How Freight Management Logistics Services Save You Money

If you’re in distribution, and you’re still handling your own logistics, you might be costing yourself valuable time and money.  In many cases, a freight management logistics company like Amstan Logistics can offer significant benefits over your current systems.  Hiring a logistics specialist isn’t an expense – it’s a cost-saving measure.
For those who haven’t yet considered partnering with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) for their distribution, here are some major ways it could pay off in both the short- and long term.

Four Big Ways You Save Money with A Freight Management Logistics Specialist

1. Leveraging shared loads

When a 3PL is handling cargo for a lot of different companies, that pays off for you in multiple ways.  With standard loads, you get the advantage of their economies of scale – they’re bulk buyers, and they pass the savings on to their customers.  Where it really pays off, however, is if you’re making a lot of short-notice or under-sized loads.  In those cases, your load may be combined with existing shipments and spare you the huge cost of special delivery runs.

2. Dedicated rate negotiations

Pricing of shipments is complicated, and something smaller distributors simply don’t have the insight to manage.  A larger 3PL, however, is very experienced with rate negotiations, as well as having dedicated staff that follow the latest regulations and external factors that affect pricing.  This knowledge is given to your firm and it means you pay even less for shipments.

3. Technology integration

Better freight management logistics firms have specialized computer systems and databases that smaller operations simply don’t have the time and money to install.  These systems pull current schedules and rates from dozens to hundreds of shipping options.  This makes it much easier to build shipping lines optimized around your needs.  Again, your company gets the best in technology.
As a side benefit, you can also leverage the technology to provide better service to your own customers, such as more accurate shipment tracking.

4. Bureaucratic Systems

Payments, invoicing, auditing, and other bureaucratic requirements can be a costly and time-consuming drag on most businesses.  Why would your own people handle these things when they could be focusing on your core business instead?  An efficient 3PL handles the bureaucracy with ease.  Your best people can focus on more important work.

Five Key Services the Right Transport and Logistics Companies Can Provide

If your business needs shipping and distribution, you could realize significant savings of time and money by hiring transport and logistics companies like Amstan Logistics.  These transport and logistics companies, also called 3PLs (for third-party logistics) offer numerous services which can pay off in a big way for their clients.

Every year, more companies are realizing the benefits they can reap by partnering with a 3PL.  Here are some of the biggest reasons they make the shift.

Five Services A 3PL Can Provide with Superior Cost-Effectiveness

1 – Price leveraging
Since 3PLs are often handling the logistics for dozens of client companies at once, that gives them the ability to leverage significant economies of scale.  Your operation benefits from their lower costs, as well as being able to save by “piggybacking” on existing scheduled shipments at substantial savings.  This can particularly pay off if your organization often needs to make shipments that are undersized, on short notice, or both.

2 – Route Optimization
A 3PL will have databases in place with dozens, or even hundreds, of shipping options.  Often, these will span multiple forms of transportation as well – including road, air, rail, and water.  This gives them the incredible flexibility to plan your routes and optimize them for your benefit, picking and choosing from the options.

3 – Superior Data Systems
Much of the information at a 3PL’s fingertips can be made available to you as well.  You’ll get significant insights into how your loads are handled, and the overall cost-effectiveness of your supply chain management, bringing you more actionable data to improve your business result.

4 – Robust Dynamic Freight Tracking
Transport and logistics companies will be able to track your cargo from end-to-end in real time, making all the information available to you whenever you need it.  This won’t just help your own operations.  You can share this information with your own customers as well, adding value to your operation.

5 – Administrative Support
Why pay your own people to handle the bureaucratic requirements of shipping and logistics?  A 3PL has systems in place to handle invoices, payments, auditing, reporting, and more – available at a fraction of the cost it would require implementing a similar system within your own operations.  With the right logistics partner, shipping becomes painless.  This is the best option for outsourcing your logistics needs.