The Benefits of Zone Skipping: What Canadian Businesses Need to Know

Table of Contents: What is Zone Skipping? What are Shipping Zones? The Benefits of Zone Skipping Zone Skipping in Canada Can Small Businesses Leverage Zone Skipping? How Does Zone Skipping For Small Businesses Work? Harness Zone Skipping with Ship Expert

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Affordable shipping is often top of mind for Canadian business owners. After all, Canada is geographically enormous, and the cost of shipping goods from one end to the other can quickly eat into profits and customer satisfaction rates. Zone skipping is one way for Canadian businesses to stay in control of shipping costs.

“Online customer behaviour is largely influenced by shipping costs. The greater the shipping fees, the faster a customer will abandon their shopping cart.” says Greg Woo, Director of Ship Expert. “Zone skipping is one way to keep overall shipping costs lower, and it gets packages into customers hands faster.”

In this article, we’ll explore what zone skipping is, why Canadian businesses favour this shipping strategy, and share tips on useful zone skipping best practices.

What is Zone Skipping?

Zone skipping is an innovative logistics strategy that consolidates shipments headed for a similar destination before dispatching them in bulk. This method bypasses several intermediary shipping zones, thereby reducing the number of checkpoints, leading to cost savings on per-package shipping fees. 

Adopted wisely, zone skipping not only trims down expenses but also accelerates delivery times, providing Canadian small business owners a competitive edge in managing logistics efficiently.

More simply put, zone skipping is like taking a shortcut when shipping goods across Canada. Instead of sending packages through many stops along the way, businesses group them together and send them directly to the area close to their final destination. 

This saves money and can make deliveries faster, making it a smart choice for small businesses looking to manage shipping costs better.

What Are Shipping Zones?

Shipping zones serve as the basis for calculating shipping costs within Canada, organized into segments based on distance from the shipment's origin. The concept relies on dividing the country into various areas, each designated as a separate zone. 

The number of zones a package crosses from its pick up point to its final destination directly influences the cost of shipping. Generally speaking, the more zones a package crosses, the higher the shipping fees. 

Are shipping zones the same across all carriers? No, shipping zones are determined by individual shipping carriers. For instance, Canada Post has different shipping zones than Canpar Express, DHL, Purolator, and others. It’s crucial to understand each provider's shipping zones and subsequent service rates. An easy way to compare rates is through Ship Expert!

Benefits of Zone Skipping

Zone skipping logistics offers a smart solution for Canadian businesses looking to navigate the challenges of shipping logistics efficiently. This strategic approach not only streamlines the shipping process but also brings a host of benefits that can significantly enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Reduced Shipping Costs

Employing zone skipping can lead to substantial savings in shipping expenses, as it avoids the incremental costs associated with crossing multiple shipping zones.

Faster Delivery Times

Packages arrive faster to their destination by bypassing intermediary stops, providing a quicker delivery service to customers.

Streamlined Logistics

The process of consolidating shipments for zone skipping simplifies the overall logistics, making the management of shipments easier and more efficient.

Less Environmental Impact

By reducing the number of shipments and utilizing direct routes, zone skipping contributes to lower carbon emissions, supporting eco-friendly business practices.

Greater Customer Satisfaction

The culmination of cost savings, faster deliveries, and a commitment to sustainability leads to increased customer satisfaction, building loyalty and encouraging repeat business.

Zone Skipping in Canada: A Real-World Example

Let's say a Canadian business located in Vancouver, BC, specializing in eco-friendly gifts, has a number of orders they need to ship to Ontario and Quebec. Initially, they face high shipping fees and slow delivery times due to Canada's vast geography. 

Rather than send each package individually, they work with a provider that will group all the packages together and send them directly to a hub in Ottawa. From there, the packages will be sent individually to their final destinations. 

This approach allows the business owner to bypass several shipping zones between British Columbia and Ontario, significantly reducing the cost for each parcel. Bundled shipping also reduces the amount of energy required to send the packages, resulting in a more eco-friendly shipping solution.

Are zone skipping and air zone skipping the same? Yes, the definition of zone skipping and air zone skipping is the same. One refers to zone skipping that utilizes all types of freight delivery while air zone skipping refers to shipments made through air cargo. Air zone skipping may offer faster delivery times.

Can Small Businesses Leverage Zone Skipping?

Traditionally, zone skipping advantages could only be accessed by businesses that ship large volumes of goods and products. Those that could fill up entire truckloads on a regular basis were the ones who could enjoy the time and cost-saving benefits of zone skipping.

However, that’s not the case anymore. Small businesses and ones with small shipping volumes can partner with shipping who give them access to zone skipping. Companies, like Ship Expert, consolidate shipping efforts among a number of senders, enabling low-volume senders to access better rates and other zone shipping benefits.

How Does Zone Skipping for Small Businesses Work?

Let’s discuss an example of how Canadian entrepreneurs with low shipping volumes can access zone skipping advantages. 

Imagine the eco-friendly gift provider in BC, eager to leverage zone skipping but worried about small shipment volumes. They partner with a logistics service that aggregates shipments from multiple small businesses, creating bulk loads destined for similar areas. 

This service acts as a middleman, collecting goods from various small vendors, then sending them in one consolidated shipment to a hub closer to the final destinations, like Ottawa in our above scenario. 

“Small business owners don’t have to suffer when it comes to shipping costs. It’s absolutely possible to access shipping rates that major players in your industry experience.” Greg Woo shares. “It just takes having the right shipping partner.”

This approach opens up zone skipping benefits—cost savings, faster delivery, and environmental efficiency—to small businesses that otherwise couldn't fill an entire truckload on their own.

Have you enjoyed this article? Check these ones out next: Shipping Methods for Ecommerce Businesses How to Calculate Canada Post Shipping Costs Learn the Cheapest Way to Ship in Canada!

Harness Zone Skipping Benefits with Ship Expert

With help from Ship Expert, your business can access the same shipping advantages as your top competitors—regardless of the quantity or frequency of what you ship. 

We offer businesses of all sizes access to superior shipping experiences that allows them to lower shipping costs and potentially decrease shipping times with many experiencing a 70% reduction in shipping costs.

Ready to find out how much you can save? Visit our instant quote calculator to explore savings, then sign up for a free Ship Expert account and start saving today. 
Have more questions? Contact us here.