Many Australian companies struggle to identify the best local Australian freight services for their needs. Identifying a good freight management service is hard enough for experienced logistics experts, let alone new start up businesses, many of whom rely on this critical function of their business to survive.
Freight management is such an essential component of any business in the global economy today, and companies must ensure they spend the time to get it right. Having a great freight service will ensure your business can be it’s very best – and will help you beat the competition every time.
See our top tips below to help find the best Australian Freight Services provider for your business:
- Match your company profile to a like-minded provider. Like any industry, within the Australian freight services market there is a spectrum of providers, from small hands on mum and dad providers, to large global conglomerates. It is important to determine what your company needs, and match that to the service provided. If you are a small start up business and you need a helping hand each step of the way, you are likely to get this from a smaller more personalized freight provider. If you are a mature company, with an understanding of the freight industry, and good knowledge of your freight profile, the best service for you may be from a company with similar attributes – large, professional, tech savvy, and a hands off approach.
- Determine your key requirements. If you are a technology focused company and want to reduce human intervention, look for a freight management service that can provide full supply chain automation. If you want the best performance, then research a provider’s KPI’s. If you just want the cheapest service, look for a provider that does just that (likely without a lot of bells and whistles).
- Trial a provider first. Most reputable providers will prefer to offer a trial first, so both parties can determine each other’s requirements and key performance indicators. Once each party understands each other and their requirements / service, the relationship can build and will hopefully be mutually beneficial.
- Ask for customer references. Any reputable provider in the Australian Freight Services market should be able to point you to some of their customers and the service they provide them.
- Make sure your provider has options. Some providers in the Australian Freight services industry rely solely on a single provider. The best partnerships I have seen are when a provider helps their customer with not just their day-to-day regular freight, but also the urgent, critical one off freight that needs to be resolved urgently. That is why you pay for a Freight Service – a back up plan for the days when your normal process fail and you just need to move your freight now. Remember, you’re brand is on the line until the freight is successfully delivered to your end end customer.