Tips to Save Money on Cross Canada Intermodal Shipping Costs
Cross Canada intermodal shipping is essential in navigating the financial and logistical challenges of transporting goods across the country’s vast and diverse landscapes. Particularly for businesses that depend on a constant influx of supplies, and individuals who frequently send items, the costs can escalate due to Canada’s varied climates and geographical expansiveness which demand additional manpower and resources. But by utilizing intermodal shipping, the complexity and cost of these shipments can be significantly alleviated, ensuring a more efficient and reliable delivery process across the nation.
Amidst all this, companies and people requiring constant shipment have found ways to reduce freight shipping costs and direct the funds to other departments to grow their business. This comprehensive guide explores strategies companies can use to trim shipping costs and still receive premium services.
Compare Shipping Carriers
Canada has plenty of shipping companies, each offering different rates. Comparing their rates and choosing the one that aligns with your budget is a great way to reduce shipping costs. With companies like RailGateway.ca, CP Rail, CN Rail, and North Atlantic International you have many options, each offering different pricing and delivery speeds.
Take Advantage of Shipping Discounts
More often, shipping companies offer discounts for special occasions, like Christmas, Halloween, or Black Friday. They also have schemes favouring e-commerce, nonprofit, and healthcare companies, as they ship things frequently and in large batches. Talk to all freight shipping companies and see which has an existing discount that you can exploit.
Negotiate Shipping Rates
Although shipping companies seem to have fixed freight shipping rates, they allow room for negotiation for companies and individuals who ship frequently. Contact the sales department with your proposal to determine if they can offer a deal. Ensure you estimate the package quantity you intend to ship and how often.
Utilize Online Shipping Tools
Shipping companies often offer discounts when you book their shipping services online. Additionally, their online shipping tools have extra benefits like scheduling pickups, generating shipping labels and tracking your shipment. Taking advantage of these tools helps reduce the overall shipping expenses compared to manually. It also reduces the time to process your shipping as you’ll have access to all the tools you need for the work.
Use Consolidation Services
Small and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford to hire an entire shipping container can take advantage of the consolidation services, where goods heading to the same destination are grouped in one container. Such an arrangement reduces the shipping cost while ensuring goods reach their destination safely. Consolidation services help freight goods across Canada at a fraction of the cost.
Contact your ideal freight shipping company regarding this arrangement to determine if any packages are shipping to your preferred destination.
Leverage Shipping Software
Going through every freight transportation company manually to find the best shipping rates is tiresome and requires a lot of dedication. If you’re a busy person who would rather focus on the productive side of your business, it makes sense to utilize shipping software, like Transport Management Systems (TMS), that automates the entire process for you. The program compares the existing shipping companies and chooses the one with the preferable rates.
Try Alternative Shipping Methods
Canada still offers alternative shipping methods like intermodal transportation and rail shipping. Although these methods take time, they’re still cost-effective, making them ideal for trimming shipping costs. However, you should only consider these options if you do not require expedited freight shipping or have huge packages that are expensive to ship using other means.
How to Choose a Canada Shipping Company
Working with the right Canadian freight shipping company is crucial to any business’s success. Besides offering reliable shipping experiences, these companies also ensure the goods reach their destination safely, and they would update you of any delay if it happens.
Here are a few tips to consider when choosing the right Canada shipping company:
Shipping Requirements and Needs
Consider your shipping needs, like international or domestic shipping, the urgency of shipping, and the nature of the package shipping. Consider working with a company offering expedited services if you want quick delivery. If you want special requirements like refrigeration, choose companies offering temperature-controlled shipping.
Service Coverage
Only work with a shipping company that delivers to your preferred destination. Are you planning to ship to remote areas? Does the company service coverage extend to those areas? What about shipping cross-border services? These are questions you should ask yourself before working with any shipping company. Also, please talk with your customs broker since they usually have the correct information about these companies.
Pricing and Cost
Cost is the most critical aspect to consider when choosing a shipping company. Do they have favourable rates? Do they offer discounts? Can you negotiate shipping rates with the company? These questions will help you sieve out shipping companies not aligning with your current shipping budget.
Insurance and Liability
Goods in transit get damaged often, and choosing a company with reliable insurance and liability cover is crucial. However, you must understand the company’s liability coverage of damaged and lost goods.
Clarify if they cover damaged or lost goods, their claims process, and requirements. It’s also best to purchase additional insurance for sentimental and valuable goods that might be too much for a shipping company to cover.
Customer Service and Support
A great shipping company should have outstanding customer service that is always available and helps with issue resolution. Customer support also helps with package tracking, ensuring packages reach their destination on time.
Reliability and Track Record
A reliable company is one with a track record of success, mainly expressed through customer reviews from people who have used the services before. Does the company have an excellent track record on delivery, customer satisfaction, and resolving issues? These are some questions that will help you choose the right shipping company.
Additional Services
Some Canadian shipping companies are known for offering extra services like customs clearance, which is handy in any supply chain. British Columbia shipping companies would work with a customs broker to ensure goods reached on time. The customs broker also helps create and verify the customs bond, showing that you have complied with all requirements when importing goods.
Cross Canada Shipping
Shipping goods from or across Canada can be expensive, but you can reduce this cost by comparing rates and choosing the affordable one. Shipping discounts, consolidated services, shipping software, and alternative shipping methods are great ways to save shipping costs. When choosing a shipping company, it’s best to consider your shipping needs and requirements, service coverage, cost, insurance, customer services, and reliability. Remember, it’s always best to have more than one shipping company in your profile to avoid the future dangers of dealing with only one company.
