Do you have a commercial business or an online store? If yes, you need to hire the best freight management service. You want a company that will cater well to your transport and shipping needs.
Partnering with the right service will take your brand to the next level. Eventually, it will help ease your logistics and shipping requirements.
But it can be hard to identify the best shipping option in the competitive e-commerce market. Keep in mind that the trucking company you choose will play a huge role in your company’s success.
Read on to know the steps to follow to identify the best trucking company for your freight. By following these steps, you will weed out service providers who don’t match your needs. Take a look.
Price
Make sure you have a budget before choosing a truckload company. To avoid wasting your funding and finances, you need to know the costs you’ll incur in advance.
However, differences in prices occur due to various factors. They include transportation lanes, type of freight, and volume.
Heavy haul trucking service companies offer discounts from time to time. You should not focus too much on the discount percentage. Instead, you need to have a look at example shipments and make a comparison of the net prices.
Remember also to include the cost of additional services in your budget. The most common are lift gate delivery and residential delivery.
Expertise
When choosing a shipping company, it’s best to identify one with relevant expertise. Please find out the industries and companies they have worked with before. You will know their areas of expertise.
Go to their website and check their client testimonials and feedback. Choose a company with relevant experience in transportation and freight services.
Make sure they cover both domestic and international transportation and shipping. A company with experience should be able to deliver goods in a timely and safe manner.
Reputation
The best trucking company for your freight should have a good reputation. At the same time, they need to be transparent with their clients. View legit sites like the Better Business Bureau and Angie’s list to know what the clients say.
Also, check if they have a history of complaints. If you find out that the company is transparent with its clients, you have selected the best.
The goal is to work with a service provider who has a good reputation for making timely deliveries.
Service Area Freight Management
It’s crucial to know where you intend to ship to. Trucking companies have different service areas. There are micro-regional carriers, regional carriers, and national carriers.
It’s not wise to assume that all companies are national carriers. If you have clients on different sides of the border, pick a company with that capability.
Some carriers provide interlining services. These are shipping options with other carriers to extend their service areas.
Before choosing such a company, could you find out how they handle damage claims? It will help avoid finger-pointing in case of a problem.
Manpower and Equipment
A reputable company should have the right equipment to deliver services on time. A company that does not have the right equipment and the staff will take longer to do even simple tasks. You will also pay extra for loading the freight.
Most companies offer two loading options: loose and palletized. A lot of business owners prefer palletized freight because it’s secure and quick to load. A company that provides the palletized option must have access to a fork truck.
Other business owners prefer loose freight. Loose freight makes it easy to get more items into the truck because they can stack them. But it needs a lot of manpower because loading is done manually.
If the company lacks enough manpower, you’ll have to pay extra. The additional cash is to compensate for the extra time needed to load everything. It’s crucial to select a company that can handle all your loading needs.
On-Time Performance
Service delivery time is one of the essential freight management tips. Late deliveries can hurt your service and brand. Hence, avoid trucking companies with a history of late deliveries.
Generally, experienced transportation companies adjust according to your needs. Such companies are capable of handling emergency deliveries. Pick a freight service that can meet the needs of different businesses.
Talk to their carrier sales rep and ask for their delivery performance data. It will help you know more about their reliability to help you make an informed decision.
Limits of Liability
Limit of liability is the highest amount a company is willing to pay to settle for a loss claim or damage. It is evaluated in various ways, but the most common is by a total dollar amount or a rate per pound. These amounts vary depending on freight class.
Limits of liability are not the same for every carrier. Some have lower limits than others, such as budget careers. Choose a carrier that can cover your regular shipments in case of a damage or loss claim.
Take your time also to investigate the carrier’s damage rate. Check recent articles online that discuss their damage rate. It will be easy to identify the right trucking company.
Trucking Fleet
Choose a truckload management company with a newer trucking fleet. Even though old trucks are not bad, the biggest issue is safety. Newer trucks have current safety systems.
Also, you need to know more about the company’s drivers. Prioritize a tracking company with drivers who have the necessary experience and expertise.
They should have current licenses. Make sure they don’t have a history of getting DUIs or failing inspections.
Choose the Best Heavy Haul Tracking Service
Use the factors mentioned above to identify the best freight management company. Prioritize a company that has been in the industry for many years. You need to be careful, especially if you’re starting a new business.
Contact several shipping companies and see how they answer your questions. Choose a responsive service provider. Once you commit to working with them, you will not have a problem.
We hope you’ve learned something helpful. For more articles like this one, please keep checking our website.