Today’s businesses need to get their products from their manufacturing facilities, stores, or warehouses into their customers’ waiting hands. The trucking industry makes that happen. According to a recent report, trucks move more than 55 million tons of freight across the United States daily at this point of LTL freight. What happens when a business needs to ship products but doesn’t have enough orders to fill an entire semi-truck, though?
A Helpful Alternative
That’s where LTL, or less-than-truckload shipping, comes into play. With LTL shipping, a company’s products are transported along with those of other businesses. A carrier picks up different companies’ products and takes them to a central hub where they’re sorted and sent along to their intended destinations of LTL freight.
These shipments usually make several stops along the way to their final destinations depending on how many businesses are sharing space in a truck to fill it up. With that being the case, LTL shipping can take longer than shipping an entire truckload of goods all at once. Still, it offers a range of potential benefits for small businesses.
Saving Money
One of the main advantages of LTL freight shipping is helping small businesses save money. They often don’t need to ship enough products to fill an entire truck. If they still had to pay for an entire truck, they’d end up wasting money on unused space. Alternatively, they might be forced to wait until they do have enough orders to fill a truck, which could leave quite a few customers waiting indefinitely for their orders to be fulfilled. That, in turn, could lead to dissatisfied customers, canceled orders, and an array of other costly problems.
Providing Flexibility
LTL shipping also gives companies flexibility. Small businesses may not always know exactly how much freight they need to ship or when they’ll be ready to send it out. LTL shipping allows them to book pickups as needed. That helps with scheduling, order and inventory management, and many other aspects of their operations. Even though it can be a slower option overall, businesses may find it faster than waiting until they have enough freight to fill an entire truck or some of the other alternatives.
Fewer Risks
Additionally small businesses may have fewer risks to worry about with LTL shipping. Carriers take care to ensure their clients’ products are packaged, handled, and delivered safely. They also offer tracking and other services so businesses can keep track of their goods while they’re in transit. All those measures reduce the risks of products being lost or damaged during shipping and give businesses added reassurance that their products will ultimately reach customers intact.
Scalability
Scalability is yet another benefit of LTL freight shipping. Small businesses may only have a handful of orders going out each week or month when they first open their doors. As they gain customers, that volume could double or even triple. On the other hand, they may need to send out shipments more often than monthly or weekly. No matter how a company’s needs change, its LTL shipping services can be modified accordingly.
Making the Most of LTL Shipping
Small businesses often don’t have enough orders to fill an entire truck, but that doesn’t mean they can simply sit back and wait until their orders pile up enough to do so. LTL freight shipping is the solution. It offers an array of benefits, including saving money, reducing risks, and providing added flexibility. It’s also a highly scalable option that small businesses can easily adapt to their evolving needs.
