Tim Story Shares His insights on Shipping Services For Small Businesses

Tim Story has experience of 28 years in the transportation management system. He is currently the executive vice president of freight operations at Unishippers. He observed shipping practices from a very early age. He noted how most of the work was done manually by his father and grandfather. Pricing was also a major issue back then. In the present, every bit of information is easily accessible due to technological advancements. The implementation of tech helped small businesses to make their shipping process economical and effective.

Let’s elaborate on the Steps that should be taken while choosing a shipping carrier for your business.

It is suggested to partner with a reliable carrier. A lot of research should go into this, as this is the crucial point of the process. At first, a collection of references is to be made acquired from clients and trustworthy companies. It is advisable to choose a carrier that provides the option of tracking and tracing. This feature provides better transparency and control of the shipment with the ability to locate any package at any point in time.

It is important to get an idea about the resources of the handpicked carrier. Carriers are different from each other based on the type of shipping service it offers. It is recommended to understand the specific type of shipping service required for the goods involved in the business. To ask the carrier about their experience and capability of moving the goods in your business is a must. An inquiry should be made on the safety measures taken by the carrier during transit.

One should ensure that the carrier is compliant to the specific standards set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The checklist of this organization demands the carriers to have renewed insurance, file specific registrations, updated documents along with compliance to safety standards. A carrier with poor compliance rating should not be the first choice.

Every carrier has its own liability programs. Research should be done to understand the limits of liability. It is not to be assumed that the carrier’s liability program will cover the charges for damage in transit.

If there is a requirement to ship goods at a specific date, then the business should opt for a carrier that offers guaranteed delivery services and not only rely on estimated date of delivery from other carriers.

Now comes the steps NOT to take while choosing a carrier for a small-scale business.

It is suggested to not overlook the insurance of your package. It is important in the sense that once it is shipped, it is handled by many people on different modes of transport. So a possible human error can lead to the loss or damage to your goods. If your package is insured, a complete refund of the value of the package misplaced will be made.

Every country has different rules and regulations imposed on the type and size of good that can be shipped in that country. So it is not advisable to assume every type of product can be shipped anywhere. Consultation with the carrier before shipping a package is a good option.

Packing is an important factor, and proper packaging is mandatory before shipping a package. The best way to ensure proper packing is to tape the opening and seams of the box with brown reinforced packing tape. Reuse of shipping boxes for economic reasons is not a good option as the structural integrity of cardboard boxes reduce with every shipment.

A business should not compromise on the quality of services provided by the carrier. Investment on a moderately high-cost carrier service is preferred as air transfers involve less handling and top priority is given to goods on board, saving hours of time.

Shipping can cost a business lot of money due to inconsistency, delays, and damage to goods. Tim Story believes the above pointers if taken into consideration will work out almost perfectly for small businesses who are sensitive to the high cost of expenditure on availing high-quality shipping services.