Congestion could shift loads to railroad

Congestion could shift to Rail

How Can Small Businesses get the Best Shipping Prices.

Here you are, one or two employees; maybe only just you.  You have a product to sell, which is doing very well, thank you…and you need to ship your product all over the country and may even all over the world.  You have never had to do that before and didn’t even plan for it but you now find yourself in the situation that you can’ afford to spend a ton of money on shipping because your margins won’t allow it.

So, what do you do?  You can run down to the post office or a mailing center or you can even ship by one of the “big guys” but they are expensive!  You don’t have time for that, you are too busy selling and filling orders.

Did you know that you can have your own logistics person and not even pay their salary?  Yes, this person will handle all of your shipping needs, no matter how large or how small.  One pallet of product or one small package.  This person can ship it locally, nationally or internationally.   One call, one email or one text; that is all it takes and you will get rates so competitive that your margins will thank you every day.  AND, you never have to leave your office.  All you need to do is contact me and I’ll take it from there.

England Logistics – gray@englandagents.com – 915.204.1207 – GRADY E. RAY

 

 

 

Fuel Forecast

ROADWORTHY

FACTS, NEWS AND MAYBE SOME HUMOR IN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY
VOLUME 1; ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 4, 2016
3PLs Can Deliver Big Benefits to Small Companies
BY MIKE GRAYSON
No group has benefitted more from the explosion of e-commerce than small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Still, the perception is often that SMBs deal only in personal, face-to-face interactions between customers and business owners in a brick-and-mortar store.
While that personal touch is still very much alive, e-commerce has fundamentally changed and expanded the number of customers SMBs can reach. No longer limited to foot traffic and phone calls, SMBs with a vibrant online presence can just as easily sell to folks who live hundreds or thousands of miles away as they can to customers who stroll in off the sidewalk.
But how can SMBs compete with larger retailers when it comes to delivering a seamless shopping experience?
The popular buzzword for this is “omni-channel,” but all consumers, including those purchasing from SMBs, want the same experience whether they’re buying products on their tablet, over the phone, or in person. How quickly e-commerce customers expect to receive the products they order online can be particularly challenging for SMBs.
For huge companies such as Walmart and Amazon that have significant logistics expertise, customer demand for fast or even same-day delivery is by no means insurmountable. But for SMBs with fewer resources, the challenge is hardly insignificant. The reason big companies devote so much money to honing their logistics operations is because it is extremely complicated.
For SMBs focused on developing and improving their product lines and the effectiveness of marketing and sales teams, the expertise, staff time, and money necessary to handle logistics properly can be out of reach. Some businesses bring in third-party logistics (3PL) companies to act as de facto shipping managers.
Leveraging Shipping Expertise
3PLs can help navigate the complicated requirements involved with getting products from a warehouse or storefront to a customer’s front door. Sometimes that means managing freight claims, invoicing, or insurance processes, or negotiating carrier rates that might be far higher if the SMB tried to go it alone.
What 3PLs can offer to SMBs amounts to improved efficiencies. These can be measured both in the better rates SMBs receive from carriers, as well as the labor SMBs won’t have to devote to understanding and executing logistics. It also helps SMBs compete with larger companies, particularly as they continue to push the boundaries of how quickly a product ordered online can be delivered.
3PLs also provide an important service to carriers by helping them easily fill empty spaces on their assets. This saves carriers the time, energy, and resources they would otherwise devote to consolidating the freight loads themselves. This access to aggregated demand, and the opportunity to balance lanes, helps improve carrier operating ratios.
It is unlikely that logistics will get any simpler in the future. The traditional hub-and-spoke delivery system is already being transformed, and who can know what the future holds as technologies such as drones and 3-D printing evolve?
For small companies working with a 3PL, these questions are not their concern. As the industry evolves, savvy 3PLs will evolve with it. And as they do, they will be empowered to help SMBs better grasp the growing opportunities e-commerce presents.

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The Last Frontier – Trucking

Trucking connects our nation. Simple as that. Without trucks, truck drivers, dispatchers, mechanics, support staff; our nation would grind to a halt fairly quickly.  I have often told people that w…

Source: The Last Frontier – Trucking