Could you save money by amending your mobility policy?

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There’s a way to achieve cost savings, be environmentally friendly and reduce transferee stress

Many countries have noticed a shortage of goods, ranging from microchips to empty virtual shelves at Amazon. Pricing goods has become a nightmare and a reason for this is freight rates have sky rocketed on a global level. When you add in the uncertainty of when goods will actually be delivered you can guarantee only one thing, stress!

How does this impact your employee mobility policy?

You may be offering intercontinental household goods shipments to your current or future employees as part of your benefits packages, but with freight rates between four and ten times the normal levels and delivery date uncertainties, following through on this policy item can have a significant financial impact.

Not only do you face the increased cost of transporting the employee’s household goods, but additional ancillary costs such as extended stays in temporary accommodation and unpredictable hikes in demurrage (the fee for the daily use of the shipping container).

What are the alternatives?

The most practical alternative is to rent furniture at destination. Why ship when these days it is possible to rent furniture at destinations all over the globe? Furniture items can easily be ordered and delivered, fully set up, and removed when no longer needed. The items on offer include everything from coffee machines, to TV’s, bed sheets, and much more.

The benefits of renting furniture at destination are reduced spending on extended temporary housing and by not shipping a container of household goods at excessive freight and demurrage charges. Another major benefit is the environmental impact of not shipping goods, which reflects positively and helps your company achieve its corporate goals.

Of course, a small shipment might be nice to include in your policy, but there are excellent rates being offered for excess baggage by most airlines, so even without any kind of household goods shipment, there is no need to leave behind any favourite clothes or cuddly toys.

How much could you save?

It could be as much as between 25-35% of the total transportation cost. The table below puts into numbers a sample of the potential impact on your bottom line.

Shipping

Now let’s look at another option instead of shipping the household goods.

Renting furniture

A real example

Just this month, one of our colleagues was standing in line to clear Swiss customs and started talking to the man in front. It turned out by good chance that this gentleman was travelling to Switzerland to join his wife and family who had recently moved from the US to Switzerland for her career at a large tobacco company.

The transferee was pleased with the moving service but informed us the family had asked the employer if they could leave their furniture in the property they owned in the US and rent furniture at destination instead, as they did not see the sense in transporting their fragile, low-quality furniture halfway around the world.

 

The response from the Global Mobility department at this large tobacco company was that shipping an assignee’s household goods is part of the employee mobility policy. And so all the family’s items were shipped from the United States to Switzerland.

Conclusion

Flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking helps when the market is volatile or when the common sense of specific personal circumstances should prevail.

Reduce stress, costs and carbon footprint by asking Packimpex for a free quote on rental furniture.

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About Packimpex

Packimpex is the leading European provider of relocation services, headquartered in Switzerland, with added offices in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK in recent years. We offer tailored relocation solutions for the future international workforce and are focused on superior customer experience. Our team of experts have extensive global knowledge paired with on-the-ground expertise in their regions. Our full range of relocation services includes: Move Management, Destination Services, Housing Support, Rental Furniture and Immigration Services.