When most people think of freight shippers, they think of large companies that fill a semi trailer full of cargo to move it across the country. However, some shippers do not meet this description. Instead of composing a full semi load, their cargo composes a fraction of a full load, which poses an important question: do they pay for the price of a full trailer to move a partial load, or do they opt for another solution?
Today, most small and midsized shippers use Less than Truckload (LTL) shipping - a shipping model in which partial loads from different companies are combined to fill a semi trailer. Partial load arrangements can be scheduled by an in house logistics department, a Third Party Logistics (3PL) provider, or with the help of LTL software - a type of logistics software that is available from a provider of software-based freight audit services.
Which Option is the Most Cost Effective?
Small and midsized shippers select shipping options economically. Therefore, it makes sense to evaluate the logistics resources above - an in-house logistics department, a 3PL provider, and LTL software - from the standpoint of cost effectiveness.
Today, most small and midsized shippers use Less than Truckload (LTL) shipping - a shipping model in which partial loads from different companies are combined to fill a semi trailer. Partial load arrangements can be scheduled by an in house logistics department, a Third Party Logistics (3PL) provider, or with the help of LTL software - a type of logistics software that is available from a provider of software-based freight audit services.
Which Option is the Most Cost Effective?
Small and midsized shippers select shipping options economically. Therefore, it makes sense to evaluate the logistics resources above - an in-house logistics department, a 3PL provider, and LTL software - from the standpoint of cost effectiveness.
As one would expect, many small and midsize companies cannot afford to staff a conventional logistics department. Today, in-house logistics departments are mostly limited to large companies that own a shipping fleet. Unable to afford the salary and resources of a conventional logistics department, small and midsized companies turn to 3PL or LTL software.
3PL versus Logistics Software
The term 3PL Provider is a general one that encompasses four types of logistics providers:
- Standard 3PL provider - Offers standard services such as warehousing
- Service developer - Offers specific services such as tracking and tracing
- Customer adapter - Manages an existing shipping process
- Customer developer - Manages and innovates an existing shipping process
Like logistics software, these providers offer several logistics functions, from freight audit services to transportation management, but shippers typically pay more for a 3PL contract than they do for logistics software.
The price model for logistics software is similar to the price model for other types of web-based software. Because the product empowers shippers to provide their own logistics, shippers pay for the software and not the expertise of logistics experts, as they would by contracting with a 3PL provider. In many cases, using logistics software saves companies thousands of dollars a year compared to using 3PL.
Conclusion
LTL software gives shippers the same logistics resources they would have if they operated an in-house logistics department, or contracted with a customer developer. However, because the product performs the work of a logistics expert, shippers avoid the high cost of staffing logistics experts or retaining a high-level 3PL provider.
Partial load shipping allows small and midsize companies to combine partial loads in a full semi trailer. Instead of paying for the price of a full load, they split the price based on the characteristics of their shipments. To learn more about the benefits of logistics software for LTL shipping, contact a provider of software-based freight audit services today.
The price model for logistics software is similar to the price model for other types of web-based software. Because the product empowers shippers to provide their own logistics, shippers pay for the software and not the expertise of logistics experts, as they would by contracting with a 3PL provider. In many cases, using logistics software saves companies thousands of dollars a year compared to using 3PL.
Conclusion
LTL software gives shippers the same logistics resources they would have if they operated an in-house logistics department, or contracted with a customer developer. However, because the product performs the work of a logistics expert, shippers avoid the high cost of staffing logistics experts or retaining a high-level 3PL provider.
Partial load shipping allows small and midsize companies to combine partial loads in a full semi trailer. Instead of paying for the price of a full load, they split the price based on the characteristics of their shipments. To learn more about the benefits of logistics software for LTL shipping, contact a provider of software-based freight audit services today.
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