The process of transporting your goods needs to be efficiently managed so that the goods arrive in time and undamaged. Since this calls for a thorough knowledge of many aspects of freight transportation, including shipping times, documentation and legal compliances, freight handling, and transshipment, most manufacturers find it easier to work with freight forwarding agencies that take care of the entire logistics on a turnkey basis. However, by taking steps to optimize your freight, you can save handsomely and boost your profits.
Optimize Your Loads
When you are taking the sea route, you will be paying on a per-container basis. It is, therefore, important to make maximum use of the container space. You should also know that there is only a marginal cost difference between using a 20-foot container and a 40-foot container, however, while a 20-foot container offers 27 CBM, using a 40HQ container can boost it to 67 CBM, which is nearly 2.5 times more. If you do not have enough goods to fill one large container, you can think of consolidating your goods with other companies. Alternatively, if the collaborative arrangement is not practical, you can ask your membership freight forwarder to ship it on an LCL basis where you share container space with others.
Don’t Make Every Shipment Urgent
Regardless of whether you are shipping nationally or internationally, you need to find out which are your best options keeping in mind the shipping time and cost. Instead of classifying every shipment as urgent and giving the shipper a tight deadline that invariably drives up the cost, you should find out which is the most economical shipping method and work to take advantage of it, keeping in mind the prevailing market trends. Try to manufacture so that you can ship much in advance using the slowest and invariably cheapest shipping method. Planning will also let you avoid the busy season ahead of major festivals when all manufacturers are rushing to hit the markets. Discussing your shipping requirements with a specialist can help you to find the ideal way of shipping your goods, according to Entrepreneur.
Choose the Right Transportation Method Mix
Depending on your destination and the urgency of the consignment, you can adopt a mix of transportation methods combining ocean, air, and ground to optimize the shipping time and cost. Often moving your cargo directly between two points can work out to be more expensive than a roundabout way. You can take advantage of low-cost ocean shipping and then combine it with a mix of road/rail or even air to speed up the delivery. Since freight charges are dynamic, it is invariably better to use the services of a logistics partner or a freight forwarding agency to optimize your shipping.
Conclusion
With transportation costs being a significant component of your overall expenses, it can be worthwhile to focus on reducing them. Producing ahead of time, shipping in full container loads, and using the right mix of transportation methods and routes are easily some tactics that you can implement easily. Small businesses without adequate internal resources can hire a competent freight forwarding agency to take care of all the hassles.
