Common Business Transport Services
When you are just starting out in a business in which you have to ship goods and products to your clients and customers, you will need to find a reliable transport service to get the job done. To help you decide which transport company best matches your needs, here are some of the most common types of things they offer your business.
Less Than Full Load -- Less Than Full Load transport is also known as LTL transport and it refers to a shipping method in which your goods are loaded onto a transport vehicle with the goods of other merchants. In other words, your goods are taking up less than the full load of the vehicle, so you are sharing space with other goods that fill up the truck. LTL transport is the best option if you have a smaller company that ships on a weekly instead of a daily basis. You pay less for LTL transport, but your goods will not arrive as quickly as if you had bought the entire truck for delivery. There is no next-day or expedited delivery with LTL transport, and your goods will be handled several times during the course of the time it takes to arrive at their destination, but it's a cost-effective means of shipping your products.
Full Truck Load -- A Full Truck Load transport is also known as FTL transport, and it refers to a shipping method in which your goods are loaded onto a transport vehicle that is exclusive to your business. In other words, the amount of goods you are shipping is big enough to fill up the entire vehicle, which means there is no sharing with another business owner's goods. FTL transport is the fastest way to deliver your goods because the driver only works your delivery routes, so delays are greatly reduced. FTL transport is ideal for businesses that ship daily and need to guarantee delivery within several days. FTL transport is more expensive than LTL transport, but it is an efficient means of ensuring that your goods are delivered on time without a lot of handling, since the goods of other merchants doesn't need to be off-loaded. You can also request overnight FTL transport delivery for an additional cost.
Warehouse Services -- If you need a facility to store your goods, a transport service can offer you warehouse hire, and provide you with inventory control as well as specialised options such as temperature-control to prevent your goods from spoilage or damage related to extreme weather. And if you combine your warehousing with shipping, it increases the efficiency level because the transport company can load and offload your goods directly from the facility they are renting to your business.