When part, or even all, of your business involves making shipments of your products and goods to your customers, it is vitally important that you have the right methods for shipping those products in place. You have spent a great deal of time building up your business and cultivating a solid client base for yourself. You don’t want to risk losing that client base due to lost, late, or damaged deliveries.
Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to develop the right shipping methods for certain types of products. The process generally involves a bit of trial and error and requires a great deal of logistical planning on your part. Moreover, the types of products that you ship need to be taken into account.
Some entrepreneurs feel that they can get the results they need from their shipping process by simply using generic shipping methods. However, while there are some instances where this approach to shipping might pay off well enough, it is more likely than not that you will need to contract with a specialty shipping company. Such a company will work specifically in shipping the types of products you are looking to move.
If you are wondering if you should contract with a specialty shipping company or service in order to ship your products to your clients and customers properly, here are three scenarios where such an approach would be the right one for you.
1. Shipping Heavy Equipment
If your business involves the shipping of heavy equipment, you should absolutely look to contract with a shipping company that specializes in this area. There is simply too much at stake when heavy equipment transport is part of your process.
For starters, heavy equipment transport by nature is a specialty when it comes to shipping processes. There are a variety of factors that need to be taken into account that only a specialist will fully understand. Since such equipment involves a significant investment on your part to produce and sell, and since your customers are making an investment by purchasing your equipment, you need to ensure that your shipping process is just right.
Equipment that is damaged in transit can wind up costing you big time. If your shipments are repeatedly damaged during the shipping process, it could spell disaster for your business. Do yourself and your company a favor by contracting with a specialist shipping company right from the start.
2. Shipping Valuable Items
Another scenario in which you should absolutely use a specialist shipping company is when your business deals in the buying and selling of valuable or rare items. Things like fine art, antiquities, and the like all need to be handled with the greatest of care from the very start of the shipping process to the moment the shipment has been delivered.
This is another instance wherein you and your customers both have a substantial amount of money on the line. Should such valuable items as you are shipping become damaged, you could end up losing your customers. Communities like those belonging to fine art collectors tend to be exclusive ones. Word can very easily spread about issues with your shipping process, meaning that you could lose out on potential future clients as well.
The company that you work with to ship your valuable or rare items should understand the care that needs to be taken in the process. They should also be properly insured and prepared to take on the delicate job of shipping rare and valuable items.
3. Shipping Fragile Items
Even though most shipping companies will claim to be able to handle the shipping of fragile items, this is another sort of thing that you won’t want to take unnecessary risks with. Standard postal workers handle a variety of packages and parcels and in greater volume than specialist companies tend to work with. Because of this, mistakes and accidents pertaining to your packages are more likely.
When the items that you are shipping are fragile, they need to be handled with the utmost care. Only a company that specializes in shipping fragile items will be able to guarantee the safety of your shipments.
To that point, it is likewise important that you are properly packaging such items prior to shipping. Failure to package fragile items properly can negate any responsibility on the part of the shipping company that you use in the event that your shipment does, in fact, arrive damaged.
Make sure that your employees are well trained and can handle the method of properly packaging your delicate shipments. If it isn’t possible for you to ensure this part of the shipping process on your end, it might be necessary to contract with a full-service shipping company that understands the right approach to the entire shipping process.
