West Michigan Shipping

6 Reasons to Select a Custom Carrier Instead of a 3PL Provider

Your company’s reputation and prosperity hinge upon your ability to deliver your products swiftly and accurately. With the expertise of an accomplished custom carrier, you will increase your percentage of timely deliveries while conserving costs and resources. Below are six strategies to help you find the right custom carrier for your business.

1) Seek a well-connected carrier that can add value to your business. Choosing a custom carrier that can offer innovative solutions is vital to helping your company grow. As you compare potential partners, ask them about the technology they use to increase delivery efficiency and accuracy while controlling costs for clients. Top custom carriers will be eager to share their strategies for efficiency.

2) Ask potential providers how they can help you consolidate your shipments. This strategy will help your company maximize time, resources, and profit margin. In addition to preventing loading dock congestion, you can save on fuel charges and other shipping costs.

3) Select a custom carrier with a desirable location. Before committing to a carrier, take a look at your customer base to determine whether your customers are concentrated in a particular area of the country. Also, if you have customers in Canada or other countries, you should ensure that you choose a carrier with a location in the northern region of the United States to facilitate shipments.

4) Choose a carrier who will listen to your goals and objectives. Selecting a partner who is interested in helping you achieve your goals is critical. The custom carrier you seek should be readily accessible and responsive to your requests.

5) Be sure to provide sufficient information when requesting an estimate. This measure helps to ensure that you are comparing apples to apples when evaluating carriers. For instance, if a customer requires lift-gate and inside delivery before 3:00 P.M., be sure to note this on your request.

6) Ensure that your custom carrier has the scalability to handle future growth. As you evaluate potential carriers, be sure to outline your plans for future growth and confirm that prospective partners have the resources to grow alongside your company.

The Bottom Line

Finding a trusted custom carrier for your business is the key to minimizing delivery errors and optimizing customer satisfaction. At Zip Xpress, we think that every customer deserves to receive their orders safely, securely, and ahead of schedule. In addition to offering scalability, freight consolidation, and personalized service, Zip Xpress offers a plethora of solutions designed to facilitate delivery of your orders quickly and efficiently. We encourage you to contact our team of industry experts to learn why Zip Xpress is Michigan’s top provider of custom carrier solutions.

Electric Semi

Meijer Buys Into Tesla Semi After Price Announcement

Tesla recently announced that its electric freight truck, the Tesla Semi, will have an expected base price of $150,000 (300-mile range) or $180,000 (500-mile range). These tentative costs, which are lower than previously anticipated, make the Tesla Semi an attractive option over conventional trucks. For example, an average Class 8 truck costs about $0.54 per mile, compared with Tesla’s $0.26 per mile. Add in the significant cost savings associated with maintaining an electric engine compared with a gas-burning one, and the Tesla starts to look like a no-brainer. As previously reported in this blog, Tesla’s advantages go beyond cost to include speed and safety innovations.

Michigan-based retailer Meijer is looking to Tesla to potentially improve its fleet’s efficiency and reduce costs. The company ordered four trucks, giving it the chance to be among the first to test the electric vehicles.

“This new Tesla truck technology, (sic) has the potential to not only reduce our carbon footprint but also realize cost savings that will allow us to keep prices low for our customers,” the company’s spokesman Frank Guglielmi reported to milve.com.

Meijer, which has 235 stores across the Midwest, currently uses Freightliner Cascadia trucks featuring fuel-efficient, reduced-emissions engines. The company made a $5,000 per vehicle down payment and will decide after testing whether to complete the purchase. Tesla expects to begin Semi production starting in 2019.

Zip Xpress will be following news from both Tesla and Meijer as the electric freight fleet makes its way from test track to highway. Keep up with what’s driving change in trucking at Zip Xpress.