Transportation of goods is a highly lucrative activity for many businesses. However, the era of lockdown and pandemic worldwide has made the transportation of goods difficult for many. Several industries depend on transportation as a service, which makes it a steady business. That being said, there are a few things you should consider logistically to ensure your transportation business is operating smoothly. Such factors can fulfill the consumer’s needs while safeguarding your business’s position within the supply chain. Read on to know more.
Nature of products
The type of product plays an important role. To get started with the initial planning, you’ll have to decide whether the good is a perishable item like foods or non-perishable or durable goods like machinery. Most of the time, these products aren’t used as finished goods to be used as raw materials at another destination.
The shipping of goods can be categorized into inbound logistics, internal logistics, and outbound logistics. Firstly, inbound logistics entails the movement of raw materials that are being transferred for manufacturing goods. Secondly, internal logistics entails transferring raw materials and goods among different departments within a single organization. Thirdly and eventually, outbound logistics indicates the transportation of final goods. Identification of products transported under the three categories can eliminate the chances of potential issues or nay bottlenecks. As a result, the process of prioritization becomes easy.
To determine the best mode of transporting goods, the volume and weight of the goods have to be calculated. For example, transporting high volume goods with low weight requires more vehicles, while stronger vehicles are required to transport low volume goods with heavy weight.
The nature of transportation per se
You’ll have to ask yourself the following questions:
- Where will the goods arrive from?
- Where will I have to send these goods?
While in some cases, you’ll have to send the goods inside the country, whereas, in other cases, you’ll have to export these goods out of national borders. This information is essential as it will help you calculate the time it will take to send the goods. Besides, it will help to forecast other vital factors like accessibility and weather. You can choose the options of air cargo logistics to ship your goods safely and in real-time.
If you’re required to send the goods beyond national boundaries, you’ll have to take care of specific documentation. Without proper documentation in place, there can be extended delays which will eventually impact the durability or quality of products. The vehicles used for transporting commercial goods weighing more than 3. tonnes should be equipped with a special device named ‘tachograph.’ This will help you comply with legal norms and structures. The nature of the goods and the estimated time required to transport these goods determine the options of air logistics shipping.
Furthermore, you’ll have to consider the expenses that will be incurred during transportation. The transportation expenses can vary as per the destination, mode of transport, quantity of goods, and time is taken, among other factors. You can choose the mode of sea shipping.