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Is it better to hire freight lines or just use USPS and other companies to transfer your products?

manlookingatfiles32146472.jpgWhen it comes to delivering your goods to your customers, you always want to opt for a shipping company that will be able to deliver the products in a timely manner. When the holidays arrive, you want to be sure you have a good shipping company that will be able to deliver the products in time for the holidays. So it is better to hire a freight line or start your own or should you just stick with USPS and other "traditional" delivery companies?

Price
Always find out which company offers a price that is within your range. There are several companies that will provide you with a nice contract, but you will be charged more depending upon where the supplies are headed (overseas, etc.) Price is a big motivator, especially when you are shipping out products daily. If your customers are being charged for shipping, how much do you feel they can afford to spend on shipping? While UPS may be a fair price to you, it's not always the cheapest option for your customers.

Supplies
One thing you need to consider when seeking a shipping company is the cost of supplies. Do you need to pay for supplies like new shipping labels, scanners, printers, etc. If you have to pay for the supplies it can add up quickly and you can easily get the supplies for a lot cheaper by going to another company like UPS as they will send you free supplies monthly. The other thing to consider is how timely you will be able to acquire the supplies. Will they be to your facility within the day when the carrier comes to pick up the packages or do they need to be ordered a week in advance?

Can you use any type of package you want when you are sending out your orders or do you have to use boxes and packages that have the logo of the shipping company? This can cause you problems since you need to pay for the boxes and you can only order them from certain locations, not just from online packing providers like Uline.com.

Pickup and Delivery
Choose a company that offers daily inbound delivery and outbound pickups. You can actually select a different inbound carrier if you don't like the one that you ship with, but this means you won't get a fair price or free supplies. To provide your customers with the best service, have your order cut-off by noon. This way you allow your shipping company plenty of time to get to your facility before closing to take out the products and ship them on time when you are dealing with next day packages.

Claims
What happens if a package is lost or damaged? Will the shipping company take care of the costs right away or will you need to go through a lengthy process to acquire credit for the package? Look for a company that doesn't have an extensive claims process and will be able to offer you credit in a timely manner.

Timeliness
How quickly do they deliver your products? Can you send out a "map" to your customers so they can see how long it will take for the products to be delivered to them when they place the order? It will depend mostly on the location of your business, but choosing a shipping company that provides you with timely shipping can prevent customer outrage and frustration.

There are a number of shipping companies out there so you don't need to limit yourself to just UPS and FedEx. Be weary of signing a contract with a shipping company, especially if you haven't worked with them in the past and you aren't sure of what type of services they can offer you.

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