Principles of Freight and Transportation Management

Author: valentinamoors | Posted: 25.04.2012

If you’re a manufacturer, you transport goods from the factory to the stores. You ensure that these goods are transported as quickly as possible and in their best condition once they reach the destination. To do this, you need to know the principles of freight and transportation management.

“Freight” refers to the goods transported for commercial purposes. You can transport these goods via trucks, trains, ships, or aircraft. You should use the mode of transport that is the most efficient, convenient, and cost-effective for you. You also consider the nature of the goods you transport. You also take into account company policies and government regulations, as well as the environmental impact of the transportation system you intend to use as well as the goods themselves.

For land transport, you can use trucks, trains, or a combination of the two. Trains are faster and can carry more load than trucks. Trucks, however, do not have a fixed time schedule and can be used for door-to-door delivery. If you’re shipping overseas, you can use planes or ships. Container ships are among the best modes of cargo transportation on sea. In the air, you can use cargo aircraft, which is also known as a freighter, freight aircraft, cargo jet, or airlifter.

If necessary, you can combine all the modes of transportation above to get your goods from your factory to your clients. This method is called intermodal shipping. If you use a single mode of transport, like a single truck from your factory all the way to a store, it’s called transmodal shipping. Freight and transportation management may involve an intermodal or multimodal transportation network. Both intermodal and multimodal transportation networks use more than one type of transportation; in intermodal shipping, the handling characteristics of the goods remain the same from Point A to B, while these characteristics may differ between Point A and B in multimodal shipping.

The mode of transportation is not your only consideration in the transfer of goods. Freight management involves the transfer of your goods in their best condition. For example, you need to transfer perishable goods like fruit and vegetables faster than you need to transport, say, plastic toys. The goods must be stored in such a way that more units can be packed without sacrificing the quality of the goods.

Freight and transportation management overlap in the concept of logistics. Logistics is basically efficient freight management, where the biggest number of goods is transported in the least amount of time and cost. If you’re also concerned about the environmental impact of a particular shipping job, you can read more at sbnphiladelphia.org/initiatives/green_economy_task_force/research/eco-friendly_transportation/.


About Author:
For more details, search intermodal,Freight management and transportation management in Google for related information.

Article was printed from http://www.articleside.com/auto-articles/principles-of-freight-and-transportation-management.htm
Click here to return original format