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How sharing a lorry with other consignments can save delivery costs

Sending small consignments of goods can be very inefficient. In general terms, businesses with several smaller shipment sizes could benefit from using groupage – a facility where their consignment is combined with other customer’s in the same trailer or container.

Groupage can be highly cost effective and efficient whether, sending goods within the UK or abroad to European and worldwide destinations.

Groupage Explained

In a nutshell, your consignment travels in the same trailer or lorry as others from several other senders headed for the same destination. Instead of paying heavily for your own, lower volume transportation you only pay for the space your shipment takes up in the truck.

Even though you may be a low volume or occasional user, by using groupage from a European freight forwarder you’re benefitting from the expertise and reliability of an established logistics expert used to sending high volumes of goods of all shapes and sizes to various destinations.

The above can be very important as a logistics company will be aware of any changing situations concerning the transportation of goods to different countries. They would also be pleased to advise on the best way of transporting certain items should you require assistance.

You could try arranging transportation of your goods yourself, but the time taken and the myriad aspects to consider would likely take up time more effectively spent on more important business activities, such as marketing, sales, customer services and improving product efficiencies.

Many groupage companies offer a door to door service; your shipment is collected by the logistics company and taken to a consolidation warehouse to be combined with other people’s shipments headed for the same destination as yours. From here they organise the onward logistics of delivering your shipment to where it needs to go.

Groupage Costs and Speed

When to use – as a general rule of thumb, shipments of up to two tonnes, or volumes smaller than ten cubic metres, would be suitable to consider a groupage arrangement.

Costs – they should prove competitive as you’re sharing with other shipments going to the same destination. In any event most logistics companies will give you a quote so you can evaluate the cost effectiveness of the service.

Time taken – this can vary and would obviously differ if you were sending a shipment to somewhere in, say, France, as opposed to a long haul destination such as Romania or Hungary. Also, times taken may fluctuate periodically but a logistics company should be able to advise at the time of asking for a quote or booking your shipment. Some companies, such as Delamode, provide an online table of delivery times and other details.

Choosing a logistics company

A company with a reassuring track record and a helpful and knowledgeable approach should be the basic criteria on which to base your choice. Are they helpful in answering your questions and advising on your requirements? Price is important of course – it’s a key reason to consider groupage in the first place – but ensure you end up using a logistics company you can trust to get your goods to where they need to go.

META Description: How groupage can save costs and enable you to use reputable logistics companies when sending low volumes of goods within the UK and abroad by sharing shipments.

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