It’s 2022, everything is done online, and every business is hugely dependent on having the absolute best tech, partnerships, and services to ensure they can provide the absolute best experience and services while maintaining their own growth.
With that being said, companies around the globe have to make the difficult decisions of deciding who they believe will be the ideal partner in providing a top-notch consolidated service. So, with regards to who you should select to conduct your shipping, we’ve put together a list of criteria that you should consider when deciding on a shipping partner:
Cost Savings
90% of the time, organizations select a shipping partner based on how much money they are going to save. Consider your budget – how much do you have to spend and how effectively can you use it?
In essence, you need to save money on your shipping costs to pass on those savings to your customers. This is a MASSIVE consideration as nearly half of the globe’s online consumers have claimed that high shipping rates is the main reason for why they abandon their orders.
Whether looking for a freight service or a courier, make sure to compare the pricing model and multiple options. The type of shipping solution they provide might come with a different pricing structure, credit terms, and payment gateways.
Platforms such as PalletPal aggregate a huge number of shipping options onto a single platform so that you can compare various prices and select an option that suits you best.
Multi-Carrier Options
Loyalty is important, but having a few options never hurt, did it? It could be tempting to stick with the same provider for every shipment but consider a practical business model; if I have a customer locked down shipment after shipment, I will probably raise their prices after a while since they seem to be that loyal.
Outsourcing to multiple providers will only widen the scope of your delivery and reduce the total cost of shipping. The more options you may have, the more opportunities you have to negotiate better rates, keeping rates low, and expanding your direct areas that your current single carrier might now reach.
However, why settle for one shipping provider? Why settle with the headache of managing multiple shipping providers? Get the be of both worlds with PalletPal and get access to a huge network of providers from around the globe.
Dedicated Support
Whether you’re selecting a life partner or a shipping partner, over-communication is key. There is nothing worse than working with someone who has no answer, is unresponsive, or has lost your package.
Therefore, just like selecting a life partner, your shipping partner should be someone you can trust and that you know has your best interests and the interests of your company at heart. You need someone who provides you with support at any time of the day whether that be over the phone or email. If they’re difficult to reach, there is only one person who is going to be paying the price, your customer.
PalletPal is a digital solution, but even we know the importance of the human element in logistics, which is why your account manager will live and breathe your operations alongside you. Partners till the end.
Intuitive shipping solutions
Do we need say more? A shipping partner should be able to offer all the services you need through the best possible solution. If your needs are not met, then what’s the point of the relationship?
Providing a solid base of services that are well connected under one roof is the standout feature of any shipping company. What’s even better is access to data. What is the ROI on your shipments like? Can you track and trace? Do you have access to a database of old documents and shipment material?
Ability to scale with your business
When you’re starting out a business that requires shipping, you probably feel like you’re somewhat in the dark with all the intricacies that exist in logistics and in particular, freight shipments. Beyond that, as soon as sales start coming in, it’s time to think about growth and your shipping solution.
At this point in time in the life of your business, it’s critical that you have the right partner.
The relationship between managing your supply chain and growth should not be ignored, especially as you start to scale your business. A trusted partner will help you navigate through the complexities of logistics and support you in out-delivering your competition.
Shipment tracking
This one is straightforward – wouldn’t you like to know exactly where your shipment is (whether air or sea) so that you can better prepare for delivery and the expectations of your customers. You need data to make better and more informed decisions (operational & financial decisions).
Industry experience
Taking the risk of starting a new business is both enjoyable and scary, but when it comes to making serious decisions, they shouldn’t be taken lightly. So, choosing a company that has not done their work to firmly place their feet on the ground, with their years of experience, can really be the difference in finding solutions, rather than creating problems.
As a bonus tip, try going with an end-to-end provider because dealing with every node of the supply chain can cause major headaches, dependencies, and organizational error. Besides, the fewer people you need to deal with, the better. A good example of this is: PalletPal.
