It’s no secret that shipping is hard. There are rules to follow, processes to optimize, and countless other things to get right. The problem is that it isn’t easy for companies to build a large shipping operation themselves.
That’s why the freight industry has grown so large. Believe it or not, the freight industry has a market size of $3 billion.
If you haven’t started the freight consolidation process yet, your business is missing out on many benefits. Keep reading to learn why it’s worth investing in freight consolidation.
Save Money
One of the most important benefits you’ll see when investing in freight consolidation is saving money. Freight consolidation allows you to connect with other companies going to the same destination. This means you can share trailers, trucks, and drivers, which will decrease your costs.
You do this by reducing the space you need in a truck. Since your products share space with other shipments, other companies take on some shipping costs.
You also don’t need as many storage facilities or vehicles when you use freight consolidation. Your consolidation provider picks up your inventory, stores it in their warehouse before it’s ready to go, and provides most of the transportation for you.
Stay Safer
Safety is a big concern when people are loading heavy packages and on the road. Unfortunately, you can’t get around handling some of that yourself. However, your freight consolidation provider can take some of those safety issues off your shoulders.
A freight consolidation company has a trained team of experts who know how to stay safe when loading and transporting products. You won’t need to worry about training your team to do it themselves.
The chances are good that your products will also spend less time on the road and less time getting loaded and unloaded. The less time you have people handling your products, the fewer safety issues people working are exposed to.
Be More Consistent
Consistency is another big benefit in investing in the freight consolidation process. When you invest in a freight consolidation company, you take advantage of their process. They have systems in place for packing, shipping, and logistics.
These processes are sometimes hard to create on your own. That means many businesses are stuck doing things on a whim when they ship to customers, which leads to an inconsistent process that’s hard to predict.
That means you’ll have less concern about things going wrong or people doing the wrong things when shipping. It will lead to a more efficient operation that you can more easily manage.
Increase Flexibility
There’s a limited growth potential when you run a limited freight operation. You only have so many trucks and a limited amount of space. If you get a sudden surge in demand, you can end up with more business than your company can handle.
It’s hard to be flexible in that situation. You want to grow your company, but you’re limited by your current capacity. You have no flexibility in your operation to allow your business to grow where it needs to be.
You’re working with a large organization when you invest in freight consolidation. A freight consolidator has already done the hard work of building out a shipping and logistics infrastructure. You can take advantage of that work to grow your operation beyond what you can do on your own.
Reduce Risk
You carry a lot of risks when you manage your own shipping process. You’re responsible for employee wages, worker safety, product safety, and more. All of this is a risk you need to account for in your business.
You can reduce your risk profile by using a freight consolidator. You’re working with a partner who has already invested in processes to reduce mistakes. When you work with someone that doesn’t make mistakes, you reduce one of the biggest contributors to your risk.
A freight consolidator has also invested in the safety procedures necessary to keep workers safe. You won’t need to worry about someone getting injured on the job and causing stress for other workers and your company.
Improve Customer Service
There’s a lot that can go wrong during the shipping process. Unfortunately, it’s hard for small businesses to optimize everything for success.
If you have these problems in your shipping operation, it will impact how successfully packages make it to your customers. You won’t have a happy customer base when this happens.
You’ll have greater customer satisfaction when you work with a freight consolidator. They won’t make the same mistakes and will ensure your packages make it to your customers. This will lead to more satisfied customers.
Improve Warehouse Operations
You don’t only have a better shipping operation to look forward to when you work with a freight consolidator. Many companies in the industry offer additional services that help their clients in other parts of their businesses.
One of those additional services is warehouse operations. Since you’re working with a business that knows how to run a warehouse, they can also help you optimize the way yours runs.
Click here to learn more about some of the products your partner can help you purchase to help.
You can use the warehouse experts employed by a freight consolidator to ensure everything is running efficiently on your side. You won’t have any work to do when you consolidate your freight, so you’ll still need to handle some warehouse operations yourself until your products make their way to the consolidation warehouse.
Start the Freight Consolidation Process Today
You need every advantage you can get in the shipping industry. Consolidating your freight will help you run a more efficient operation and provide better service to your customer. Start the freight consolidation process today to start seeing the advantages for yourself.
Are you looking for more tips that will help you improve your time in the shipping and logistics industry? Check out the blog to learn how to make the most of your shipping process.
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