Mar 20, 2009 9:05 AM

Transite Technology has released a whitepaper, Transportation and Logistics: Are You Managing a Cost Function or Driving a Strategic Profit Center? that describes easy and inexpensive ways to turn the shipping function into a profit center instead of merely looking to trim expenses.

Geoff Comrie, chief executive officer of Transite, said, "There are three key reasons why it’s reasonably easy to change and manage your shipping as a profitable business unit:"

•The customer is presold. The "end customer" is already used to paying the shipping cost. There is no convincing or selling needed as long as the charges are reasonable.

•You can almost control your cost of goods sold. The rate structure is highly flexible, and you are the boss. There is no standard pricing, and it’s a buyer’s market. How you negotiate—and how you use your rates—determines your "cost of goods sold."

•Reasonably priced technology exists to know the true cost of a shipping transaction before the shipment so known margins are possible.

The whitepaper offers takeaways two fundamental areas from the perspective of building a strategic profit center: rate negotiation and the use of "smart" technologies.

Visit www.transite.com to download this whitepaper.