Shipping Supplies by Ground, Air or Sea: The Advantages of Each for the Small Business

The logistics of getting everything your business needs from Point A to Point B can prove a headache for the typical small business owner, who simply doesn’t have the resources to hire people to work full-time to figure everything out. Nevertheless, getting your supply chain operational and efficient is usually a cornerstone of your business’ success. You may be focused on the day-to-day operations or things like finding new customers and marketing, but all the best marketing in the world is worth nothing if you can’t deliver quality products made in a timely fashion.

Luckily, you don’t have to figure out how to operate the supply chain onsite if you don’t have the resources. A third party supply chain solution company can do the hard work for you at a price much more affordable than hiring your own team and purchasing the buildings, trucks and equipment necessary to get started. Once you find the right company, all that remains is deciding whether or not your business is best served by ground, air or sea transportation – or a combination of the three. Don’t hesitate to rely on the experts at the third party company for advice once you’ve given it some thought. After all, they do this every day.

Ground

If you import or export anything outside of the country, you’re not going to be able to rely on ground transportation alone. However, if there are domestic stops along the way, you may find ground transportation the most convenient and affordable of your options. Your transportation service company will provide you a quote upfront based on a number of factors, including distance traveled, weight of the items, and frequency of transport. You won’t have to worry about road conditions or fluctuating gas prices as any delays and cost adjustments will be reflected in your quote.

A lot of small businesses operate on a much smaller scale than their large corporation competitors. They’re also more willing to deal with other local businesses. If you need to get a load across town instead of across the world, for example, ground transportation is practically a no-brainer.

Air

The main advantage of air transportation is speed. Although potentially the priciest of your supply chain delivery options, the right transportation service company will work with you to get the quote down to a number that fits in with your budget. If you need supplies across the country or across the world – even just across the state – fast, then air is the way to go. You won’t have to deal with the headache of customs, either, as the transportation service company will take care of that for you. If you’ve promised a finished product or delivery faster than usual to a buyer, you need to get your supply chain moving at a much higher rate of speed.

Sea

Sea transportation is only necessary for small businesses that deal with supply chain transportation to or from other countries, but many small businesses deal with manufacturers in foreign nations. It’s much slower than air transportation, but it’s significantly cheaper, and there are fewer restrictions on the types of things you can move than there are with air transport. If your budget is tight and you have a lot of things to transport over a great distance, sea might be the way to go.

Chances are, depending on the scope of your business, all three types of transport may come into play at some point. Still, it’s helpful to decide which type is most advantageous for the majority of your supply chain transportation and devote most of your resources to that until a change in circumstances require other options. The right transportation company will be only too happy to work with your business and adjust your transportation accordingly.