Hiring ground transportation services can be very easy or very difficult. You may be a company with extensive experience, used to it, or even an individual who is going to do it for the first time. Or any option in between. But, whatever your case, there are a series of basic concepts that will make your life much easier. And that even among the most experienced they are forgotten, either due to the false tranquility that custom can give or due to simple carelessness.

Four good habits when hiring ground transportation services
Forecast

The forecast is going to be the perfect lubricant for your contracting of land transport services. If you act with foresight, you will see how everything improves: delivery coordination, reduction of unforeseen events, availability of transits and cost of the service.

For example, it will be easier and cheaper for logistics operators to be able to trace routes when they have enough time to do so. Or opt for cheaper shipping systems. At the other extreme we will find emergencies that have to be resolved in any way, leaving not only the cost in the background, but aspects such as ensuring the availability of the service or its coordination -with recipients, intermediaries, providers, etc-.
Clarify the conditions in ground transportation services

Acting with foresight will also allow you to emphasize this point. With a good transport provider, the vast majority of shipments proceed normally. However, no matter how good your logistics operator is, you must always be clear about the conditions of the service you have contracted.

What points are most common for friction in case the client is not clear about them? One of them is the difference between physical weight and volumetric weight -which is calculated depending on the volume of the merchandise, when the merchandise is less heavy than bulky-. Transport companies usually have this reflected in their rates, but it is important that customers be informed of this, especially those who, due to the type of their merchandise, may end up paying for their shipments depending on the volumetric weight.

Another common case is that of delivery times. Although the general traffic may be, for example, 24 hours, there are often exceptions to take into account. Shipments to islands, particularly remote populations, time limitations, etc.
Have all the data

Something so basic that, perhaps for that very reason, so many times it is not taken as seriously as it should be. The basic data of a shipment include not only the collection and destination address, but also the contact person, telephone numbers, hours and any other indication that may be necessary to complete the shipment. This facilitates deliveries and avoids problems. But too often they are not provided to the person in charge of carrying out the ground transport services.
Need for additional services

This point can be related to the previous three. Sometimes in the shipments there is no information or notice that additional services will be necessary to make the deliveries. This can be a manual unloading, the use of a tail lift, a trailer with a canvas to unload from the side… These are problems with a very easy solution prior to shipment, but if they are discovered at the time of delivery they will generate the impossibility of completing it, in addition to surely additional costs.

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