Freight Quote Australia sometimes gets enquiries from customers wanting to know the best way of shipping their items. The truth is that there is no one best method to transporting goods, as it comes down to what is most valuable to the customer at the time. It’s not uncommon to hear people who work with freight on a daily basis saying how much they love it because it’s so varied. This purpose of this article is to show customers that there are different ways to transport goods from A to B and suggests ways that they may be able to save on their shipping costs.
Door to Door Deliveries for Convenience
Very often the most convenient way to ship items is to have them picked up from the point of origin and delivered right to the door of the recipient’s home or business. This is referred to as door to door freight and while it can be a big time and effort saver, it might also be the most expensive option, depending on the location.
Taking Your Consignment to the Depot
Some transport companies will give you the option of bringing your goods to a central depot, where they will take over the delivery. Depot to depot freight may save the company significant resources in terms of logistics, organisation and driving time and they are likely to pass these savings on to you. If you have the time and means, find out if there is a cheaper option than having the shipment picked up from your home or business. A depot to depot delivery is also an option, but is not as common.
Packaging Your Items Securely
Regardless of whether you opt for door to door or depot to depot freight, there are certain things to always consider. One of the most important things to remember is appropriate packaging for your goods. Items to be transported will always be subject to a certain amount of handling, so adequate packaging provides protection for the items. For example, irregular, fragile or large items such as barbecues and pitbikes should generally be transported inside a wooden crate.
Additionally, poorly packaged goods could potentially break open in transit and if the company has to spend time sorting through broken boxes and spilled goods, it could result in demurrage fees being incurred.
Allow a Generous Time Frame
Whether you are dropping off goods at a depot or have arranged for the consignment to be picked up from your home or business, it’s always recommended where at all possible that you leave yourself a decent margin to prepare or drop off the shipment. By cutting it too fine, you can risk not having the items ready for pick up in time. While this may not seem like a big deal, making a courier wait for you or, even worse, sending them away and rescheduling the pickup, usually ends up in demurrage fees being charged and you’ll simply end up paying more. By not making it to the depot on time, you risk the truck leaving without your goods, causing significant delays to your shipment.
Points to Remember:
- Find out if you can save a few dollars by driving your shipment to a nearby depot, or even doing it as depot to depot freight
- Always package your items securely
- Leave yourself enough time to prepare your goods for pickup to avoid delays and demurrage