Preserving your cargo is critical in the dynamic world of transportation. Companies need to be ready for any unforeseen difficulties that may occur throughout the shipping process, from possible theft to the danger of damage or loss. In order to help you strengthen your cargo investment, we have put together a list of five crucial tactics that go above and beyond the typical methods. Let’s investigate cutting edge techniques to guarantee your cargo’s security.
Proactive Measures to Protect Your Cargo
In addition to getting cargo insurance, it’s important for companies to take every other proactive step they can think of towards reducing risk of cargo loss, damage, or theft. Mitigating risk and increasing cargo safety doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Many of these tactics are easy things to implement immediately, and will result in a safer transaction between you, your customers, freight forwarders, and all involved parties in the shipping process. Here are a few to focus on:
1. Insure Your Shipments
An essential line of defense against unanticipated circumstances during shipment is cargo insurance. This crucial tactic guarantees that your company is shielded against possible losses brought on by harm, theft, or other problems. Look for insurance plans that provide extensive coverage customized to meet your unique requirements. Work with knowledgeable freight forwarders to identify the ideal plan for your company.
2. Choose a Reliable Freight Forwarder
The first step in protecting your goods is picking a trustworthy shipping provider. Examine more closely and learn about the past of effective freight delivery. To make an educated choice, carefully consider their liability limitations, policies, rates, and claims settlement procedures.
Not only this, but make sure your freight forwarder has adequately walked you through the importance of insuring your cargo and what the associated risks are with foregoing to the decision to insure it. If they haven’t made the pricing options and risks crystal clear from the get go, your relationship with your forwarder is a ticking time bomb. You don’t want to be left playing “accountability hot potato” with you’re your freight forwarder when a shipment goes south (figuratively, not literally, of course).
3. Innovative Packaging Techniques
For an additional degree of protection, think about utilizing tamper-evident packaging in addition to strong boxes and padding materials. This method guarantees the integrity of the shipment in addition to shielding the contents from harm. Integrating new packaging technologies, or simply adjusting your process of securing your cargo’s packaging can greatly improve the safety of all future shipments.
4. Smart Labeling Practices
By marking your shipments with clarity and conciseness, you may increase their exposure. Make sure that all packing labels, Bills of Lading, and other necessary documents are filled out correctly, reviewed, and placed in the proper place for viewing by your intermediaries and other involved parties. Proper labeling lowers the possibility of improper handling during transportation, enhancing the general security of your goods.
5. Embrace Technology with Tracking and Monitoring
Benefit from the shipping industry’s technological improvements by using tracking and monitoring services. Depending on the type of shipment, there may be software to get you real-time alerts about any possible problems and stay updated on the status of your shipments. This is very similar to InterlogUSA’s GEMCA tool, which is a component of the SHIELD Protocol, which delivers prompt notifications to you on the “5 key milestones” you selected as most important to be made aware of throughout the shipping process. By taking a proactive stance, your company can maintain an advantage and safeguard your cargo right away.
Cargo Insurance: An Essential Purchase
It is essential to emphasize the function of cargo insurance as a vital investment as we dig into the significance of securing your goods. Proactive precautions are certainly important when it comes to protecting your bottom line, but cargo insurance serves as a financial safety net, as well as protection over your company’s reputation. Lost or damaged cargo isn’t just a loss of materials or cash – it creates a fracture in the relationship between you and your clients, and introduces a great deal of uncertainty and distrust into the mixture.
The problem is, most companies don’t realize that their cargo is not insured by default (technically, it is insured by the steamship lines, but only at a rate of $500 per container, which is hardly anything). They also don’t realize how affordable cargo insurance is. It’s rare to need to invoke it, but when it happens, the one time it comes in use almost always pays back many times over what they have spent in total on cargo insurance to that moment.
Motivation to Look for Cargo Insurance
If you don’t want to end up buying your own cargo twice in a row, it’s important to take proactive steps towards insuring your cargo. The first step is simply a conversation – it’s incredibly quick and easy to get a ballpark quote on how much it will cost to insure your cargo, and to understand the risks and benefits associated with using or foregoing it.
Talk with your freight forwarder about insurance immediately, or give us a call if you have any questions about what it would cost and how to get set up with insurance! Our team members would be happy to walk through everything with you over a brief phone call.