Less-Than-Load (LTL) shipping refers to a shipping strategy that involves smaller shipments than those requiring a full truck load. Essentially, an LTL shipment consists of several companies combining their partial orders into one complete truck. This is a great option for small businesses and businesses that don’t want to pay for unused space in a truck, but also don’t have enough product to fill a truck. Combining multiple partial loads into one full load creates many benefits for all stakeholders including:
Low environmental impact
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important and essential part of all business activities today. hui, it is important that companies take their environmental footprint into account. When practice is as it should be, LTL shipping results in a more efficient system in which all trucks are filled and no vehicle is left empty on board. This leaves a lower environmental impact overall.
Low cost
Because the LTL strategy does not require companies to pay for the full volume of trucks but only for the portion they need, costs tend to be lower. It doesn’t take a lot of work because at any time you can get lower costs in outsourcing work while maintaining the same level of service and quality, which is a plus.
Fast delivery
So, what is the faster shipping method: LTL or FTL (Full truck)? Logically, it can be said that shipping by complete truck will be the fastest way to ship shipments. After all, dealing with multiple companies, each with a truck of their shipments, takes longer than loading a truck for a company, right?
Not surprisingly, in many cases the opposite is true. LTL shipping really has the upper hand here, depending on the other details of a given situation. This is because the LTL does not force companies to wait until enough orders have been processed to fully load a truck and ship it to deliver as quickly as possible, which is not often the case with FTL shipments.
The whole idea behind LTL shipping is that companies can fulfil their own smaller orders by allowing their goods to be bundled with other companies’ goods and placed on the same vehicle for much faster delivery. So, it stands to reason that in most situations LTL will be the faster of these two shipping methods.
One of the best ways to maximize the benefits inherent in an LTL strategy is to minimize the number of service providers used. Let’s see how it works…
Why minimize the number of service providers you use?
It’s not necessarily intuitive; It seems likely that having more carriers to accept shipments will speed up operations and improve all parts of the shipping process. However, we have found that using fewer carriers is beneficial for LTL shipping companies.
Current carrier tariffs reduce
Using a small number of service providers will provide each service provider with greater business consistency, often leading to a renegotiation of their tariffs. As you begin to build more consistent business and relationships with your service providers, they are often more willing to offer you better rates when the number of charges you incur with them frequently increases. Dealing with just one or a handful of service providers can translate into improved operations elsewhere in your business, as you can reallocate costs and save money.
A more personalized approach
If you have agreements with a small number of carriers, they may be able to provide you with a more personalized offerings for your transportation needs. They may agree to certain provisions that they might not otherwise be able to make available when used more occasionally as one of a company’s many service providers.
The reason behind this is that they want to make sure their business is treated as a primary contract and to ensure that future business comes from you. Most operators know that if they can keep you happy, you won’t need to add competition to the existing list of operators you use.
Improve relationships with carriers
Loyalty is often underestimated in business. When you work with a person or a company for a long time and provide mutual benefits, the relationships often remain strong. Good business relationships are built on building good relationships. Shipping companies tend to build better relationships with their carriers when working with fewer of them.