Regardless of the industry, being on time is critical. When you need to move your goods from one place to another, you must trust a company that understands how vital on-time deliveries are and why. 

On-Time Deliveries Defined

On-time delivery refers to transporting goods from one location to another on time and in the total amount requested. Customer demands have made supply chains more complex and transporting cargo on-time essential. 

Why On-Time Delivery is So Important

Everyone wants things delivered on time, but there are real logistical reasons for delivering goods in the timeframe allotted. 

• Customers demand on-time deliveries, and if you fail to keep a dedicated schedule, you could lose income and destroy your reputation. 
• On-time deliveries build trust with your customers and credibility for your business. Reliability fosters strong business relationships and leads to more sales. 
• Sometimes, strict state and federal legal guidelines dictate the timeliness of deliveries. 
• Often, cargo is perishable and must be delivered within a specific timeframe to remain viable.
• Maintaining an on-time delivery service is more professional, and customers can rely on you and trust you with their most valuable assets. In addition, on-time deliveries are tied closely to customer satisfaction and repeat business.

The Ripple-Effect

Another essential factor is that if one aspect of transporting goods is late, it can cause a ripple effect and cause further delays down the line. 

The goal of on-time deliveries is not just a metric to strive for; it strongly affects the entire supply chain including, vendors, customers, shippers, carriers, receivers, and others affected by the supply chain. 

Making On-Time Deliveries a Priority

Southern Companies prides itself on making on-time deliveries a way of business. Contact us today to learn more about how we ensure point-to-point on-time deliveries. 

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What is Drayage?

Drayage refers to transporting goods a short distance between two intermodal points. An intermodal point is a trucking location, train station, warehouse, or seaport. Often, drayage refers to frozen or refrigerated goods, and the loads are usually quite large, sometimes more than 1,000 tons. The containers used for drayage are extremely large. Therefore, drayage is a specialized type of transportation requiring very specific equipment and staff. 

How Does Drayage Work?

The process of drayage transports goods quickly over short distances. It usually involves more than one mode of transport, such as trucks, ships, planes, and trains. 

An example might be a shipment of new vehicles that arrives at a port in Boston. These vehicles need to be moved to dealerships across the United States via train. Drayage takes over and collects the containers from the seaport and then transports them to the train station. Once each container reaches the next train station, drayage again comes into play as a truck picks up each vehicle and drives it to the individual dealership that purchased it.

Drayage moves shipments along their intermodal stages and helps them reach their final destination by stepping in when necessary. Because each gap may vary, drayage must be very flexible to handle the complexities of each shipment. Drayage helps to iron out the logistics since some portions of a single shipment might need to continue by ship, railway, or truck headed for different locations.

Drayage also includes loading and unloading cargo from one mode of shipment to the next. The new vehicles used in the example above may need to be offloaded from the cargo container and driven onto a double-decker vehicle transport truck or moved onto a train car for their continued journey. Drayage takes care of all of that. 

Types of Drayage

Drayage consists of more than one type of transportation. Some of the most common classifications of drayage include:

Inter-Carrier – When a drayage company transfers goods from one mode of transport to another. Such as above with the shipping container to the train.

Intra-Carrier – This is when a company uses the same carrier to handle all the separate steps during intermodal transportation which may include planes, ships, trucks, and trains. 

Expedited – Drayage that relies on the quick transportation of goods that require speedy delivery.

Pier – Pier drayage is when a drayage company uses trucks to transport goods to and from a pier.

Door-to-Door – Transports products from shipping containers to the end-user, usually via trucks (think Amazon).

Shuttle – To avoid overcrowding at intermodal hubs, a drayage company will temporarily move goods to a secure location and then back when they are ready to move onto their next stop.

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