Working with a dependable port drayage services provider to handle your company’s containerized freight is a crucial component in ensuring customer satisfaction and good business throughout the year. Drayage service providers connect global shippers with their customers using intermodal transportation from the ports or major railways in North America. They do so by providing the drivers, equipment, facilities, operational support, and technology necessary to transport shipments as efficiently as possible.
In recent years, drayage has grown in significance as customers have come to expect visibility and on-time delivery for all of their shipments. And these expectations must be met despite some of the nagging challenges logistics managers continue to experience with their supply chains.
This blog explores the benefits of effective port drayage services and how they can help businesses save time and money while enhancing customer service through greater efficiency.
What Drayage Service is Best for Your Company?
Companies that use port drayage service partners need one that offers flexible service catered specifically to their operational needs. The following section considers the additional value-added services that drayage companies can offer shippers.
Full Truckload Service
Drayage transportation providers should offer a range of service options that your company’s specific needs. The vast majority of drayage shipments involve first-mile logistics, which usually involves trucks hauling containerized freight short distances from a maritime port or railyard to a transloading facility or warehouse. Depending on the commodity your company ships — whether they require reefers, flatbeds, or dry vans — make sure your port drayage services provider has a combination of assets, owner-operators, and a North American network of truck capacity.
Transloading Service
Port drayage logistics providers who have their own transloading facilities can help shippers expedite their transportation and help ensure just-in-time delivery. Look for a detail-oriented port drayage services provider that can facilitate the transfer of your commodities from one form of transportation to the other. Some of the largest shippers and freight forwarders trust Port X Logistics for its reliable transloading services.
Project Management
Shippers need port drayage logistics providers that can combine dependable trucks, 24/7 operational support, and a consultative approach to help manage some of your largest drayage projects.
The Benefits of Drayage Services
Whether your company is new to international shipping or just looking for new drayage providers to support your current operations, your company should consider the benefits that are associated with an effective drayage shipping partner.
Guaranteed Capacity
The U.S. and Canadian truck market can be unpredictable and unforgiving for shippers who lack a professional port drayage provider. It’s important to partner with a drayage company that offers transportation options no matter what port or rail terminal your company utilizes in North America. Look for a port drayage provider that guarantees truckload capacity regardless of the port or railyard you operate from in the United States and Canada. Quality carriers in your network are what make customers happy.
Cut your Transportation Costs
Partnering with a full-service drayage partner not only helps shippers streamline their current operations but can also help cut their current transportation costs. Compared to airfreight shipments, container rentals, or purchasing equipment, a 3PL drayage provider can build a transportation network around your most important lanes, find the most cost-effective option available to service your shipments, and ultimately limit the amount of money you spend on transportation.
Optimize your Current Operations
Maintaining a healthy supply chain starts with understanding what pain points youare currently experiencing, and how a port drayage services provider can alleviate those issues with customized service to avoid any potential bottlenecks in your operations. Logistics directors hate when their loads sit at the docks or rail ramps. Demurrage fees and detention costs add up in the long run, and that’s why it’s crucial to find a drayage carrier who ensures on-time arrival.
Cost Savings with Port Drayage Services
The following section will go over some of the ways shippers can save money, time, and energy by utilizing a port drayage service provider that specializes in optimizing supply chains.
Lower Your Freight Costs
Port drayage can sometimes get expensive, especially when shippers need expedited service due to routing errors, service failures, or DETENTION and DEMURRAGE fees at the ports. Reduce the soft costs of demurrage and detention by proactively tracking the cargo and planning with your trucker. One of the ways shippers can lower their labor costs is by making sure their commodities are packed correctly the first time. Rewrapping, palletizing, and shipping overweight material will all incur higher fees when shipping drayage.
What are your Labor Costs?
Do you have a breakdown of how much your transloading service adds to your transportation budget? Shippers will likely have an additional cost at every touchpoint within the journey of cargo. Any time your loads require special handling, storage, or loading/unloading at a transload facility, you are incurring additional costs. Work with a port drayage logistics provider who can run data analytics to help reduce your handling fees.
On-Time Pickup and Delivery
Some of the most annoying accessorial fees that shippers get dinged with involve carriers who miss appointment times, run out of hours, or charge detention fees. Look to partner with a port drayage logistics company that tracks the vessel, monitors all shipments, automatically notifies customers about any holds, and will even pay for the terminal feels.
Route Optimization and Improved Efficiency
Working with a port drayage services provider that specializes in optimizing your supply chain will help drive your cost management and assist your company in determining opportunities for improvement in your current operations. With proper cost management, shippers can optimize their routes, reduce cargo dwell time at the ports, and significantly reduce costs spent on accessorial fees and fuel costs. These improvements will also help improve customer satisfaction by improving on-time delivery rates.
Improved Accuracy
One particular advantage of working with a port drayage services provider that offers shippers the latest cloud-based technologies is the ability to get real-time visibility on every shipment. Most drayage providers rely on manual check calls and email updates to inform customers where their loads are. Port X Logistics is one of the few port drayage providers that track your cargo over water, at the port, and over the road, offering shippers unprecedented visibility over their entire supply chain. Port X Logistics proudly uses Turvo, a digital platform that allows shippers to see every load, every tracking update, and the load history of every shipment.
Get control over your supply chain while reducing the time and energy spent tracking down PO numbers, getting load updates, or searching bloated email servers to find load information. By partnering with a trusted port drayage services provider like Port X Logistics, shippers can gain real-time visibility at their fingertips.
Security
Improve the security of your cargo by getting real control and visibility over your supply chain. Poor communication between your carrier partner may cause delays, mishandling at the warehouse, or trouble completing on-time deliveries. Work with a port drayage provider who offers cloud-based solutions to get more visibility on your cargo.
The Benefits of Working with Port X Logistics for Your Drayage Needs
Port drayage is the critical first-mile link that connects your commodities to your customers. That’s why it’s important to work with a professional service provider specializing in moving drayage freight from all ports and rail ramps located in North America. Port X Logistics combines company trucks, owner operators, and logistics network, ensuring you have quality truck capacity no matter what the circumstances are at the ports. Their dedicated team of logistics professionals has decades of experience helping shippers optimize their supply chains. Port X Logistics empowers shippers to get more control over their port drayage, providing them with the latest technologies designed to reduce shipping costs while improving your just-in-time delivery. No matter what you ship to the ports, Port X Logistics has you covered. Connect with an expert at Port X Logistics today!