Ask any seller, and they’ll tell you they want to save time when managing freight. Small Business Trends reported in 2024 that 42% of small business owners spend an average of more than two hours managing each individual piece of freight they ship. And we don’t need a report to know 100% of those business owners would like to use this time to be more productive elsewhere. It implies that the business owner devotes more than 10 hours to managing freight for a small business, sending out five weekly shipments. Chances are, at least half of that time is wasted.
Take a moment to think about how much time you spend managing freight for your small business. Imagine how much more you could get done for your business by cutting that time in half. Putting these tips into action will go a long way in helping you do so.
Tip 1: Save Time by Using a 3PL or Freight Broker
Are you a small business operator who spends hours comparing carrier rates alone? You’re wasting a lot of time. Here’s why:
– Carriers don’t want to take the time to deal directly with a small business. They would rather contract with third-party logistics (3PL) provider or freight brokers. Carriers prefer these businesses to book shipments for them, even at deeply discounted rates. By focusing on high-volume shippers, and offloading the rest, the carrier saves time and money.
– If you’re not shipping to the same locations every time, you’re liable to find that the carrier you booked one week can’t help you the next because they don’t have a carrier lane to your new destination. 3PLs that operate nationwide have networks of carriers to call upon, so you never have to hunt for a new carrier. They are already in the system.
Tip 2: Save Time by Standardizing Your Shipments
Unless your business is shipping many different types of products, you can probably standardize your shipments. Prices can vary depending on how you ship your item, so choosing the best shipping method is important. For example, a pallet costs less for shipping than a crate. However, a crate takes much less time to prepare than a pallet. It can be best to stick with the same packaging method while keeping the same carrier or freight type.
Tip 3: Buy a Freight Scale to Manage Freight
Nothing wastes shippers’ time or money more than calculating how much their cargo weighs without a freight scale.
Freight scales are a significant investment to any small business shipping twice weekly. Now, 48” x 48” pallet scales that weigh 5,000 to 10,000 pounds and have a digital readout are available online in the $400-$700 range. Utilizing these scales will instantly help any shipper save more time managing their freight.
If your business is shipping 100 times a year, that’s an investment of $4-$7 per shipment. Imagine the time you’ll save when you stop guessing weight and how nice it will be to no longer receive billing adjustments from carriers because the weight you entered with your shipping information was incorrect.
How Small Businesses Can Cut Freight Management Time in Half
Managing freight doesn’t have to eat up your valuable time. By leveraging a 3PL or freight broker, standardizing your shipments, and investing in a dependable freight scale, you can simplify the entire process and dramatically reduce the hours spent each week on shipping tasks. Small changes like these can free up dozens of hours over the course of a year – time you can reinvest in growing your business, serving your customers, and simply focusing on what you do best.
