4 tips to reduce cargo damage and save money on shipping costs
Shipping damage is a massive threat to any products that travel on the supply chain.
As per a Statista survey, eighty per cent of consumers say they’d return a product they received that was damaged in shipping.
The more your products get damaged in shipping, the more money your company loses and the effects of that loss can spread throughout your organization, causing both direct and indirect expenses and affecting sales.
Here are 4 tips to reduce cargo damage and save money on shipping costs.
Difference between Maritime, Shipping, Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain
To the uninitiated (which included me at one stage), these industries are same or similar and it might come across that there is no difference between Maritime, Shipping, Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain ..
But once you are involved in the business or know about these businesses, you will very soon understand that these are very different industries with different workings, assets, architecture, requiring very different sets of qualifications, experience, expertise, knowledge and attitudes..
In this article I unpack the difference between Maritime, Shipping, Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain and how it is all connected..
6 tips to preparing your cargo for international shipping
For businesses that ship internationally, return of goods due to damage in transit can be a huge burden in terms of time and money.
Here are six tips on how to prepare your cargo for part or full load shipments and prevent lost revenues when using worldwide parcel delivery services.
The Logistics of Lunch
Logistics, a word widely said to have originated from the military ranks centuries ago is currently on the cusp of technological and digital changes with solutions that promise to transform every sector in logistics, be it driver-less trucks, automated warehouses, blockchain enabled documentation etc..
However there is a grouping of people handling logistics distribution that does not seem to require these advances and have been handling logistics in the same effective way since 1890..
This service has been given a Six Sigma rating by Harvard Business School which means the service makes fewer than 3.4 mistakes per million transactions which translates to around 400 delayed or missing deliveries in a year..
So you want to become a Freight Forwarder huh..!!
First question you need to ask yourself is WHY..??
It is important that you understand the purpose of wanting to become a freight forwarder.. What is the objective..??
- Maybe its your intrigue or love of the industry and your ability to connect people and businesses ;
- Maybe because you are tired of the current forwarders in terms of their service offering and their attitude towards business and you think you can do it better ;
- Maybe you think you have a set of loyal customers who would support you if you ventured out on your own ;
- Maybe its the glitz and glamour that you see some of the freight forwarders exhibiting especially the new startups who the venture capitalists are fawning over ; or
- Maybe you are truly well versed in the business and you decided it is time for you to strike out on your own..
Whatever the reasons for you wanting to become a freight freight forwarder, here are 6 points you need to consider and a few things you need to get right first..
6 tough questions to ask a potential fulfillment provider
Whenever you think of ecommerce, you will have to naturally think about warehousing, shipping, and fulfillment providers as these go hand in hand.
But finding a fulfillment provider that suits your requirement may not be as easy as expected. So if you are ready to make the leap and outsource the fulfillment of your orders, carefully consider below points on who you partner with.
There are lots of challenges when selecting a fulfillment provider, but they aren’t insurmountable. Choosing the right fulfillment house does require great deal of due diligence. After all, these companies will receive, store, pick, pack and ship your products and have an enormous impact on the customer purchase experience.
To protect the integrity of your brand you need a trusted partner. To determine who that should be, put them through the paces with these six key questions.
Cargo theft statistics and trends
Cargo theft can occur anywhere along the supply chain affecting local logistics, transporters, storage yards, groupage operators, LCL consolidators, ports, depots, terminals, insurance, carriers and freight forwarders equally..
BSI Supply Chain Services and Solutions assesses that companies lose more than an estimated $76 million in UK alone due to cargo theft highlighting the seriousness of this issue..
TT Club one of the leading providers of insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry and BSI have come together yet again to release the second edition of their report on global cargo theft covering the full year of 2018..
Digital Freight Forwarder Freighthub secures USD30 million finance
The Digital Era is really and truly upon the shipping and freight industry..
Investors are showing great interest in funding the digital capabilities displayed by the role players in this industry and one of the main role players who seem to be capitalising most on this seems to be the Digital Freight Forwarders..
One such digital freight forwarder, FreightHub founded in Berlin in 2016, is the latest beneficiary of such investment..
FreightHub, who have been termed as Europe’s first digital freight forwarder, announced today that they have raised USD30 million in its Series B financing round..
DSV finally gets its way, reaches an agreement to buy Panalpina
They get us, They get us not, They get us, They get us not, They get us……………………….. and thus ends the saga of Panalpina’s buy out by DSV..
After months of speculation and back and forth, the Danish forwarder DSV will finally have their hands on their Swiss rival logistics group Panalpina through a $4.6 billion deal, making them one of the leading global transport and logistics companies in the industry with significant growth opportunities and potential..
8 tips to reduce freight forwarding expenses
If you use shipping services often, price may definitely a very important factor for you. Especially if you own a business that includes constant freight forwarding. People often think that the way carriers ship the freight are pretty much fixed and cannot change.
But just because everyone is used to the standard freight shipping ways and expenses, it doesn’t mean that is the only way. Luckily for you, there are many ways to reduce freight forwarding expenses.
Here are 8 tips to reduce freight forwarding expenses. Follow these steps and start implementing the changes that will help you today.