This is part 4 of a 5 part series based on this blog post.
Technology has become a critical component in the freight shipping world. Tools and software have been developed that make it easier for shippers to move their freight.
When looking for shipping companies, almost all will promise cheap shipping but does their technology stack up?
Does the shipping company offer free shipping quotes? The Freight Rate Company does.
Does the shipping company make it easy to create an account on their website? The Freight Rate Company does.
Does the shipping company offer online TMS solutions to manage your freight shipments? The Freight Rate Company does.
Does the shipping company offer the ability to integrate their system with your own? The Freight Rate Company does.
These essential technologies allow The Freight Rate Company to serve you best and maintain the ability to obtain cheap shipping rates for your business.
When you are looking for a way to ship your freight, what is it you’re looking for when seeking out a freight shipping company to move it for you?
Cheap shipping rates? Check.
Variety of carriers? Check
Multiple transit modes for moving your freight? Check.
Good customer service? No.
No?
That’s right. You want outstanding customer service. The Freight Rate Company promises to provide that level of customer service.
Expect:
These are such simple concepts but they are often lost in our culture today. While The Freight Rate Co. can offer you some of the best pricing to move your freight, it will also come with great customer service.
From About.com:
December 2011 was a great month for freight carriers and transportation companies. Figures form the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) found that freight shipments, measured by the Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), increased by the largest amount in 17 years.
What does this mean for shippers? If it holds it means more shipments will be made with an increase in demand for trucks, ships and rail. More demand, means tighter supply which leads to higher rates. If you still need cheap shipping, then finding the right shipping company to help move your freight becomes that much more critical.
We love the freight shipping business. It’s why we do it. Moving freight across the state, the country or the world can be a challenge and freight shippers often need to outsource that aspect of their business.
There’s where The Freight Rate Company comes in. We’ve been doing this since 1998 and expect to keep doing it for a long time.
Just for fun and as part of a marketing promotion, we’d like to give away to a random person, a brand new Apple 8GB iPod Touch! This is the latest generation of the iPod Touch and features:
“Ok, we got the specs! How do I win it?”
Good question. It is very easy. You just need to do 3 things and it’s super easy!
RT @FreightRateCo Win a brand new 8GB iPod Touch from a top freight shipping company in the logistics industry! http://bit.ly/zEt6V4
You only need to tweet it once as doing it multiple times will not improve your chances of winning. The contest will run through February 19th and a random winner be chosen and announced on February 20th.
Good luck to everybody!
It’s something heard all too often.
“We have good customer service.”
For some people, “good” is just not good enough. We’re going to cover in more detail in our series how critical customer service is in the freight shipping business. But it applies anywhere. From Accenture comes this sobering report:
Two out of three (66 percent) consumers switched companies – including wireless phone, cable and utilities – as a result of poor customer service in 2011 even as their satisfaction with the services provided by those companies rose, according to new research released today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The research findings pose new challenges for marketers as they focus on building customer loyalty and improving market share in a very competitive business environment.
More:
The survey also found that fewer than one-quarter (23 percent) of consumers surveyed feel “very loyal” to his or her providers, while 24 percent indicated that they had no loyalty at all. And, only half (49 percent) indicated that they are strongly influenced by at least one loyalty program offered by their service providers.
This was the most startling part of this survey:
The study found that consumers rate “having the service experience match the promise a company makes to me up front” as one of the most important areas of customer service. Yet the greatest service frustration cited is a provider’s failure to deliver on the service experience promised up front.
The last thing you want is a former customer telling others, “This company is good at what they do, but when they promise something, they don’t follow through.”
Don’t provide good customer service. Provide outstanding customer service. If not, you may find some customers looking elsewhere.
This is part of a series that derived from this blog post. We discussed the first essential and that was experience. This week will we cover the relationship with carriers.
When choosing a shipping company, experience is important. With that experience comes other tangible aspects to keep you at ease about your shipments.
There are literally thousands of different motor carriers in the United States and thousands more around the world. This includes truckload, rail, intermodel, LTL, package, and ocean carriers. Whether you need somebody that can ship around the world or if you are looking for local freight companies, it makes sense to choose a shipping company that has a strong relationship with the carriers they work with.
Since 1998, The Freight Rate Company has worked hard to build up relationships with various motor carriers. This is assurance of two important things:
In a business to business community, all of the players want to perform especially well for the client. When two of those partners have a strong relationship, it’s just that much more of a benefit to the customer.
Last week, we talked about five essentials when choosing a freight shipping company. This is going to be a five part series going into more detail about that blog post and those essentials.
Anybody can offer “cheap shipping.” A person can start a freight shipping company inside of their house, throw up a website and start making all sorts of promises with regard to getting you the best rate possible. That’s the easy part. The difficult part is following through and not only offering a great price, but getting that load shipped and on time.
As a shipper, all you want to do is get your freight moved. You rely on the freight shipping company to know the details.
Does that person know what is the best transportation mode to use? Truckload? Intermodal? LTL?
Do they have an understanding of what risks you face with regard to additional costs? These additional costs come in the form of accessorial charges. Lift gate fees, notify fees, fuel surcharges.
Do they understand the varying regulations there are from state to state and how to navigate their way through the bureaucratic maze that can sometimes be an issue?
If there is an issue with your shipment, you want somebody on the phone who knows what they are talking about and who can guide you through any issues.
The Freight Rate Company has been in business since 1999. The experienced professionals who founded the company have maintained a standard of excellence when it comes to service and also to hiring. The staff has the experience to answer all of the above questions. What does this give you as a customer?
Peace of mind.
When you put your shipment in the hands of a professional at The Freight Rate Company, you can be sure that experienced freight shipping experts are taking care of it.
