Shipping Companies

Shipping companies are third party companies that arrange the handling, the shipment and documentation of merchandise. They handle this on behalf of their customers in exchange for a fee. They usually handle export and import shipments. These companies play a vital role in the freight forwarding business. They are aimed at making it easier and affordable to ship merchandise from one country to the other.

Roles of Shipment Companies

According to statistics, there are over 50,000 merchant ships operating internationally. What this means is that this industry plays a vital role in the economy. Below are some of the roles played by the shipping companies.

Efficient shipment

Shipping through a shipping company is the most efficient method of transporting goods. These companies don’t waste a lot of time to plan and take your goods where you want. In most of the cases, the process is likely to take 3-4 days to organize and facilitate the shipping process. When the process is started, they usually inform you via a notification message on email or via mobile phone. Shipping companies also inform you when the goods arrive in the destination. You will be able to check your shipment status through Linbis technology.

Make it cheap to ship

This is the first reason why these companies exist. They want to make it affordable to ship merchandise from one country to the other. I bet you already know how money and time consuming it could be coordinating the whole process by yourself. You need someone to do the whole work for you from organizing what should be sipped, transporting from your place to the port, planning for the shipment and delivering your goods where you need them.

These companies make it cheaper by organizing and shipping goods together. If you planned to ship one item, then you would already incur a lot of costs. When they coordinate the process and plan to ship all the orders together, then the whole process becomes less expensive. Furthermore, by using Linbis Logistics you will be able to get multiple shipping quote from multiple companies. Linbis will help you connect, with any companies and provide the technology to those companies.

Security

When you want peace of mind, then this is the best option to go for. You have to look for a reliable shipping company. In most of the cases, some of the shipping companies give you tracking details that you can use any time you want to track your goods. This is what guarantees security especially when you are shipping expensive merchandise.

Services provided by the shipping companies

Here are the services that are provided by the shipping companies.

Shipping

This is the most obvious service that is provided by the shipping companies. They usually provide intermodal shipment which includes Road, Rail and Ocean freight. Some of them also provide air shipment. What this means is that it covers all the aspects of your shipping needs.

Digital warehousing

These companies can today do almost everything that pertains shipping and logistics. Warehousing now depends on computerized management systems like Linbis. They are used to track incoming inventory, maintain FIFO control, Identify picking locations, select slotting locations and also stage products for loading. Linbis Logistics software helps company to manage this process easily.

The main purpose for this is to ensure that there’s nothing lost or damaged. That is a role that all the shipping companies partake. They have to ensure that there’s no single item that is delivered to the wrong recipient or get lost on the way. For this reason you can assure your package will get to the destination. Linbis tracking capabilities and technology helps with this process.

Inbound processes

The fact is that if one mistake happens in recording recently arrived goods will impact in the whole line. What this means is that inbound inventories should be handled quickly and accurately without any mistakes. Some of the companies today implements some sophisticated warehouse management systems to facilitate the whole process.

Outbound processes

The other thing is that goods should be moved to a staging area for loading. However, the strategies differ depending on the company at hand. Most of the companies today have employed retrieval systems. These systems automatically bring pallets from their assigned slots by a network of conveyers to the staging area.

Choosing the best shipping company

When you are looking for a company for all your shipping needs, then there are several factors that you need to take into considerations. Here are some of them.

• Destination-You have to first of all determine where you are shipping to.
• What products you are shipping-this comes in if your products needs any special handling or if they are too big.
• Speed of the shipment-if your goods are sensitive to the time it takes to ship or not.
• Tracking-Is there any need to track your goods? Do you usually prefer a company that offers tracking ability to their customers? Answer these questions before you proceed.
• Carrier rates-The amount of money you have to pay for a certain amount of good.

Technology used by the companies to ship more productively

Today, most of the shipping companies use different technologies to facilitate the shipping process. You will find most of them using GPS to track the shortest routes to a destination and maintain the security of the customer’s goods. Several other technologies that are shaping the shipping industry include:

• Robotics
• Green technologies
• Autonomous shipping vehicle
• Blockchain technologies
• Drones and many more.

Can small shipping companies provide better services than the big ones?

This is a very sensitive question but the reality of the matter is that it is possible. Although there’s something we call economies of scale and competitive advantage, some of small companies are better ranked in terms of providing better services. To do this, they have to focus on the following.

• Customer needs
• Security of the goods
• Fast deliveries
• Tracking
• Use modern technologies
• Gain trust from the customers

Linbis Logistics software povide a platform for shipping companies to manage their shipment in an effective way. Linbis shipping companies network benefits from modern technologies. Providing customers with fast deliveries, tracking on their shipments, and are focus on customer needs.

Does shipping companies focus on one type of service? Why is it important?

In most of the cases, people trust companies that focus in one type of service. They believe that all their attention is in that specific service and there’s no single time that they are going to focus on other things. In most of the cases, it is a very imperative idea to focus on one service. Good shipping companies focus either on ocean freight, air freight or trucking for the below reasons.

• Customers value quality and its very possible when you focus on one service.
• Customer loyalty
• Quality leads to an emotional connection between the company and the customer.
• All the resources will be focused in that one line
• There will be little mistakes made on the way.