Ship, ship, hooray! How to control shipping costs.(Management; jewelry industry) From: Jewelers Circular Keystone | Date: August 1, 2003| Author: Shuster, William George | COPYRIGHT 2003 Reed Business Information. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Shipping costs are one of jewelers' biggest excess expenses, say retail and shipping experts. "An ungodly amount is spent by jewelers on shipping, and freight in and out," notes consultant Kate Petersen. "It's one of the biggest areas opportune for cost cutting." Robert E. Reetz, Federal Express zone manager for corporate security, agrees. "Shipping is one of the highest controllable overheads of jewelers," he says.

Why the excess? There are a number of reasons: too many...