Freight Shipping During Coronavirus: What You Need to Know

Must Keep Moving Freight

Freight shipping is an industry that thrives off the free movement of people and goods. When unexpected curve balls happen, such as the coronavirus, and movement is restricted, events get canceled, and day-to-day operating procedures are limited. Naturally, this affects many vital components, including hindering the supply chain. So what do you do? How do you keep freight shipping during coronavirus?

If your business is shipping freight, it’s important to use resources available in strained economic environments and keep your supply chain flowing. The best thing you can do is to reap the benefits of partnering with a 3PL. Third-party logistics providers are designed to assist shippers with finding the solutions they need in economic conditions. 3PLs use a transportation management system (TMS) to match your freight shipment with options such as lanes, carriers, and rates best suited to fulfill that shipment.

In addition, a 3PL can assist you in your other freight needs, such as:

• Flexible booking options
• Warehousing needs
• Freight consolidation options
• Capacity sourcing

Partnering with a 3PL relieves small business shippers of the burden of tackling the unknowns in freight shipping all on their own and spending large amounts of time making calls to carriers directly and trying to sift through their options. Working with a 3PL provides one centralized place that quickly answers all your shipping questions while securing even more affordable rates. The question of “how do I keep my freight moving during these strange times?” is answered by partnering with a 3PL.

Control Your Costs

Even when business is good and there are no global threats, being able to control your freight shipping rates is the most important aspect of supply chain management. There are simple ways to efficiently ship while saving money and keeping your business running smoothly.

Consolidate your shipments – If you ship to the same location(s) often, you can consolidate packages, so you ship more product a fewer amount of times. For example, instead of weekly shipments, you could ship bi-monthly. This helps you control and manage your freight spend easier and deal with less headaches should unexpected delays happen while your shipments are in transit.

Warehousing – Utilizing warehouse storing can help to reducing on-hand inventory, so you can better utilize your business space. If your business is seeing a rampant increase in the demand for your product, warehousing can offer some relief to better organize your supply chain.

Understand the financial side – Having your financial books in order is always important. But understanding how things work in the freight shipping industry can help you strategize an assist with budget management. Understanding how freight billing works and what factors affect LTL freight rates gives you insight on how to manage your expectations in various market conditions.

3PLs, as mentioned before, can help you find solutions for your freight cargo and also centralize everything you need in terms of freight billing and necessary documentation. Having an extra set of eyes and ears on your freight spend only adds to relief efforts and brings more peace of mind. This allows you to focus more on your business.