Businesses often ship multiple tons of goods to retail stores each year with the assistance of freight carriers. The vast majority of these deliveries are completed with little to no problems. However, the risk of your freight being damaged always exists. Some of this damage occurs due to accidents or mishandling, while others occur due to poor preparation and packaging on the business’s part.
Let’s look at four ways to prepare your freight for safe shipping.
1.Stacks and Bundles
Shipping groups of goods via freight often involves stacking and bundling. This makes sense as transporting similar goods becomes easier when they are grouped together. You can bundle many goods together to make the loading and unloading process easier for your chosen freight carrier.
When stacking packages or boxes, you should aim for even columns that form squares or rectangles. This helps keep the stack stable and protects the inner boxes from damage in the event of an accident.
2.Secure Your Pallets
Another great way to keep your goods secure is to use stretch wrap and strapping. This keeps them secure in groups and prevents loose goods from flopping about. You should ensure the wrap or strapping is applied tightly to stop any packages from coming loose. However, this wrapping should not be so tight that it damages your goods.
In some cases, the freight carrier may offer to wrap your goods themselves, so you should inquire about their services beforehand.
3.Label Your Goods
Modern freight carriers keep track of packages using their own labeling systems. However, you still need to label your goods in the event that their system fails or makes a mistake.
Consider adding “fragile” stickers or special handling instructions to your packages to give handlers an extra reminder.
4.Sort Based on Weight
Stacking packaging boxes together seems like a relatively straightforward process. However, you should always remember to sort your boxes based on their weight. This means the heaviest boxes in your stack should always be at the bottom while the lightest ones should be at the top.
You should also avoid stacking more than 1650 pounds per pallet, as cardboard and wooden pallets cannot support weight that exceeds this number. Adding too much weight to a pallet may cause it to collapse or topple over.
Why Choose Action Transport Inc?
You can make your goods safer and more secure for shipping by following the steps mentioned above. However, your goods may still be damaged during handling and shipping if you do not choose a reliable freight carrier. At Action Transport Inc, we can help match you with a safe and trustworthy carrier from our network at low-rates. Please get in touch with us to learn more about our freight broker services.