What are the Different Modes of Transportation That Aid Logistics?

Tracks And Traits Of Courier Companies
Transportation is important to the operation of logistics as nerves are to a human body. There is no logistics without transportation and several times, the international courier services tie-up with third party logistics to stretch the services and logistics distribution for growing demands.

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All parcels even international delivery has a source of origination and the customer is always its destination. Different modes of transportation via logistics distribution are what make it possible for goods worth billions of dollars to reach its correct destination from the source.

Modes of Transport

By road: These are mostly inter-city and interstate deliveries that have a dedicated team of drivers from the trucking services delivering parcels that have entered the country. This also includes the transportation of goods from ports to distribution centers and fulfillment warehouses.

By rail: Mostly helpful when goods are to be distributed around a country. The cargo trains carrying the goods may drop it off either at the ports or the distribution centers from where the trucking services proceed to deliver the items.

By water: This is the cheapest mode of transport and carries large volumes of goods across continents. International shipping services have goods at the port which need to be shipped across the sea and the ships carry the large volume of goods for international delivery.

By air: This can be really costly but fast. However, international courier services airlift very valuably, lesser volumes of goods. There are even cargo planes that carry goods via air.

With such tremendous methods of transportation, things could get a little complicated while you aim at receiving the correct shipment. Freight forwarders can help with queries you have about your item. However, the international logistics services always have your back with the aid of all modes of transportation detailed above and also the best technological backing.

The Number One Historic Logistician is....War – Fare!

Ulysses S Grant was a man who built himself from scratch to become the President of the USA twice. He was a man with a keen interest in the art of warfare including logistics distribution that helped during a war. He then served as a Colonel in the American Civil war, for the Union under Abraham Lincoln against the Confederates who were part of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in order to preserve slavery, states' rights, and political liberty.

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The American Civil War lasted four years from 1961 to 1965. The four-year war with 2.5 million people on each side, 50 major, and 5000 minor battles fought, ended with a total of 620,000 deaths and a lot of casualties. The nationwide war was a tough one and the numbers here say so.

A war that lasted four years could gladly make use of today's international logistics services for a continuous flow of goods to take care of the army’s war requirements. Grant was a man with a skill to deliver. He was the architect of the logistics distribution planning that catered to the needs of 2 million soldiers in the North that formed the Union under Abraham Lincoln.

Here are a few things listed below, that an army would need at war:

• Food
• Water
• Ammunition
• Salvage
• Health and Comfort items
• Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants
• Construction materials
• Health and Hygiene products
• Medical materials
• And all captured materials

These are just a few. Grant carefully planned the movement of fulfillment warehouses and logistics distribution with every proceeding of the army and the trucking services that helped carry heavy ammunition. This assisted the Union Army win over the Confederacy. To have designed the logistics distribution for a war so massive, he is the No. 1 logistician in history.

Grant's popularity as a Union War General made him the 18th President of America for the first time.

Freight Claim Management: Are You Doing it correctly?

Claim! But who is it to blame?

It is impossible for an international delivery service company to ship a sea of packages across the world and be flawlessly accurate with every delivery. It'd be rather delusional to have an expectation so high with the number of items the international shipping services account for.

International Shipping - DTDC USA

And of course! When it’s express delivery, every item is to be handled with care. There are boundless ways of how an item can be damaged; here are three right on top:

• Staff at the fulfillment warehouse stacked things on your parcel.
• A bad storm when your parcel was on the ship of the international shipping service.
• A daring driver from the trucking services carrying your package.

Is your slate clean while you think of filing a freight claim?

Pack and seal your parcel cautiously and seal the express delivery package to conceal it. Fragile items need more attention while you pack. Sticker your parcel, the ones that state “Fragile”, “Do not Stack” and “Handle with care” should qualify.

Write a return address on the box so the international parcel delivery services can return the parcel back to you if they fail to deliver it.

Get your parcel insured by the international courier services that offer suitable plans for your parcel to be insured.

Have every invoice that the international logistics services sends you when your parcel makes various stops at different logistics distribution centers to let you track the item.

Notify the international parcel delivery services about the damaged package you received when it arrived at your doorstep. Examine the item for more damages.

Get all the proof you can All the invoices you received from the international delivery service, photographs of the damaged item, and the delivery man to be a witness. This should give you brownie points.

Damage is a cost for all parties involved, if you play a part of a responsible customer, you may be able to file a claim and get your claim paid.

Few Ways to Identify That Goods Are Damaged

The international logistics services team is expected, mostly as ethics, to ensure they check their inventory before international delivery is initiated. Damaged goods adversely affect transportation costs and also affect their partnerships with third party logistics. It’s needless to say that item that comes through international shipping need to be examined stringently by the logistics distribution team especially while unloading from vehicles. However, not just international shipping but domestic deliveries too, have their fair share in dishing out damaged goods.

International Delivery - DTDC USA

Fortunately we have figured out a few steps to identify faulty deliveries:

1. Leaking containers: This is one of the few easily identifiable faults while receiving inventory. If ignored, consumers are affected and might harm the company’s goodwill. And sometimes could prove to be disastrous.

2. Inflated packages: Such damages are usually seen in carton packages containing food/liquid commodities. The international parcel delivery services usually dispose-off these items unless they have a clause with the vendor which allows them to return the goods back.

3. Dents on the package: Electronic items through express delivery are prone to damages which are easily visible even on the outside of the package. While some such wrecks can be repaired, it is sometimes sent back through the international parcel delivery services with the expectation of some monetary compensation.

4. Foul smell: Some international parcel delivery services have exceptional packaging systems in place. However, a slight oversight could cause foods to rot, and what is left is an unpleasant smell, customers and expenses!

5. Examining the product information on the package: Some goods carry details on the package which sometimes include the products’ shelf life. Often, at times, when the international delivery transit takes longer than expected, it helps because the goods are in the fulfillment warehouse.

There can never be a complete guarantee to deliver undamaged goods, although that is what is most expected. Careful packaging and reliable trucking services soften the blow and reduce the risk that the logistics distribution service has to bear.

Courier in Hot Weather vs. Cold Weather - Sun, Snow, and Shipments

When transporting goods across borders, getting the product from its origin to the consumer comes with a ton of challenges. One of the primary challenges for any international parcel delivery services are the weather conditions. Weather conditions are to be monitored closely by international delivery services in order to deliver the product without damage and on-time.

International Parcel Delivery Services - DTDC USA

Products which are couriered can get easily damaged due to abnormal weather conditions and these are mostly food products and medical supplies.

Here are a few methods that the international logistics services have come up with to tackle adverse weather conditions:

1) Packing: Fulfillment warehouse should pack goods suitably considering the damage the weather can cause to the parcel.

2) Forecast: The international shipping services should recover historical data of challenges they faced during severe weather conditions and plan a workaround to meet international delivery demands more efficiently.

3) Technology: Most containers carrying perishable items are temperature controlled with trackers to help track movement of the same.

4) Equipped warehouses: Logistics distribution centers are aware of items that can get damaged in the heat/cold and hence keep a close watch on such goods. For this, temperature at such distribution centers is controlled to prevent goods from damage. 

5) Equipped drivers: Cold weather and snow causes a lot of trouble to truckers and this can delay delivery. Trucking services are to be equipped with shovels and other tools to help get them out of trouble on snow filled roads. Winter tires are increasingly used by large number of fleet vehicles, offering better grip and decreased stopping distances in adverse weather conditions.

Other than a threat to drivers of these trucking services during the cold weather conditions, most products are vulnerable during hot weather. The products that are being transported under the heat of the sun require more attention and quality check to keep them from spoilage.