There’s a lot to keep track of when managing a small business. It’s easy to overlook something in your shipping protocol or make a mistake in the logistics process. Is your freight shipping strategy costing you, customers? These mistakes can be costly and negatively impact budgets and relationships with clients. Understanding and recognizing some of the most common small business shipping mistakes can help you avoid them and optimize your supply chain. Here is some advice on preventing small business shipping mistakes.
Follow the Freight Market
Many factors impact how freight rates are dictated and how business is conducted. These factors trickle down to small business shipping. Researching freight shipping market conditions helps you better strategize and avoid business shipping mistakes.
Rates are impacted based on the economic conditions carriers are facing. When there’s plenty of space in a carrier’s fleet to take shipments, rates are lower. Flexibility in the shipping market is called a “looser capacity market.” On the other hand, tightened capacity means more challenging times finding space for shipments and higher rates for shippers.
Market conditions fluctuate throughout the year because of shifts in consumer supply and demand or seasonal industries entering their busy shipping times. These changes are known to industry insiders as the guaranteed or expedited freight services are purchased. Reaching out to your shipping solutions provider makes it easier to schedule shipments on dates and times that work best for you and helps set the right expectations in terms of transit times.
Partner with FreightCenter to Avoid Business Shipping Mistakes
Small businesses often avoid partnering with a third-party logistics company (3PL) for a number of reasons. Many small business owners think the cost of shipping will be higher, or they don’t ship enough to have a dedicated shipping partner. Another myth is thinking that 3PLs don’t understand their company’s needs. However, partnering with a 3PL can save you time, money and energy. This gives you more time to focus on what your business needs from day to day.
The value of partnering with FreightCenter far outweighs the cost for most small businesses. FreightCenter has an extensive network of carriers who offer discounted freight rates to us. These discounted rates are then passed on to our shippers. We pride ourselves in delivering custom-tailored shipping solutions to supply chains everywhere in all kinds of industries. We have the lanes, carriers and rates that work best for you and your needs. No matter what size your business is, we handle everything. And after 20 years of servicing the needs of small business freight shippers everywhere, we have extensive shipping expertise in a variety of industries.
Ready to ship more efficiently? Get a free quote today or call one of our experts at 800.716.7608.
