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What are key factors to consider when choosing a distribution center in Northern California?

What are key factors to consider when choosing a distribution center in Northern California?

The costs to do business in the Bay Area can be very expensive.  Selecting the right warehousing & distribution center in Northern California is essential to improving your bottom line and optimizing your supply chain. But what factors do you need to consider to execute a successful game plan for storing/distributing your products?

According to an article written by Siu, Antoinette (2017, Jan 25). Port of Oakland begins massive warehouse construction to boost capacity, jobs. San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved from
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2017/01/25/port-of-oakland-begins-massive-build-out-warehouse.html In 2016, the Oakland port handled some 2.7 million 20-foot containers with all kinds of imported and exported goods.  

If you're importing/exporting, storing or distributing goods, here are some key factors to consider when choosing reliable warehousing and distribution centers in the San Leandro / San Francisco area.

Distance from the port- The distance of the port to the warehousing & distribution facility is crucial for freight offloading — the closer the facility, the lower the transportation costs. According to Wikipedia, The Port of Oakland is now the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah. Search for warehousing facilities strategically located minutes away from the Port of Oakland and Oakland airport!

Flexibility- you need a distribution center that can handle various types of products that also offers unique services, including crossdocking/transloading, inventory tracking, kitting, etc. Searching for a company that provides a blend of services and features
www.godependable.com will help save you money and give you more solutions to meet your business goals.

Dedicated Account Experts- many companies offer promotions with storing your products; whether it be online ads, mailers, flyers, etc. But do they have the experts to help manage your products and provide the right solutions based on your supply chain requirements? Research companies that have dedicated account managers that have years of expertise in warehousing and distribution. Having dedicated account managers give you peace of mind and transparency throughout the entire process. After all, this is your precious freight!


Dependable's San Leandro 250k sq. foot warehouse is located in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California, and conveniently located close to the port and airport of Oakland. Contact our experts today and see how we can meet your warehousing and distribution needs: http://www.godependable.com/Services/DDC-Warehousing-and-Distribution/Facility-Locations/San-Leandro-Warehouse

SHIPPING LTL IN CALIFORNIA

SHIPPING LTL IN CALIFORNIA

SHIPPING LTL IN CALIFORNIA 

Less than truckload (LTL) shipping is a form of transportation of goods and products that don’t require a full truckload, due to the nature and size of the cargo being transported. Shipping of goods and products is done by arranging the goods into small pallets and can range anywhere from one hundred pounds to ten thousand pounds. LTL shipping is the type of shipping that combines several goods from a variety of shippers and puts them together in an efficient manner. Most shippers prefer to use LTL because it is cost-effective and flexible.

LTL shipping in California is quite reliable and offers a safe way of getting your goods to your desired destination without much of a hassle. Before we look into the benefits of shipping your goods with LTL, let’s look into how LTL shipping works.

How LTL Shipping Works

With LTL shipping, partial loads are combined to create full, multi-stop truckloads, which is very efficient. Clients pay for space used, the kind of goods in transit, and pickup and destination locations.

LTL freight can be shipped standard, expedited, or guaranteed. Also, LTL freight can be shipped with special services such as lift gate pickup/delivery, inside pickup/delivery, residential pickup/delivery, and reclassification. All of these additional services come with an extra fee called assessorial fees.

Benefits of LTL Shipping

Now that we all know what LTL shipping is and how it works, let’s talk about the benefits of using LTL shipping.

Cost

Each truckload is made of several smaller shipments which are combined into one truckload. Since your cargo does not occupy the whole space, you don’t have to pay for the entire space – you only pay for the space covered by your cargo. Therefore, your cost will only be a fraction of the whole truckload.

Environmental friendliness

The LTL shipping requires few trucks to carry full loads for several clients rather than more trucks carrying less capacity. Fewer trucks on the road mean fewer emissions which is great for the environment.

Works best for small businesses

Small businesses can benefit from LTL shipping since they ship fewer goods and hence can spend less money on freight as compared to larger businesses. LTL shipping gives small businesses the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits that larger companies get, without paying the high cost for space they are not using.