You have freight that you have to deliver, however, not nearly enough to fill a truck. If you resemble many shippers, you rely upon LTL transportation to have your products split the flight with various other firms’ products heading to the same location. LTL shipping (or “less than truckload” shipping) is a fundamental practice in the United States, however, what is much less typically comprehended are the advantages of scheduling your LTL loads with a freight broker. In this post, we’ll check out five of these LTL freight broker advantages.
Advantages of Using Freight Broker Companies
Freight brokers are a part of a vast service industry that handles your shipments as well as acquiring the load from the shipper. Freight broker companies also provide various support services to help you deal with the delivery of your products and its loading, packing, and maintenance of your shipment.
Several types of freight brokers specialize in different kinds of products and services. These businesses are mostly commercial firms, but there are still some that are non-commercial businesses or others who have the specific services that they provide.
What Exactly Constitutes a Freight Broker?
Freight broker companies are companies that provide services and materials on behalf of shippers. These companies usually conduct business by renting space on commercial trucks and getting them ready for transport. They then identify cargo, work with the shipper for deliveries, collect payment for transportation, and other details before delivering the freight to the destination.
A freight broker company provides you with a representative who answers all your questions and gets the shipment transferred to the destination promptly. They get the delivery off the truck at the desired location with the least possible time, usually just a day or two. Because of the fast track these companies provide, it’s not uncommon for them to have toll-free numbers or online websites where you can contact them at any time.
If you’re running a shipping company, then there is a good chance that you will be trying to increase the amount of business you have, and so your shipping fees and expenses can add up quickly. Several methods can help you run a more efficient shipping business, such as shipping shipments on your own or contract with a freight broker. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of hiring a freight broker company for your shipping needs.
Lean on Third-Party Logistics Services
Many shipping companies believe that they can more than run a shipping company themselves. But many freight shipping companies have run out of resources, or they lack the necessary workforce to perform tasks effectively. Their lack of resources means that they can’t provide the kind of service needed from the shipper to the customer. However, they have hired a freight broker to manage their shipping operations, and because of this hire, they only need to pay a percentage of the cost.
With a freight broker, you don’t have to worry about setting up, paying employees, buying or renting space, and using supplies that other shipping companies may already have. You can focus on your business instead of worrying about all of these logistical issues.
The primary benefit of hiring a freight broker company is that they will save you time and money since they can handle all of the paperwork associated with shipping. Some freight broker companies are willing to take on all of these jobs for you at very reasonable rates. This compliance means that you won’t have to worry about paying someone else to do these jobs for you.
There are even a lot of advantages to using freight broker companies over hiring employees to take care of all of these types of tasks. They provide an affordable way to improve your business. The costs of hiring employees can be high since they will need to buy space on commercial trucks, make payroll, and other things that are usually part of running a business.
One other great advantage of using a freight broker company is that you’ll be paying a percentage of the freight cost. You may think that freight cost is too high, but using a freight broker company, you’ll save almost half of what you’d typically pay. This partnership saves you a ton of money since they save your time as well as cash.
LTL Transportation: Freight Broker Advantages
A top-quality freight broker is far more than an intermediary between you and a carrier – it is a real companion that guarantees secure, practical, and cost-effective transportation of your freight. The advantages of such a partnership for LTL freight consist of the following.
Freight brokers can give volume rate cuts you could not acquire by yourself. If you were to call a carrier directly to price your LTL load, you would receive a basic freight rate. However, if an LTL freight broker that gives that carrier with significant quantity makes that very same contact your behalf, your freight rates will be substantially lower. Much more volume equals a lot more purchasing power, and numerous freight brokers have substantial buying power with their in-network carriers that they provide a lot of services.
In addition to regular LTL carriers, several freight brokers have partnerships with “load-to-ride” carriers. Whereas typical LTL transport includes traveling to the main terminal and succeeding unloading and also reloading before last delivery, load-to-ride carriers haul your LTL freight direct to the location. This simplifying minimizes touches (and also hence reduces the risk of damages to your products), time & prices.
Freight Brokers Get the Best Freight Rates
Freight brokers will shop at the very best rates for you. Do you have the time to rest on the phone & give your load details to carriers to obtain the best rate? LTL freight brokers have deep networks of carriers that they understand thoroughly and also can then, consequently, match your load with the best suitable for your product, lane & time demands swiftly.
Freight brokers can help you stay clear of pricey errors. Freight brokers that live and also breathe LTL transport recognize all the bases that require to be covered for a load to be successful. They understand the details that they need from you, the information that the carrier needs, the paperwork involved (e.g., insurance policy and also bonding, if required), and the regulative obligations that you must follow. Experienced brokers also understand what not to do and also can guide you free from expensive errors.
As an example, numerous shippers get involved in trouble by miscategorizing their items throughout freight procurement. They will compute their costs first, thinking that their item fits a specific NMFC Freight class. At the end of the job, nevertheless, a nasty shock can result when the items end up belonging to a different freight class, which may lead to higher delivery prices. Brokers can assist you to avoid this by making sure that your shipping details are closed from the get-go.
Additional Freight Shipping Solutions
Freight brokers can supply additional solutions. If you require chilled LTL, warehousing, cross-docking, or any variety of extra services, your LTL freight broker can set up there for you. Your freight broker’s capabilities will often extend beyond that of a carrier – permitting you to bundle your LTL shipping with other solutions while still dealing with just one service provider: your freight broker.
Freight brokers can offer an individual touch. A 5-minute telephone call can sometimes be more effective than electronic booking. When you feel that information on a particular load is better to exchange over the phone, it’s nice when you can get to somebody. This interaction is rarely feasible when dealing with big carriers directly.
You can choose to hire a freight broker company that only offers a single service or one that also provides a selection of services that you can use. Since the majority of freight broker companies offer many freight services, it’s essential to choose the types of shipping services you’ll need before speaking with a freight broker agent.
If you feel like you don’t have enough knowledge or experience with shipping, hiring a freight broker company may be the best option for you. Using one of these companies will not only save you money but will also allow you to focus on your business—the delivery of your products.
Use Fleet Concepts for LTL Transport
With over 30 years of shipping experience – and a group of specialists with an average of almost two decades in the business – Fleet Concepts is your single-source solution for LTL shipping. We have one of the biggest networks of carriers in North America with transportation carriers that we have directly qualified. In addition to taking care of all records of insurance coverage, authority, contracts, safety and security rankings, and bonding for these carriers, we likewise have a unique racking up system to make sure that the highest-performing transportation professionals always manage your products. To find out more concerning our LTL capabilities, contact us today.