Transportation services are the backbone of both production and supply chains for businesses. Doing business without transportation services is impossible. Large businesses have their own transportation services, but businesses can also outsource their transportation of goods to third-party service providers.
Transportation services are a huge part of supply chain management. Without it, both the manufacturing as well as the supply suffers. There are many types of transportation services available in the market. For example, transportation with cold storage facilities is ideal for food products.
Transportation services are not limited to big businesses. An individual can also take advantage of these services. Whether it’s cheap or not for that person is a different debate. Broadly speaking, both small to medium-sized businesses can use these services.
Logistics is a complex operation and is a difficult term to define. It is because it is an umbrella term for various supply chain processes. Put simply though, logistics is the commercial activity of transporting goods.
The movement of goods is not only between businesses and consumers; it also happens between businesses. Businesses import raw and other materials from other businesses. These businesses can either be in the same country or outside. In both cases, the business needs help in transporting these goods from one point to its factory.
Businesses also need to supply their products to their customers. Businesses can do this in several ways: they can either deliver it straight to the customer or make it available at a retail store.
Businesses use several modes of transport in ensuring the delivery of their product. The following are some of the modes of transportation used by businesses:
Roadways
Trucks (both large and small) are the most common mode of freight transport. Factories and warehouses are set up in industrial areas that are further away from civilization. The movement of goods between such locations and other similar points needs trucks. Truck services (and other modes of transport) work in two ways. They can either take a full load of a certain company or can take limited stock and drive to their destination.
Railways
In terms of long-distance, railways are a cheaper option in comparison to trucks. Moving your goods through railways is a good option for many reasons. Firstly, railways are cheaper because they consume less fuel, secondly, they are faster than trucks and thirdly they can carry more goods.
Seaways
One of the most popular forms of goods transportation is intermodal transportation. In intermodal transportation, goods are contained in a box. An alternative name for these boxes is containers. Containers are never opened during their movement and are easily transported. Dry goods (automobiles) and liquid goods (oil) are some examples of goods moved on the seaways.
Airways
Airways are the fastest means of transport available to mankind right now. Businesses use airways to transport goods that are urgent, but air transport, much like air travel, is expensive.
All businesses need every one of these modes of transportation at some point. Businesses use either a single service or a combination of these services at any one time. As mentioned already, logistics is a complex operation. And many businesses outsource their transportation needs.