How to reduce your company's import costs

For a company that imports regularly, every percentage point saved on logistics turns into margin. The problem is that many costs are "hidden" in freight, taxes and local charges, and aren't always optimized. Here are the concrete levers your company can pull to reduce the total import cost without sacrificing time or compliance.

1. Consolidate volume and shipments

Freight gets cheaper with scale. Instead of many small shipments, plan consolidated purchases: grouping orders from several suppliers in one shipment lowers the cost per unit. If your volume grows, consider moving from LCL to FCL (full container), where the cost per cubic meter drops sharply.

2. Choose the right mode

Not everything has to fly. Reserve air for the urgent or high-value, and move the bulk of inventory by ocean, much cheaper. Good inventory planning lets you rely less on expensive air freight.

3. Control the Incoterm

Buying under FOB instead of CIF gives you control of the international freight: you quote with your own forwarder, compare rates and avoid the margins the supplier adds on transport. At large volumes, this is a real, recurring saving.

4. Classify well and leverage trade agreements

A correct tariff classification avoids overpaying taxes (and penalties for underpaying). And if your suppliers are in countries with a free trade agreement, the certificate of origin can reduce the DAI to as low as 0%. Review how duties are calculated in Costa Rica to see where the savings are.

5. One logistics partner, not five vendors

Coordinating carrier, customs broker, inland transport and insurance separately creates extra costs and misalignment. A freight forwarder that handles the whole chain gives you a transparent all-in rate, better volume negotiating power and a single point of accountability. For a company, that means less cost and less operational risk.

Written by the VS Logistics team.