Running a successful business requires managing costs effectively—transportation being a significant one for many companies. However, in today’s challenging economic environment, businesses are looking to go beyond simply managing costs to lowering them. The good news...
Business transportation capabilities cover the spectrum, from large corporations that maintain massive truck and semi trailer fleets to small businesses that own no vehicles or trailers. But nearly all companies experience situations when having a trusted semi trailer provider comes in handy.
If you’ve been in the transportation industry for a while, you’re probably familiar with liftgate semi trailers. You might have used them or, at least, seen them in action. But if you’re new to the business, you may be unfamiliar with liftgate trailers you rent or lease and interested in learning more about them.
There was a time when perishable goods were rarely transported farther than around the town where they were grown or manufactured. Things are much different in today’s connected world. In the U.S., products are continually moving from coast to coast and everywhere in between, and they have to be properly protected throughout their journeys.
Nobody in business—from manufacturers and retailers to semi trailer leasing companies—will soon forget the supply chain issues spawned by the pandemic and worsened by various other issues. (Remember that massive barge jamming the Suez Canal?) The challenges companies faced kept logistics professionals up at night, frustrated consumers, and caused significant revenue drops for many organizations.
Companies and individual consumers have always returned products for reasons ranging from item defects to incorrect size or color to simply a change of heart about the purchase. And when those transactions took place in small numbers, the companies would handle the returns in whatever way made sense at the time. Often, there was no clearly defined process.
When products have long journeys from origin to destination, it’s hard to imagine that the last mile of the trek is important. In fact, many people would consider that stretch unimportant. After all, the shipment is almost there. However, last-mile logistics play a critical role in the success of deliveries—both from the customer’s perspective and the point of view of the company shipping the products.
One lingering effect of the pandemic on businesses is ongoing labor shortages. There are many reasons for this, including the large number of working-age people who succumbed to COVID-19, the even larger number of individuals who have become ill and been temporarily unavailable, and many others who simply chose to leave the workforce.
It goes without saying that to succeed in business, you’ve got to maximize your revenues while minimizing your expenses. When it comes to the latter, an often-overlooked area is transportation. It’s common for companies to dismiss these costs as necessary and static and then turn their attention to other expenses.
There’s bad and good news about equipping your company with the appropriate semi trailers. The bad news is that if you fail to do so, you’ll hurt your business today and in the future. The good news is that getting high-quality equipment doesn’t have to be complicated or costly.