Freight Shipping Fill Your Noggin With Current Logistics News.

Apr 10

2023

FedEx Announces Consolidation: What Shippers Need to Know

Posted: Apr 10, 2023

On Wednesday, April 5th, FedEx announced that they will be consolidating all their opcos (FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services, etc.) under the parent’s leadership umbre...

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Dec 01

2022

Send Costs Packing: The Ultimate [and free] Shipping Cost Reduction Resource

Posted: Dec 01, 2022

The Send Costs Packing method outlines a number of cost savings strategies and tactics that any shipper can apply to control and reduce what they’re paying for shipping services. We’ll be rolling out this ten-part series (!) over the course of a few weeks, so be sure to check back regularly for new and updated informati...

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Feb 28

2022

Are Freight Claims the Shipper or Receiver's Responsibility?

Posted: Feb 28, 2022

Here's a question we get asked often: Are freight claims the shipper or receiver's responsibility? Let's explore. Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: April 19, 2013 If you are involved in logistics or related fields, or in an industry that depends upon logistics i...

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Apr 05

2021

How to Leverage Freight Management Services This Year

Posted: Apr 05, 2021

Today we're going to talk about freight management services. First, what does that mean? Freight management services can cover a wide range of specific offerings. From a third-party provider like Lojistic, freight...

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Feb 01

2021

What You Need To Know About The FedEx Weekend Advantage

Posted: Feb 01, 2021

FedEx has been making some significant investments into its infrastructure. Today we'll examine how those investments will (or won't) create a “FedEx weekend advantage” over the competition. What is the FedEx...

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Jul 16

2020

What is the Difference Between a Freight Bill and Bill of Lading?

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: March 15, 2013 In the parcel world, the terms freight invoices and bills of lading are used frequently. But what is the difference? ...

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Jun 11

2020

When Should Freight Costs be Recorded in Accounting?

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: May 31, 2013 One of the questions we get a lot is about freight cost accounting — specifically, how to record freight costs in accounting. In this post, we’ll discuss what makes freight accounting different from accounting in other ...

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Dec 23

2019

Top 2020 Parcel Trends That You Should Know About

Posted: Dec 23, 2019

Top 2020 parcel trends are creating smarter shippers and mitigating costs. Trend #1: Rates Will Continue to Rise At the end of every year, UPS and FedEx announce their general price increase for next year. On average, the increase is only around 4.9%. What you don't see in that increase is the surcharges. This year surcharges are going to have a large impact on parcel shi...

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Dec 09

2019

2019 Holiday Shipping Guide

Posted: Dec 09, 2019

Peak shipping season is here and to ensure your packages are delivered in time for the Holidays, download our Holiday Shipping Deadline Calendar below. In addition, please be aware of this year’s Peak Season surcharges. On October 1, 2019, UPS implemented the following Peak Season surcharges: Peak Season Large Package Surcharge* = Additional $31.45 per package Peak...

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Dec 02

2019

2020 UPS & FedEx Rate Increase

Posted: Dec 02, 2019

It's that time of year once again. UPS & FedEx are dishing out another costly general price increase to small parcel shippers effective December 29, 2019 for UPS and January 6, 2020 for FedEx. It is important to understand that the announced UPS & FedEx rate increases are only averages and the impact on your company could vary greatly. Over the past decade (2010-2020), UPS and Fed...

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Jul 11

2019

Is The UPS Billable Weight Costing You More Important Money?

Posted: Jul 11, 2019

UPS Billable Weight Is Important To Understand UPS billable weight is an important topic worth talking about. There are a couple of variables that go into determining UPS billable weight. So, shipping rates depend on three variables. You have the ...

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Jun 20

2019

Parcel Carriers: Know the Opportunities to Help Your Profit

Posted: Jun 20, 2019

Parcel Carriers: Breaking it Down The two primary parcel carriers offer some innovative billing tools on their websites. And I'm speaking specifically about FedEx and UPS. I'll talk about them one at a time. For FedEx, they offer a program available on their website that you need to sign up for. They call it FedEx Billing Online. They designed it to give you the ability to look ...

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Apr 09

2019

Freight Payment as the Hack to Big Payback on Shipping Costs

Posted: Apr 09, 2019

Freight Payment Issues Explained It is primary to ensure that all your freight payment invoices are being audited. Much of it starts with negotiating the carrier pricing that you received to begin with. Everything that follows is a result of that contract. What you need to make sure is that all your carriers adhere to ...

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Apr 04

2019

Freight BIll Payment is the Best Boost for Your Business

Posted: Apr 04, 2019

Freight Bill Payment Improved with Lojistic Software Lojistic helps with freight bill payment in different ways. The primary way is how it consolidates all your invoices. It combines them from all your carriers into one spot. There's also often the difficulty of timing. Not to mention when bills are coming in, who they're coming in from. There are different pricing schemas that ...

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Apr 02

2019

Freight Bill Audit: Tested as the Sure Fire Way to Success

Posted: Apr 02, 2019

Freight Bill Audit Benefits There is a primary benefit of using a freight bill audit. That is to understand exactly where you are spending your money. Your more reputable auditors will offer GL coding as well. So within your accounting, you can make sure that you divi...

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Mar 26

2019

Freight Audit: Behind the Scenes of Marked Down Expenses

Posted: Mar 26, 2019

Freight Audit Basics First, you should never pay a free bill without a freight audit. Now whether you do that yourself or whether you hire a third party to do that, they should audit every bill. The reason for that is: errors happen. In the case of freight, the errors are usually big dollar amounts. When we analyze an invoice, we have software for those errors. We look at every ...

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Mar 19

2019

Supply Chain Consulting is the Best Way to Improve Margins

Posted: Mar 19, 2019

Supply Chain Consulting Defined Supply chain consulting is a wide range of things, so it varies. This includes understanding how to manage your packaging. It means managing your inbound transportation. Also, this means your own fulfillment, warehousing, and ...

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Feb 19

2019

Rate Negotiation Helps Compare and Bargain for Best Prices

Posted: Feb 19, 2019

Rate Negotiation Considerations Rate negotiation is an important thing for customers to understand. Customers ask, "What's the difference between the different types of negotiations?" And there is one specific term that we like to use sometimes and that's a rate ...

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Feb 14

2019

Parcel Negotiation: Savings Delivered from Focused Technology

Posted: Feb 14, 2019

Parcel Negotiation Basics Parcel negotiation is the time of the year when you enter into a negotiation with a parcel carrier. It could be with a carrier like UPS or FedEx. What you're trying to do is get the best of what you can get out of the carrier from a rate perspec...

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Feb 12

2019

Freight Audit: Proven Way to Check Your Bottom Line

Posted: Feb 12, 2019

Freight Audit Explained A freight audit looks at all your bills and notes from transportation carriers. Then it makes sure that they're accurate. And by accurate we mean that you have a contract with each of these carriers. Were your charges correct? The invoice suggests that it delivered on a certain date, did it? You may have bought certain things like ...

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Feb 07

2019

LTL is a Practical Shipping Solution with Superior Savings

Posted: Feb 07, 2019

LTL Basics Have you ever had a bunch of shipping that you needed to do? It was more than would fit inside of a small box, and it's not so much that you could buy an entire truck? LTL fits that middle need. It is a type of shipping that does run full trucks across the country. But the difference is that LTL takes a pallet or a few from you with other customers who also have one or a few...

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Feb 05

2019

TMS Promises a Competitive Edge with Ease

Posted: Feb 05, 2019

Lojistic TMS Platform Offers Better and Faster Shipping Solutions TMS is an acronym that means Transportation Management System. It makes sure that all your shipping goes with the right carrier to the right place for the right price. That's the primary reason for it. So it takes a lot of setup. It's complex. What distinguishes ours from most is the ease of use. We have 40-plus c...

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Jun 23

2016

Easy Freight Discounts With the Lojistic Wholesale Rate Marketplace

Posted: Jun 23, 2016

Freight shipping costs can add up quickly, and as a big shipper, we’re sure you already knew that. But what most freight shippers don’t know is that there is a super easy way to achieve potentially huge freight cost savings with basically no operational costs required. Oh, and there’s no additional manpower required to secure the savings. One of the easiest ways to secure significa...

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Apr 09

2015

History of Freight Transportation

Posted: Apr 09, 2015

Throughout the centuries there have been many modes of freight transportation. For many years, goods traveled to their destinations by way of horse drawn wagons. This mode of moving freight was slow and often dangerous. Later, with the introduction of the railway system, business owners could send goods across the country in a faster, safer way. Goods traveled to various cities via steamboat an...

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Apr 03

2015

How Transparent Shipping Containers Could Impact Port Operations

Posted: Apr 03, 2015

Westbound Shipping Services have unveiled the latest in container-tech, a transparent shipping container. This container is an industry first, and is on the forefront of freight industry technology. The container is made from a high density, scratch-resistant Perspex cast acrylic. It is then fitted with a small power pack that is charged by solar panels and kinetic movement. The power pa...

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Sep 09

2013

Freight Trade and Shipping History

Posted: Sep 09, 2013

The act of trading, or bartering, involves exchanging one thing for another. For instance, one person may trade a treasured baseball card in his collection for one he likes even more. The people in a bartering transaction must be satisfied with what they will receive in return for what they give. Trading and bartering can be traced back to ancient societies. For example, in ancient China...

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Jul 05

2013

How to Ship Domestic and International Parcels Faster

Posted: Jul 05, 2013

Fast shipping is one of the keys to making a logistics organization successful. Speed often translates directly into savings, as long as the work is undertaken with due efficiency. Of course, if there were “secrets” to fast shipping, then everyone would know them by now. However, there are certain due diligence steps that you can take to expedite your parcel ship...

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Jun 21

2013

What is the Job Outlook for Freight Agents Since the Recession?

Posted: Jun 21, 2013

If you have been thinking about becoming a freight agent or a freight broker agent, you may be wondering how freight agent jobs have been doing since the recession. Luckily, logistics is very much a recession-proof industry: Although logistics activity can be dampened in certain areas and at certain times, there will always be a need to move goods from one place to a...

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Jun 18

2013

How to Find New Shippers for Moving Freight

Posted: Jun 18, 2013

Freight shippers vary a great deal in what they can offer your organization, and you might find yourself replacing old shippers or looking for new ones for a wide variety of reasons. A freight shipper may have a great record of performance, but may be unable to meet all of your needs as your business grows. On the other hand, it may be necessary to find freight shipp...

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Jun 07

2013

How to Calculate Air Freight

Posted: Jun 07, 2013

The Complex Topic of Air Freight Calculations and Dimensional Weight If you need to calculate freight, especially air freight, you might find it’s a little bit more complex than it appears at first. That’s because you need to calculate freight shipping using something called volumetric weight, dimensional weight, o...

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May 28

2013

How to Write a Freight Claim

Posted: May 28, 2013

Freight claims can be very complex and even a freight claim form itself can present challenging issues to an enterprise, compounding the problems such a form is meant to address in the first place. If a freight claim form is filled out incorrectly, the end result can be difficulty making and supporting your freight claims, which can cost your business a great deal of money. Every step of gather...

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May 17

2013

What is Freight Forwarding?

Posted: May 17, 2013

If you are involved in any enterprise that is heavily focused upon logistics, odds are good that you will eventually find yourself selecting a freight forwarder, or perhaps a number of different freight forwarders, to meet your company’s needs. Or, as is often the case, you might be thinking about how to further your career as a freight forwarder after working in a leadership role that has to...

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May 10

2013

How to Become a Freight Broker

Posted: May 10, 2013

Are you considering becoming a freight broker? Freight brokers are an extremely important part of the logistics landscape around the world. A freight broker has important duties that help to ensure cargo transactions go as planned for everyone involved in the process. Also, freight brokers have the opportunity to learn a great deal about logistics conditions in their area of specialization. Thi...

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May 03

2013

What is a Green Supply Chain?

Posted: May 03, 2013

Are you wondering about greening the supply chain? As time goes on, greening the supply chain becomes a more and more important consideration for ensuring that your brand offers your clients the sense of ecological soundness that will motivate them to expand their business with you. Customers are increasingly influenced by social consciousness when making buying decisions between services that ...

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Apr 12

2013

Why Does Shipping and Handling Cost So Much?

Posted: Apr 12, 2013

Cost is a perennial concern in everything to do with logistics. Shipping and handling costs make up a major part of the money spent on logistics by most companies in a given year, and so, many efforts are undertaken to reduce shipping and handling costs by improving contract terms and optimizing carrier relationships. However, con...

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Apr 09

2013

How to Determine Shipping Cost

Posted: Apr 09, 2013

Are you wondering how to determine shipping costs? Shipping costs are, of course, among the most important factors involved in determining the costs of your entire logistics operation. In order to make sure that you understand your costs and can plan for them in the future, you should standardize them to the extent possible. This requires a thorough, point-by-point review of the most basic oper...

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Mar 29

2013

What is Reverse Logistics?

Posted: Mar 29, 2013

It’s a very common question these days: What is reverse logistics? In many different industries, reverse logistics is becoming more and more important to building brand loyalty and safeguarding the bottom line. Reverse logistic operations can be complex, but they are truly worthwhile to those enterprises who engage in them in an appropriately methodical way. But what is reverse logisti...

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Mar 01

2013

What is Global Logistics?

Posted: Mar 01, 2013

What is global logistics? In order to compete in a globalized, international economy, you will have to have a good understanding of how the global logistics situation impacts your business. You will also need to develop custom global logistics that will allow you to expand your firm and its operations internationally without taking on either untenable consulting fees or operational deficits. Cu...

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Feb 22

2013

Business to Business Logistics

Posted: Feb 22, 2013

Is your business challenged by the day-to-day difficulties of business to business logistics? If so, you are not alone. Business to business or “B2B” logistics planning is very distinct from the business-to-consumer or “B2C” landscape that many companies have a greater level of familiarity with. The “B2B” arena of business logistics management comes with all the challenges of “B2C...

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Feb 15

2013

Third Party Logistics - Is It Worth It?

Posted: Feb 15, 2013

It’s reasonable to wonder if third party logistics services are truly worth it for your business. After all, you might have concerns that it will take some time to start up third party logistics for your organization. Third party logistics companies vary in quality and in terms of what they have to offer your bottom line. Plus, trusting third party logistics providers means giving a consultan...

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Feb 08

2013

Top 5 Hidden Costs of Logistics

Posted: Feb 08, 2013

Wondering about your true logistics costs? Logistics costs are mutable, not fixed, so any one category of logistic cost is subject to your enterprise’s own efforts. Logistic cost analysis is a crucial first step to finding any logistic cost that is out of step with the needs and expectations of your business. In fact, it is the first thing that you need to do in order to implement a truly com...

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Jan 25

2013

What is Logistics?

Posted: Jan 25, 2013

No matter what industry you are in, you already know that implementing the right logistic solutions is critical to your business. You also know that effective and efficient logistics management is one of the best ways to control your costs as your business grows. However, we can get so caught up in the details of freight management logistics that we apply a definition to the field that is too b...

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Oct 24

2012

The Greening of the Shipping Industry

Posted: Oct 24, 2012

The tides are turning again for the shipping industry, this time in regards to energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. In the past, there hasn’t been much incentive for any of the world’s major shipping agencies to improve the performance of their ships. Now though, with ship owners being heavily scrutinized on the eco-efficie...

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Oct 17

2012

The Great Recession and What’s Stimulating Shipping Stocks

Posted: Oct 17, 2012

Even with the brunt of the Great Recession behind us, the global shipping industry has still seen companies slip into the deep blue of nonexistence. However, in the most recent month of market trading, some have bounced back with the best figures seen in years; we’re thinking about Ultrapetrol, whose stock soared...

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Oct 10

2012

Mobile Apps to Ease Shipping Troubles

Posted: Oct 10, 2012

Shipping solutions can sometimes feel like more trouble than they’re worth. We know it, and so do you; but this doesn’t have to be the case for the upstart or the entrepreneur. Since the world has grown into an increasingly digital marketplace, more and more solutions to shipping woes are emerging. The legacy ...

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Oct 03

2012

How to Reduce Shipping Costs without Skimping on Customer Service

Posted: Oct 03, 2012

Many businesses are hesitant to complain to the shipping giants responsible for getting their customers’ orders delivered to them on time. They may be aware of the fact that auditing their invoices for mistakes or attempting to renegotiate their carrier contract may save them s...

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Aug 22

2012

Helping the Supply Chain with Sustainable Ideas

Posted: Aug 22, 2012

As the world continues to evolve with new technology, it also brings forth new challenges to businesses and their supply chains.  Luckily, there are many interesting methods and ideas to help the supply chain become more efficient and cost-effective as well as forward-thinking in terms of it’s impact on the world.  One way to be both helpful and cost-savings is to make sure to think of sust...

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Aug 10

2012

Two Digital Giants and Their Effects on the Digital Supply Chain

Posted: Aug 10, 2012

The supply chain has stayed fairly traditional in most businesses for a long time as many can easily chart how their supply chain moves about.  However, on the digital front, the concept has constantly been evolving as technology and user interfaces continue to change at a rapid pace.  As we discussed in previous blog posts, these digital players are quite notable players in the supply chain,...

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Apr 20

2012

Amazon’s Potential Effect on the Shipping Industry

Posted: Apr 20, 2012

The carrier system has for a long time been a very oligarchic system, only made up mainly of two carriers, UPS and FedEx.  Because of these two carriers, the rules of the shipping industry have always been based on comparing these two carriers’ prices and agreements and can, for insightful businesses, create a method to reduce shipping costs overall.  However, this very system could change ...

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Apr 02

2012

The Effects of the USPS Losses

Posted: Apr 02, 2012

2012 has been a busy year for the shipping industry both in big news items.  Such events as the 2012 shipping rate increase has already affected many businesses’ budget plans for the year while floods and earthquakes in 2011 has shaken up many companies to look deeper into their risk management programs to create a viable Plan B.  An interesting piece of news that will only, most likely, gr...

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Feb 10

2012

The Importance of Dimensional Weight for FedEx’s Weight Calculation

Posted: Feb 10, 2012

There are many ways to reduce your shipping costs, but to do this, you need to be knowledgeable about smaller aspects of shipping you may have not been privy to before.  One of the more immediate ways to save on shipping is by focusing on large packages you ship.  Here, we’ll hone in on FedEx specifically, although the general lessons here can be applied to UPS as well.  FedEx, when checki...

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Sep 01

2011

3 Easy Ways to Lower and Discount Freight Costs

Posted: Sep 01, 2011

By closely evaluating your business’s shipping and distribution patterns, you may identify many areas that you can easily discount freight costs. Below are 3 simple practices that will allow you to effectively assess your current practices, and help you identify areas for improvement. Logistics Reporting Logistics reporting is essential in effectively ev...

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Jul 13

2011

How a Parcel or Freight Audit Can Help Clarify Shipping Liabilities

Posted: Jul 13, 2011

The global economy has increased trade across borders and many businesses have outsourced production to other countries. This has increased the demand for international transport services. While transport safety has improved over the years, goods can still be damaged during transport. Bearing the brunt of this liability is the carrier performing international transports. To avoid liability, a c...

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Jun 23

2011

Comparing Shipping Costs Amid A Problematic Industry

Posted: Jun 23, 2011

Most freight bill auditing companies would tell you that things were going well for their customers until the summer's end in 2008. That's when the credit crisis and worldwide recession hit, causing the commodity and freight markets to collapse. Shipping line operators suffered due to decreased trade, shipyards were inundated with ...

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Jun 18

2011

Parcel Auditing, Late Delivery Visibility, and Smart Service Selection

Posted: Jun 18, 2011

To ensure your business prospers during these tough economic times, parcel auditors will tell you to seek out reliable, multimodal freight services that provide accurate import and export documentation and up-to-date customs clearances. Whether you need to ship small parcel or palletized freight, you'll need a global shipping solution to meet your needs, time schedule and budget. And to help yo...

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Jun 13

2011

Parcel Auditing Can Provide Visibility Over Small Parcel Carriers

Posted: Jun 13, 2011

If your company ships a significant amount of small parcel packages, it is a good idea to utilize excellent shipping distribution visibility tools. Ideally, that means real-time shipment status, as well as having location and delivery time information available to customers, suppliers and third-party logistics providers. Some parcel au...

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Jun 08

2011

Improving Package Security can Lower Freight Costs

Posted: Jun 08, 2011

To protect your packages, you have a variety of tactics and seal options to choose from. Yes, freight costs have gone up, but you shouldn't scrimp on package security. For starters, you need to establish just how vulnerable your carrier has been to theft. That means taking a close look at the carriers' t...

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Apr 21

2011

Freight Contract Negotiation: How to Avoid International Shipping Problems

Posted: Apr 21, 2011

You can avoid many of the most common international shipping problems if you follow a few simple steps. Keep in mind that it's not easy to compare services and prices when you're dealing with an international shipper. When you negotiate freight rates for international shipments… "let the buyer beware" ...

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