5 Tips for Moving Beyond Parcel Shipping
Businesses want to expand and grow. Often that requires branching out to new regions or distributing products at a larger scale. Once you notice shipping volume starting to increase, it’s time to consider moving beyond parcel into less-than-truckload (LTL). Not sure where to start? We’re here to help.
Following these tips can help guide you through the transportation challenges that come with growing your business:
1. Find an established service provider that makes booking shipments easy.
One of the most important choices you’ll make as you expand is how to find trucks to move your shipments. Rather than reaching out to multiple trucking companies for rates, use a shipping platform that makes it easy to book qualified carriers online. Technology like this saves you time and money by providing pricing for multiple carriers and modes (LTL, truckload, intermodal) in a single platform. Working with an established service provider that makes the shipping process easy will allow you to focus on building relationships with your customers during a pivotal growth period rather than spending too much time booking and managing shipments.
2. Make sure you have access to accurate shipment tracking.
It’s no secret that you and your customers want to know where a delivery is and when it should arrive. Online platforms and mobile apps make it easy to keep a close eye on your shipments as they move from booked to in-transit to delivered. Find a provider that offers tracking and automated notifications to make managing multiple shipments easy.
3. Plan for disruptions.
Every company should have contingency plans in place for when a shipment gets off track. Reasons for disruptions range from weather-related delays and mechanical failures to poor communication. While not every situation is within your control, you’ll need alerts and insights that help you set or adjust expectations with your customers. When a disruption or delay occurs, having visibility from pickup to delivery can make all the difference in your customers’ delivery experience.
4. Monitor data and analytics.
Providing consistent service and managing costs are two of the most important aspects for businesses that ship goods. Rather than spending time gathering and organizing your own metrics, find a platform that lets you download data so you can identify opportunities for improvement. More advanced platforms also give businesses facility ratings to understand carriers’ experiences at pickup/delivery facilities and insights into on-time service performance.
5. Rely on your service provider’s expertise.
As you start adjusting how you ship, it’s important to connect with a transportation provider that has the experience, knowledge and industry understanding to help your business succeed. Every shipment matters to your business, and for smaller businesses a negative delivery experience can impact your customer retention in a big way. If you choose to collaborate with an established transportation provider, you’ll get great service and a great experience, which helps you give your customers a better experience too.
Transportation is an important part of your business’ continued success. As outbound volume grows, many companies end up spending more time organizing shipments than cultivating strong relationships with both new and loyal customers. Start your next stage of growth by leveraging expertise and technology from an established service provider that knows how to ship your freight safely and efficiently.
Ready to start shipping? Create your free Shipper 360™ account to get an LTL or truckload quote for your shipments. Intermodal available upon request. Learn more about LTL shipping here.
Questions? Email us – we’d love to talk with you about your business!