Transportation & Logistics

For many businesses, it’s never easy to get their products shipped to their customers. In fact, there are various things that can go wrong when it comes to business shipping. For instance, aside from dealing with hefty fees, business owners may deal with damaged products and lost packages.

Fortunately, there’s a solution for every business shipping challenge. One of these solutions includes finding the best customs broker to help you expedite your shipment’s customs clearance.

Other than that, to help you avoid customer complaints regarding your shipments and solve your biggest shipping concerns quickly, below are the common shipping challenges and ways to address them effectively:

Shipping Delays

One of the toughest and most common shipping challenges for businesses is delays. There are several reasons why delays happen. Often, delays are classified into two forms, which are internal delays and external delays.

External Delays

When it comes to external delays, they’re typically due to some factors, such as delivery vehicle breakdown, poor weather conditions, and heavy traffic. In this kind of delay, there’s nothing you can do to resolve such issues.

That’s why some companies have created solutions, like delivering products via drone. However, such solutions aren’t practical. So, the only best way to address it is to inform your customers as soon as possible about the possibility of shipment delays.

Internal Delays

Internal delays, on the contrary, are something you can control if you’re aware of them. For example, you can prepare your items as usual without any customization. With this, you can easily hand them over to your preferred shipping couriers.

If you’re planning to send packages to other countries, be sure to prepare the important documents required by the customs to improve your business’s delivery process. This is because authorities may put your shipments on hold if you don’t have the right documents.

Damaged Items During Shipping Or Handling

As a business owner, you should be aware of the harsh conditions in most shipping streams. The forces that shipments may face as they’re loaded in the ships, trucks, and planes are greater than what they’re experiencing when sitting at your home or business location.

To resolve this problem, have a proper crating and packaging scheme in place. If your items are packed or placed in shipping crates well, the risk of damage is reduced.

Order Returned

Even if the possibility of this shipping challenge is rare, business owners may feel uneasy once their orders are returned. The situation can be much tougher to decipher if you have an inexperienced or unorganized order management system. In addition, you can miss some of your orders if your warehouse is big or if you’re dealing with countless orders every day.

Also, if you use third-party shipping carriers for your business shipments, you’ll need to contact them to find your packages. If you’re out of luck, the search might take several days, weeks, or even months.

To avoid this frustrating situation, you should always keep in touch with your chosen delivery agent. Luckily, there are some shipping plugins you can use to track your shipments in real-time. This kind of feature has different order status checkpoints, which will keep both shipping carriers and business owners aware in case an order was lost or misplaced.

Route Disruptions

Some things outside your control may affect shipping routes. Political unrest, pandemic, and natural disasters are some of them. While such events are unpredictable and can’t be prevented, think of other ways to deal with them.

For instance, you can work with the best shipping logistics service providers that monitor every event that may affect their shipping routes. If problems arise, they’ll take advantage of their industry contacts to change the path of their shipments to avoid any possible trouble in the long run.

Customers Refuse The Delivery

Even if it’s uncommon, there are instances wherein some customers don’t pay their orders and would often request to return them. This may happen for some typical justifications, such as when customers made the wrong placement or the items they received were damaged or incorrect.

Regardless of the case, it’s never simple to manage returns. The reason behind it is that you need to get the orders back, unpack your items, and place them back in your inventory. Handling returns may also cost you time and money.

To avoid losing resources and lessen the hassle, you can make a minimum order limit for cash on delivery (COD) products and charge fees to customers if they refuse to accept the orders. This is necessary as it can help prevent damage to your revenues and avoid future delivery refusals.

Expensive Shipping Costs

For both business owners and customers, shipping is never cheap. Generally, the cost of shipping packages may depend on some factors, like how much the packages weigh, where they’re going, and how fast they need to be delivered. Unfortunately, several businesses don’t know how to handle expensive shipping costs.

To avoid paying a high shipping cost, one of the options you can consider is to let your customers pay for it. When you charge your customers for shipping, you’ll allow them to order your items without the need to worry about your profit margins.

However, it isn’t always a good idea because some customers don’t like expensive shipping costs. So, you might want to charge your customers a flat rate and affordable shipping fee to reduce the shipping costs and avoid driving your customers away. Just make sure to consult your shipping company regarding the costs, so you and your customers won’t be surprised by the charges.

Unexpected International Fees

Unlike domestic shipping, international shipping is more expensive since the packages have to be transported in far places. In addition to that, international shipments are subject to local taxes and duties. For this reason, some businesses get rid of international shipping as much as possible. However, if you want to serve customers globally, you need to deal with international shipping.

Therefore, instead of eliminating international shipping from your business, be clear with the policies involved with it, so your customers will be aware of the possible extra fees they need to pay for international shipping.

Conclusion

To provide excellent customer service, it’s essential to be aware of the common business shipping challenges and the best ways to resolve them. With this in mind, you’ll be able to impress your customers by handling shipping issues with grace. Plus, you can ship your products or items with confidence. Just make sure to continue planning and improving your shipping strategies to provide the best possible shipping experience to your customers.

Technological advantages keep on getting better. It is safe to say that many of these innovations are responsible for getting us to our present world. Thanks to tech, modern trucks fit the description of moving computer networks featuring endless opportunities to collect and transmit data. If you want to get digital video recorders (DVR) for your fleet, you need to know more about the component and what it offers.

Video recorders offer enhanced protection and refuge for commercial vehicles. The information in this article explains how DVR trucking is beneficial for fleet owners and their businesses.

Protection from Fraudulent Insurance Cases

If you have never had experience with fraudulent insurance claims, you are aware that it is a way for insurance firms to minimize their risks and expenses. Fitting digital video recorders in your trucks make it easy to fight off malicious claims and protect the reputation of your fleet agency. Footage from the surveillance system comes in handy as evidence in refuting the allegations from the insurance firm. It also helps build trust between the driver and agency since they are protected from the claims.

Prevent Vehicle Theft

DVR can relay a live feed, which prevents thefts and other inconveniences. For instance, the data compiled by the digital video recorders can help firms retrieve stolen vehicles. Both external and internal video recorders assist with blind spot functions such as reversing. Without a surveillance system, knowing the activities of your vehicles is impossible unless you trust your drivers.

Identify Poor Driving Practices

It isn’t easy to know if your drivers are giving full accounts of how the daily ventures. With a surveillance system in the vehicles, fleet owners can comfortably monitor how each staff member handles themselves on the job. Any form of dvr trucking helps fleet owners identify poor-performing or misbehaving drivers and their crew members.

Cost-Effective

With the information you get from DVR trucking, it is more natural to strategize and improve the company’s performance. Saving money is one of the most powerful means of boosting business functions. By eliminating all liabilities from the company, one can quickly get to optimal performance. Since surveillance systems offer security against numerous inconveniences, they are cost-effective fleet business features.

Collect Real-Time Data

Information gathering is a significant factor for many successful businesses. The ability to collect first-hand information comes in handy when fleet owners are looking to make business modifications. For instance, data from a particular vehicle can tell you more about how specific drivers perform. It makes it easy to pick out your best staff members and eliminate those making the company incur extra costs.

Conclusion

Investing in DVR trucking is an excellent way to keep tabs on one’s fleet of vehicles. You cannot fully trust employees unless you have experience working with them. The surveillance system helps fleet agencies improve the security of the workers and vehicles. However, to get the benefits mentioned above, you have to get a reliable fleet surveillance system.

Tech innovations in the business sector are helping entrepreneurs make progress faster than before. For fleet owners, DVR trucking solutions should help the company’s performance, worker’s productivity, and safety.

Jobs in the logistics and warehousing industry pay well. As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the logistics sector jobs are expected to grow at a rate of 26% from 2010 to 2020. The demand for logistics professionals is expected to exceed supply by a ratio of 6:1. If you are interested in joining the supply chain industry, this is the right time to jump on board.

Logistics recruitment is difficult due to the on-going skilled labor shortage. Many logistics companies seek the help of professional recruiters to hire the best person for the job. If you are trying to break into the logistics industry, professional recruiters can help you find a dream job.

Here are a few reasons why you need professional help in finding the best job in the logistics industry. 

Learn About Different Positions

The logistics word is a general term used to describe different activities in the supply chain. Supply chain management has a broad scope that starts from procuring raw materials for the product and ends with delivering the product to customers.

If you are new to the logistics industry, it can be hard for you to pair your skillset with particular positions. Professional Recruiters are aware of the job scope and the skill set required for a specific job. They can help you apply for the logistics industry’s right positions where your skillset is in demand. 

Gives Candidates Insight into Business

Many candidates leave jobs after a few months as they cannot adjust to the company’s working culture. Professional recruiters are known to give candidates real insights into the business during the logistics recruitment process. Before you appear for an interview, experienced recruiters will tell you about different job positions available. They will also describe what it is like to work there, the work culture, and career growth opportunities.

This helps candidates determine whether they can adjust to the work culture or what kind of work environment to expect when joining a particular logistics company.

Help Candidates to Get Critical Strategic Skills

The main reason for logistics companies using professional recruiters is they get access to candidates with vital strategic skills. Professional recruiters can help you know which strategic skills are in great demand. This information can help you upgrade your skills that will increase your employability.

Saves Time

Sifting through Internet job boards and checking other employment channels is a time-consuming task. When you work with professional recruiters, you get ready access to the logistics industry’s best positions.  It will save your time in a job search.

Since professional recruiters send candidates that meet job profiles, there are greater chances of you getting the job.

Helps You Through the Process

When you work alone, you have to rely on Internet research alone to know about the company and the interview process. Professional recruiters have years of experience hiring for logistics companies. They can help you create a good resume highlighting essential skill sets and coaching you for different interview rounds.

These are some of the reasons to work with a professional recruiter to break into the logistics industry. 

The City of Gold has got so much to show its visitors. There are hundreds of tourist’s and business attraction for you in Dubai, not to mention “BURJ AL KHALIFA”.

But all these attractions and magnetism will mean nothing to you and you won’t be able to enjoy them to the full extent unless you have a proper arrangement for your transportation.

Similarly, you may not be able to get full of your business tour if you do not avail of all the opportunities ahead. Transportation plays a very important role in vacation. Your tour will mean nothing if you don’t have any vehicle to take you to your desired place.

Why Rent a Car in Dubai When Taxis are Available?

If you are seriously looking for some fun and business in Dubai, then you should have your own private transport. Though there are availabilities of public transports and taxis, you should only go for them when you are in a hurry or have to go somewhere urgently.

However, when you are there to enjoy, then taxis and public transports are just gonna give you a really hard time. You will have to make your visits short and quick. You won’t be comfortable and thus many places will be left unvisited.

So, it’s always better to connect rent a car Dubai companies, if you are there for your vacations because it provides you flexibility and facility to choose wherever you wanna go and how long you want to spend your time there.  

Four Things to Know Before Renting a Car in Dubai

Before renting a car in a city like Dubai, you have to make several considerations. It’s not like buying chocolate for which you will just have pay and take it from the store. There are several requirements for UAE governments to rent a car in Dubai.

Moreover, there are some other things you need to know before hiring a car and some common issues that you can come across after hiring a car in Dubai.

Age Limitation

Though it is legal to drive a car in Dubai once you have reached your 18^th year, when it comes to hiring a car, the law requires you to be 25. Less than 25 is considered as unemployed as most of the people at this age are often still studying. That’ why the companies will never rent their car to someone who couldn’t pay their expenses.

You are Not Allowed to Take the Car outside UAE

Another thing to consider while renting a car in Dubai is that you are not allowed to make that vehicle cross the border. Which means you have to plan your trips within UAE. If you have unintentionally crossed the border of the Arab Emirates with a rented car, then you’ll be facing court instead of visiting your destination.

Car Rental Prices in Dubai

Now the price of a rented car depends upon your needs, whether it’s a luxury car you want or you can go with an economic one. For the economy cars, the rent price per day is $62, a mini car can cost you $75 per day, for a luxurious car, the price starts from $170 per day and can extend up to $190.

Should Have an International Driving License

This law isn’t meant for US and European citizens, as they can have their national license to hire the car but if any other foreigner tourist is thinking of hiring a car in Dubai, then he should make sure that he possesses an international driving license.

Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are affiliate legal entities of a parent company that are not vulnerable to financial risks. Also called Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), SPVs are formed during a limited business acquisition. Since it is considered a separate company, it remains secure even if the parent company files bankruptcy.

This bankruptcy-remote entity is preferable in various financial situations. But before knowing the circumstances when you can consider it, you must know how it works.

Read on to learn about how a special purpose vehicle is set up and its benefits.

How a Special Purpose Vehicle Functions

The SPV has its balance sheet, although it is a subsidiary of a parent corporation. It becomes an indirect source of funds and attracts independent equity investors. So, it helps the original corporation find debt purchasers for long-term credit obligations.

When an SPV forms, it purchases the risk assets from the parent organization. After grouping them into specific credit risk preferences, it finds different types of debt buyers.

How Is a Special Purpose Vehicle Formed?

In the U.S., special purpose vehicles created are mostly limited liability corporations (LLCs). Capital-raising SPVs can also be limited partnership (LP) entities. It can form with the same requirements as these entities.

How a special purpose vehicle is set up depends on the transferred assets’ market value. The parent company sells some assets to raise funds for the SPV. By paying over 3% of the “at-risk” investment, an independent third-party becomes its legal equity owner. The investors get paid in highly-rated investment-grade securities that bear interests for the assets purchased.

When Can You Use Special Purposes Vehicles?

From protecting the parent company from liabilities as well as insolvency or bankruptcy, SPVs offer many benefits. They are excellent ways to raise capital and do not have the original organization’s regulations.

Here are some common reasons to create an SPV:

Risk Sharing

A company can isolate the significant risks of a project and share it among other investors.

Asset Transfer

A company can let the SPV own the assets that are hard to transfer. When it is time to move the assets, it can simply sell the SPV.

Property Sale

If the property sale taxes are higher than the capital gain, a company has another option. Instead of selling the properties, it can sell the SPV and pay tax on the capital gain.

Securitization

For instance, high-risk loans can be separated by the bank. The company offers investors these mortgage-backed securities.

Since the SPV has fewer statutory requirements, it has more freedom to operate. The parent company has more options in making asset allocations without having to reveal them to investors.

The parent corporation can make high-risk future investments and current transactions without fearing insolvency. Creditors buying the assets have protection as the SPV doesn’t get affected by the entire company.

Off-Balance-Sheet

The special purpose vehicle has a separate balance sheet to record its assets and liabilities. Debt and equity also remain isolated from its parent company, with limited capitalization and no independent managers. When the risk of bankruptcy is high, it is better to use an off-balance-sheet SPV.

Did you know the first official cargo flight took place on November 7th, 1920 in the USA? It carried 200 pounds of silk for the store opening purpose in Columbus. Air cargo has made freight movement well-structured at regional, national, and international levels.

Air Cargo is one of the most used logistics modes and Most people don’t know how the air cargo loading system operates. An air cargo loading system means the movement of goods by air to any part of the world. Air cargo works in a way to load products from shipping countries and unload them to buying countries. It may be in different shapes or sizes.

An effective loading procedure comprises reliable cargo handling, safe loading & unloading, aid production growth, and timely delivery of goods. In the international air cargo safe delivery of the product without any damage matters the most. Through air consignment transferring of lightest to heaviest products is possible without any harm.

Role of Air Cargo in the Global Trade

In recent years growth in the import, export, and e-commerce business has recently boosted the capacity of parcel deliveries. Amazingly airlines transport more than 52 million metric tons of air cargo per year.

The air cargo supply chain system is playing a vital role in the global business and economy. By value, 35% of global trade is represented by air cargo, and by volume, it represents less than 1% of world trade. That shows air cargo transports USD 6 trillion in value of goods that is approximately $18.6 billion worth of goods on a regular basis.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a coherent trade involves a concrete partnership between governments and industry. Countries that have a 1% better air cargo connection tend to capture 6% more trade.

What an Air Cargo Loading System Could Transfer?

• Unit Load Device (ULD’s)
• Cargo Pallets
• Perishable Goods
• Parcel
• Package
• Multiple Items

Several air cargo companies working in the world 24/7 to supply the articles like DHL Aviation, FedEx Express, SNCF, Blue Dart, CH Robinson, Emirates, Korean Air Cargo, Lufthansa, British Airways, Quehenberger Logistics, and many more.

Choosing of Air Cargo Loading System

To supply business packages or parcels, the best thing you should do is to look for a brand name that is well-reputed in designing, manufacturing, and engineering loading solutions for numerous transport and logistics. Always check the strengths, features, and functionalities of air cargo loading systems that match your business delivery requirements and demands.  

Every industry spends huge time and money in the selection process of competent air cargo loading equipment. On World Wide, there are many automatic and manual loading systems available. Business entities should choose supply loading equipment by using well-designed options like Pneumatic rollerbed, trallerloda, powerd cargo loader, and Vanloda.

Aviation cargo systems offer a unique world-class solution to the factory and industry clients. They carry tons of weight in a well-organized manner. Efficient cargo equipment makes the loading & unloading system a convenient and speedy process.  

Air cargo rollers help in loading the refrigerated trailer, conveyor system, and palletized goods. These rollers make the shipment loading process complete in a few minutes without entering into the vehicle. In the end, goods are loaded on the air cargo system for shipping to the final destination.

Mandatory Factors to Air Cargo Loading System

• Easy Installation of the system
• Bespoke modifications
• Turn-key services
• Material handling solution
• Integrated operating control
• Quality insurance system
• Speedy loading & unloading process
• High-quality cargo loading equipment
• Uncertainty and risk management control
• Repair and maintenance technical support
• Quick Customer Service for emergency breakdown

Summing Up: Air cargo loading systems make a comfortable and fast items loading process for the industry sector.  A selection of the best air cargo loading system becomes a great solution to all product loading and unloading problems

When you start any business, you constantly analyze the various factors that can minimize the losses and maximize the profits. Transportation has become a vital part of business, be it business within a single country or international.

Goods and services are transported via many routes including railways, ships, roadways, and air. Of all these, air transport has acquired a key position in the world of business. Airfreight has boosted business and trade to a great extent. This article will help you understand why air transport is so important in business

High Speed

Speed is a crucial element in every aspect of life in today’s world. Fast production of goods followed by slow transport can have devastating effects on one’s business.

Therefore, the means by which goods and services are transported need to be fast and efficient. Airfreight is probably the fastest mode of transport so far. Speedy delivery of goods and services from one corner of the world to another has revolutionized the trade industry.

Overcoming Geographical Barriers

When it comes to long-distance trade, geographical barriers including rocky mountains, oceans, forests, etc. can prove to be a big hurdle in the transport of goods.

The use of airplanes for the transportation of cargo has allowed us to overcome such barriers and has made such long-distance trade not only possible but much easier than ever.

Safety of Goods

Damage or theft of goods on their way to their final destination is a source of huge loss for any businessman. History gives us many examples of goods being stolen by bandits or pirates when transported via roadways and water respectively.

Thus, it is very important to ensure that the transported goods are well protected and air freight has proven a very reliable means of transport in this regard

Transport of Large quantities of Goods

Air transport allows us to send very large quantities of goods worldwide. Thus a single plane can be used to transport way more cargo than a two or three vehicles carrying goods via roadways. This makes air freight cost-friendly, but only in the case of long-distance transport.

Price Stabilization

In the past, due to slow transport, goods were produced and stored and transported when asked for. Even though large quantities of goods were available in the storage, due to the slow transport, the demand was not fulfilled rapidly as now, creating a false scarcity at times and leading to inflation.

However, in these days, rapid air transport allows us to produce goods when there is demand, without much need for storage. This creates equilibrium between the supply and demand and stabilizes the prices of various goods and services.

Globalization of Markets

Our world has become a global village. Air transport has played a vital role in the globalization of markets. Goods and services can be exchanged across the globe at very reasonable prices.

This has allowed the expansion of business across the globe and goods are now available in almost every part of the world due to the high-speed air freight.

The Cons

Despite the amazing advantages of air transport, its cons can not be ignored. Airfreight carries with it huge risks. Accidents involving airplanes, such as air crashes, rarely have any chances of survival and there is large-scale loss of lives and goods.

Moreover, under bad weather conditions, air transport can come to a complete halt. Also, inflammable substances, corrosives, explosives, and toxic materials are not allowed to be transported via air.

Conclusion

Air transport, due to its high speed and efficiency, has made business much easier, overcoming hurdles that mankind considered impossible to overcome in the past. It has had no less than a revolutionary impact on the business industry throughout the world.

For centuries, railways have been used for trade and business purposes. The earliest known railway systems date back to the mid 16th century in Germany. These early forms of railways were hauled by horses. Later, steam-powered vehicles were invented in Great Britain in the 19th century. These British railway systems stand today as one of the oldest functional systems of rails in the world.

Advancement in science and technology has had revolutionary impacts on the various means of transport including railways. Commencing as horse-driven wagonways, the railway systems today have advanced to the level of electric bullet trains, thanks to the developments in science and technology.

The business sector has almost always benefited from the railway transport. Carrying goods and passengers across lengthy distances, trains have been proving their worth ever since they were made.

In fact, there are some traces which suggest that the Diolkos, a paved pathway near Corinth, Greece, used to be a railway track that operated from 600 BC to the mid-1st century AD. This shows that railways have been an important asset for the business sector for a very long time.

There are a lot of different forms of railways, some of which are rudimentary and exist only in books or museums while others are helping us humans transport people and goods at this very moment.

Types of Railway Transport

As mentioned before, the earliest forms of trains consisted of wagons hauled by horses, and in certain cases even by humans. These are no longer in use, but can easily be called as the ancestors of the modern-day trains, carrying various goods and commodities from one place to another. When it comes to modern freight trains, we can classify them into various types on different bases. Here we have classified them into 3 types.

Mixed Freight Trains

As the name indicates, these trains carry goods of different types. Each of the cars carrying the goods has a specific destination where it is to be delivered. Therefore, the arrangement of cars behind the locomotive depends upon the order of the stations where the train will arrive.

Unit Trains

In contrast to mixed trains, the unit trains carry only one particular type of commodity. This train usually has a single route, thus carrying its freight from the same source to the same destination.

Examples of unit trains include coal-carrying “coal trains”, automobile carrying “auto trains”, and grain carrying “grain trains”.

Intermodal Trains

These trains have greatly improved the speed of transport of goods and commodities. Basically, intermodal trains carry goods inside containers. The containers can easily be loaded onto roadway vehicles, trains, and even ships, using cranes, thus speeding up the transfer of goods from one mode of transport to another. This saves much time and energy and has become an important tool in business.

Conclusion

Railway transport is an asset that allows us to transport huge quantities of all forms of goods along with a variety of distances. Many railway systems that were made centuries ago are still functioning and have proved the worth of this amazing means of transport. Even though people use it worldwide as passengers, the business sector greatly benefits from it as well.

Cars, grains, coal, oil, automobiles, clothes, and so many other forms of goods are transported each day in freight trains, and at very reasonable prices. Railway transport, indeed, is a very important luxury for us human beings in our private lives as well as our business.