Did you know that more than 118 million households, 8 million businesses, and 89,000 government units are part of an economy that demands efficient freight shipping? For businesses that depend on the shipping industry but tend to have LTL shipments (less-than-truckload), it can be a challenge to manage freight cargo and its expense.
Freight consolidation can help. Read on to learn the benefits it can offer.
Freight Consolidation for Cost-Efficiency
With freight consolidation, you are taking advantage of all of the space on a truck. For companies that use LTL shipping, the costs of shipping cargoes that take up only a part of the truck can be significant. Even though you are not using all of the space, you still have to pay for all of the fuel, the driver’s wage, scheduling costs, and much more.
With freight consolidation, you are able to share these costs with other suppliers. Shipments from other companies in the same region will take the rest of the room on the truck, lowering the cost per unit. You will no longer have to pay for the space on the truck you do not use.
Freight consolidation uses cross-docking to make its trips cost-efficient. Cross-docking is where the shipments are stored for a short period of time until a large enough shipment is put together. You can get more information on cross docks at the link.
Improve Customer Satisfaction
Freight consolidation can ensure your customers their shipments will arrive on time and at a lower cost. You can reduce your exposure to claims and increase your productivity when multiple shipments can be bundled into one.
You will not have to worry about many trucks trying to unload at your customer’s dock at the same time and you will diminish administrative tasks like delivery appointments. All of this helps you keep your customers happy.
Increased Safety
The more of your products that are on the road and exchanging hands, the higher the chance of damage. An LTL shipment will be unloaded and loaded multiple times, putting it at risk of damage. When a shipment is consolidated, these loading and unloading stops are not necessary.
There will also be fewer trucks to worry about, meaning fewer instances when a truck might get into an accident. In a truck that is full, there is also less of a chance that the products will jostle about.
Consistency
Once you learn your customers’ ordering patterns, you can include them in your consolidation plans. This makes it easier for you to have inventory ready and not have to rush to get it shipped. When you have a consistent schedule, you will see fewer instances of late shipments or missing products.
Make Your Business Efficient
With freight consolidation, you can ensure your customers get their shipments on time while also saving you serious money. Learn more about improving your revenue by turning to our Business page!
