9 Tips to Choose the Best Shipping Provider

Shipping

When you start your own business, the joy is incomparable. You’ll design your website, launch products, do advertisements, and so much more. But what about shipping services?

Without a proper shipping service, your business can never fly, no matter how much effort you put into it. And how do you choose the correct shipping providers? To save you from the stress, I’ve compiled here a list of things you can look into before finalizing your shipping provider!

1. Type of products

The first thing to keep in mind is the type of products you’d want to sell. When reviewing different types of products, you’ll have to make note of the shape, size, and weight of all the products in order to choose the ideal shipping company.

For example, if you sell food items or alcohol-infused items like perfume, there might be many companies that will have special policies for their shipping or might not want to ship at all.

2. Location

Are you planning to ship your products locally or abroad? And if locally, then is it just restricted to the state or province you belong to, or throughout the country? If you plan to ship abroad, you’ll have to take care of extra costs and maintenance charges.

3. Reputation

So you’ve decided on a shipping company that offers unbelievably low rates but doesn’t seem to be very reputed. Do you really want to take the risk?

Remember, the shipping company has a significant role to play in the reputation of your company. If your customers receive their products late or in damaged condition, they will most likely not order from you again. So it’s necessary to choose a shipping company that’s known to be reliable. If we are talking about Canadian companies, shipping companies in Toronto have an excellent reputation for fast deliveries and secure transport.

For example, in Australia, mcnaughts transport is a famous supply chain company. Their trucks have gone to 462 sites across NSW and VIC and traveled more than 400,000 km across Australia! So you’ll know for sure that this is a reliable company assuring you to deliver your packages safe and sound.

5. Time of delivery

Online shoppers nowadays want their products delivered as soon as possible. While it’s impossible to send packages on the same day or the following 1-2 days, you can always opt for providers that will deliver your parcels as soon as possible.

For this, you’ll have to review the time of delivery the company takes to deliver local and/or international products. While local shipments can be easily delivered within 4-5 days, international ones take more time, such as 2-4 weeks.

6. Tracking services

When choosing your shippers, always opt for companies that have excellent tracking services. It’ll be easier for you to track your shipment, and for your customers too.

A good shipping company will always provide you and the customer with the tracking ID or order number so that you can keep checking the status of the shipment. In case a shipping or delivery concern arises, you will also be able to contact the shippers easily and resolve the issues.

7. Insurance policies

Unfortunately, not all good shipping companies will provide you with insurance. While insurance isn’t necessary, many business owners do keep it on the top of their priority lists.

If you’re one of them, consider taking your time and searching for options. Offering insurance is a pretty good idea since it gives you tremendous peace of mind in case of a mishap.

8. Convenience

Running a business can be tricky, especially when your business is expanding rapidly. Naturally, you’ll want a company that picks up the parcels from your doorstep, office, or warehouse.

It’s also a good idea to choose a company that has been reputed to be punctual. Imagine waiting for hours in your office for a shipment to be picked up; how annoying would that be?

9. Pricing

Pricing is inevitably one of the most important things you need to look at while choosing your shipping company. If a company has a good reputation but charges you extremely high rates, it’s best not to invest too much.

In fact, if you have a startup, you might not want to spend too much on shipping alone. So choose a company that offers you an average rate and gives attractive discounts from time to time.

Over to you…

In conclusion, it is necessary to choose the right shipping company for you. There may be a lot of factors you’ll have to look at, but don’t feel overwhelmed. Just follow our tips and you’ll be good to go!

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of The World Financial Review.