What Are The Things You Should Know Before You Ship?

Getting your products from A to B can be a daunting process. With so many different factors in play that need to be considered and organised, it can rattle even the coolest of people.

When shipping your goods, you want to ensure that they arrive when you want them to, and in a condition befitting your high standards. You want a streamlined process that will cause you the least amount of stress. You don't want to have sleepless nights spent fretting over the whole process.

To give you a helping hand in making your logistics operations as efficient as possible, we’ve developed this helpful guide on the things you need to know before you ship.

What is your shipping Budget?

This is always a great place to start. Sit down with the key players in your organisation and decide on a suitable budget for your shipping endeavours. This is an essential part of ensuring a smooth and stress-free logistics process.

Your budget will often dictate which transportation you will use, which will have a big impact on your solution.

Additionally, a factor that will affect your budget is moving to India fees. They shift and change, so you will need to keep yourself up to date on the latest happenings.

What is your timeline?

Identifying your timelines is another basic yet vital component of your freight process. How will you know what solution you need if you don’t know what your timeframe is?

This is particularly important for those shipping food products or marketing materials - or those freighting to a "next-day" delivery guarantee. To help you ensure that your products arrive in accordance to your timeline, develop some form of contingency plan. If there is an unexpected delay or issue, what will you do? How will you work around it? Identify your plan, and work it into your schedule.

Which mode of transportation do you need?

Once you have your budget and timeline, you will have a better understanding of what type of transportation options you will need.

Which type of freight will you require? Sea Freight? Air Freight? Overland? A combination? Will you need warehousing before shipping, or when your goods arrive at their destination? Are you shipping internationally, or regionally? All of these questions must be answered in order for you to develop a solution that is right for you.

What is your supply chain?

Supply chains come in all different sizes and range in complexity. For your shipping efforts to be a success, it is important that you become an expert in your own supply chain. Who are the key players, how many are there, where are the potential problem areas - just to name a few key considerations.

It also has a direct correlation to your costs. For a streamlined delivery, work through your logistics and cut any unnecessary links or kinks in the chain. This will help your goods to pass through more swiftly while removing redundant costs.

Lastly, this is an area where the power of clear and concise communication is invaluable. Eliminate confusion within your processes by keeping a good line of information flowing at all times.

Gandhi shipping is best international shipping company in Chicago for household shipping, luggage delivery, freight forwarding & international relocation.