cost savings businesses may see when partnering with a GPO like Una.

Simply enter your annual shipping spend to calculate an estimated savings amount.

Because packaging it so closely related, we’ve included that option in the calculator tool as well.

While the total savings amount shown is an estimate, Una’s pre-negotiated contracts generally save members an average of 18-22%.






Savings estimates are based on actual contract terms and average annual savings from current Una members. Contact Una for additional information.

Request a free shipping cost analysis

At Una, we’re committed to saving your business money through the power of group purchasing. We do this by following a straightforward process, strategically choosing the best suppliers to work with, and offering unmatched customer service.

Our shipping partners offer our members contracts that are second to none. In addition to reduced shipping rates you won’t find anywhere else, our suppliers offer reliable customer support and built-in price protection guarantees.

Wondering how your current shipping rates stack up? Contact us to submit a request for a free cost analysis to see how our discounted rates compare to your current pricing. 

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Do you have questions about group purchasing? Wondering how a group purchasing organization works to save you money, time, and effort? 

Una’s team of Sourcing Advisors is here to help. Contact us to learn more.

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