COMMON SHIPPING MISTAKES

For many companies, moving freight across the country and the border is an unavoidable cost of doing business. Making easily avoidable mistakes when preparing, packaging, labelling and shipping products adds unnecessary costs. Even worse, if mistakes cause goods to arrive late or damaged, it may damage your customer relationships. Read on for shipping mistakes shippers often make:

Guesstimating the cost: Even when you’re scrambling to get a last-minute shipment out, you don’t have to guess at shipping costs. “We have cost calculators on our website that will calculate the cost accurately as long as you input all the factors,” says Valerie Speck, Canadian Sales Manager for Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL). Optional services that entail an extra cost are priced out as well, from hazardous materials deliveries to lift gate service pick-up and delivery to a construction site.

Filling out forms incorrectly: It’s easy to slip up and leave the customs broker’s name off the paperwork or the country of origin off the commercial invoice. But even minor errors in paperwork can cause delays at the border and may even prompt customs exams. To avoid that problem, Speck advises opting for a freight line that implements a Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS) to catch mistakes before they cause bigger issues. At Old Dominion, paperwork gets double-checked at the service centre. “If a piece of information is missing, we start working with the shipper, as well as the Canadian customer to deal with that immediately,” says Jerry Aaron, Director, Global North America for ODFL. Choosing the wrong packaging: Whether you’re shipping grocery items or car parts, the packaging size matters. Choose a box that is neither too big nor too small and make sure there’s enough protective filling to cushion your product, advises Speck. That will help ensure your shipping costs remain in line and your product arrives intact.