5 Logistics Tips for Small Businesses

1. Understand Your Objectives

Before creating a logistics plan, make sure you understand your overall strategy. If the strategy is to offer fast deliveries, you may need to budget more for expedited shipping. If your strategy is to be a low-cost provider, you may need to optimize your shipping needs to reduce costs.

Once you understand your objective, you can determine what to look for in a shipping partner.

2. Get Competitive Quotes

Getting quotes from various carriers may seem like a no-brainer. However, many logistics managers are pressed for time and won’t bother negotiating rates or getting better quotes. Always get at least two or three quotes for any freight shipment.

In addition to this, working with a certified freight broker can free up time and get you the best rates on your shipments.

3. Plan Ahead

Take time to create a shipping plan every month. Planning ahead can open up room to use full truckload shipping instead of less-than-truckload shipments. This will save you money on freight shipping and will keep you on track throughout the month.

If you have sensitive deliveries, ensuring a tracking method and backup plans is important.

4. Keep Track of Costs

Understanding how much money each aspect of your supply chain is spending is important. This can help you optimize costs and reduce unnecessary expenditures. You can’t control the cost of logistics if you don’t know where the money is being spent.

5. Work With A Certified Freight Broker

Working with a certified freight broker takes some of the burden of managing logistics off your back. Certified freight brokers like our team at All America Transportation specialize in price negotiation, route planning, carrier certification, and many more aspects of the shipping process.

We help small businesses across the United States manage logistics problems, stay on top of tracking, and find the best rates on shipping to save money and time. We help businesses find full truckloads, less than truckloads, and expedited shipping carriers who can get their products safely to their intended destination.