BLAINE, Minn. — When it comes to acquiring parts required to keep machinery in operation, one of the factors is the shipping expense and time in transit. Whether you are shipping across the state line or to the other side of the globe, your parts distributor may be able to help you navigate the available options to save your company money and meet your delivery requirements.
In Part 1, I discussed shipping speed vs. cost, lead time, consolidation and international freight forwarding. Let me conclude:
MULTIPLE CARRIERS
There are a variety of freight carrier options in which you may be able to work with your distributor, each with its own advantages depending on your needs and urgency.
USPS — The U.S. Postal Service, along with its partnerships with postal services in virtually every country in the world, can be an effective and efficient method to transport goods. Historically, the USPS has had the reputation of losing shipments or long delays in shipment delivery. To be sure, this still happens more often than we would like, but it has made great strides in improving these areas and can now be considered as a practical option if minimizing time in transit is not a high priority.
UPS — UPS is a strong U.S. package shipment company, capable of reaching virtually any destination in the country in five days or less, with economical rates, delivery guarantees and excellent package tracking. UPS can also be an effective method to ship overseas with many of the same advantages as listed for domestic shipments. See if your distributor can help you compare the shipping costs from multiple carriers, and help you choose the method that best matches your needs.
DHL — DHL is a well-known worldwide shipper of small packages and can also be a highly effective shipping method. Like UPS, it offers delivery to virtually any destination in the world. DHL is often less expensive than UPS for destinations outside the U.S. but there are exceptions; your distributor can give you the details to help you meet your specific needs.
Air Freight — For larger international shipments that exceed the size or weight limitations of the previous three carriers, your distributor can provide a quote for transportation costs using the air freight divisions of UPS and DHL.
LTL Truck — For larger or heavier domestic shipments, see if your distributor can provide point-to-point costs from almost any carrier working in the U.S. In addition to the transportation cost, there are often additional charges for liftgate service if the destination doesn’t have a loading dock and the part is too heavy to handle manually.
Start planning today to improve your laundry’s bottom line this year by managing your inbound transportation costs.
Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
