If you are in charge of LTL shipping rates in your firm, are you taking advantage of Third Party Logistic firms to enhance your Less Than Truckload shipping options so that you can then source the best LTL shipping rates out there?
3PL, (Third Party Logistics) firms are a tremendous source of information, and can greatly enhance your ability to fine tune your LTL shipping costs as well as provide faster levels of service than you can generally provide day in and day out. How and why you ask?
Well, that is what they do, all day long. Usually, most individuals in charge of getting rates for shipping have designated second or third functions in a firm. 3PLs concentrate on just that all day long. They have developed systems that provide instantaneous information on truck availability and LTL shipping rates. Those systems, developed by the industry, provide thousands of carriers and 3PL firms (sometimes called load brokers) the ability to post their equipment and loads electronically. These systems then match the carriers with the loads and vice versa. If a 3PL has some Less Than Truckload cargo that must go from A to B, he can then download and find out which carriers are in that specific geographic area and are heading in that general direction in seconds. This would generally take you several hours of calling on the phone without a guarantee of success. It takes them a click of a button.
Of course load brokers provide several other functions as well.
They will vet a carrier, making certain his licensing is up to date, as well as his safety record and insurance. This is an important part of the process that should never be left out.
Experience in the industry is also an added benefit when dealing with 3 PL’s.
There are always circumstances that have to be looked at in order to avoid delays in shipping and/or extra costs. Circumstances like simply finding out if the consignee has a loading dock or if the type of truck ordered will fit into its offloading facility, something I have seen time and time again.
Declared values are another issue.
Are you aware of the limitations of liability when you ship? Like thousands of other shippers, you might not be aware that your Less Than Truckload shipment is covered against loss or damage only up to the limit indicated on the Bill Of Lading. This is usually $ 2.00 /lb (Canada) and $ 0.10 /lb (USA). If you have not otherwise indicated a higher declared value in the appropriate area on the BOL and have agreed to pay for this additional insurance, it can be as much as 2% of the declared value less the standard coverage.
If reducing your LTL shipping costs is a priority in your organization and you would like to know more about how you can fine tune your Less Than Truckload shipping rates, you can visit Skyfer Logistic, a premier third party logistics firm that provides LTL shipping and full truckload rates across the United States and Canada.
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