The logistics and transportation industries are vital. It’s responsible for transporting various goods locally and internationally. Modes of transportation like air freight, trucks, trains, and ships facilitate the movement of goods from point A to point B.
So then, what is LTL shipping? It is shipping with specific regard to truck loads. Now, realize that every shipment comes in a different shape and size. But, full truckloads (FTL) are rarely needed when transporting small loads. This is where less than truckload shipping (LTL) comes into play.
LTL shipping processes often have a lot of moving parts. Shippers often have to process large volumes of small shipments at a time. It requires proper logistics management. These shipments tend to move through various stages along a supply chain. Therefore, many things could go wrong if the supply chain isn’t optimized correctly. That said, here are some common mistakes with LTL shipping and how shippers can avoid them.
Neglecting Freight Insurance
Shippers need to make sure that their freight is insured. The reason for this is that while goods are in transit, unfortunate incidents like traffic accidents, theft, and natural disasters could damage your freight. So, if you don’t have freight insurance, your company may be liable for covering all the damages sustained.
Ideally, you shouldn’t allow fear to govern your decisions, but the reality is that accidents do happen. Sometimes, through no fault of your own. Therefore, it’s better to have protection through insurance than to be uninsured. That way, you won’t stand to lose more than you’re prepared to if the unfortunate happens. Therefore, shippers must get freight insurance to prepare for a rainy day.
Poor Packaging
When things are shipped via LTL, remember that they will likely pass through many hands in the supply chain. Therefore, you have to ensure that your freight is packaged correctly from the beginning. Poor packaging exposes your contents to the risk of damage. The reason why you should pay attention to packaging is that if the contents do get damaged, there’s a chance that you’ll have to pay for those damages as a result of improper packaging.
Therefore, your items must be correctly packaged before shipping. Make it a priority to palletize or crate your freight items to prevent them from getting damaged while in transit. Also, if you’re unsure how to package items, get help from a packaging professional.
Documentation Errors
Documentation errors can constitute a lot of things. For instance, there could be errors in inputting payment, tracking, contact, and product details, among other things. Incorrect information could cause delays in delivery and, worse off, may cause the freight to be delivered to the wrong destination.
Therefore, shippers need to be careful that they don’t make errors in documentation. Before shippers ship their freight, they need to appoint someone who double-checks the paperwork to ensure that it’s error-free.
Not Confirming Shipping Address
Before you ship anything, ensure that you confirm the shipping details. Verify whether it exists and whether it’s correct. You need this information to plan routes and schedule deliveries. Inaccurate details may lead to missed deliveries and high redelivery costs. Therefore, you must ensure that you have the correct shipping address before shipping any freight.
Inaccurate Shipment Dimensions
Smaller companies have a tendency not to have reliable scales for measuring the dimensions of shipments. So, they work with estimates rather than actual numbers. But that’s a fatal mistake.
Note that every item you ship falls into a specific class or category. Therefore, you need to be able to classify your freight correctly before dispatch. It starts with determining the nature of the items being shipped in terms of their dimensions, weight, and sensitivity, among other things. These dimensions help determine how a package will be shipped and where it’ll be placed in the trailer.
Therefore, it’s essential that shippers have proper weighing equipment and measuring scales to get the dimensions of every shipment right. Otherwise, they risk putting packages in the wrong class. They risk paying additional fees if an item is in the wrong class. Remember, the carrier always reweighs freight before shipping. Therefore, if there are inconsistencies, you tend to get charged for it.
Visibility
Some shippers tend to trust carriers too much with their shipments. While there’s nothing wrong with doing so, you must realize that they could make mistakes too. So, you must have a tracking system to track the shipment’s progress.
Remember, visibility is vital. Your clients would also appreciate knowing how far their package is from arriving. So, always order tracking systems when doing LTL shipping. This way, your customers can check the progress of their orders at any time.
Paying Too Much
Bear in mind that different carriers charge different rates for their services. Plus, these rates are constantly fluctuating. So, it would be ideal to have a few with whom you work at a given time. The goal for any shipping company should be to get the most affordable rate at any time. Therefore, you have to do some research to find suitable carriers. Research is the only way you’ll be able to find good deals and avoid overpaying.
Conclusion
LTL shipping is a logistics solution that has become increasingly popular since the advent of the e-commerce business. It’s highly convenient because it allows people and businesses to ship smaller consignments. However, shippers must be mindful of the above-mentioned common mistakes. In logistics and supply chain management, mistakes can be costly. So, it would be best if you avoided them.
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