Tips for safe international transport

Tips for safe international transport

Almost 20,000 international transport trucks cross the Pyrenees every day. Approximately half of them have France as their destination, while the rest go through this country to continue to other European countries. That they arrive in perfect condition and as soon as possible at their destination is vital for their activity.

Also, keep in mind that other types of transport also come into play in the international trade sector, such as maritime transport and air transport.

Keys to international transport

All of them are an elementary part of the logistics service between countries. The key to its operation is that the delivery of the goods must meet two conditions:

Reliable and safe delivery, so that the goods, whatever their type, reach their destination in perfect condition.

Efficient delivery, consistent with the goods reaching their destination in the agreed time.

Thus, one of the great concerns of the sector is to better understand how to guarantee international business. Here are some tips.

Choose the type of transport

Improvements implemented in recent years have dramatically reduced delivery times and increased levels of safety while on the move.

However, there are big differences between the different types of transport available, especially in terms of who is responsible for the cargo. When planning the movement of your goods to another country, which one should you choose?

– Land transport: includes both road transport and freight trains. In the first case, it is the carrier who is responsible for the cargo in situations of loss, damage, or delay. For its part, international rail transport is less used, due to technical issues (different track gauges that make train routes less efficient) and lack of competitiveness with land operators.

– Maritime transport: it is slower and cheaper, designed for high-volume transport since the merchandise travels in ships. It must logically be complemented with ground transportation at the destination.

– Air transport: it is interesting because of the low accident rate of the planes, and because of the speed. The downside is that it is more expensive and you have to consider the weight limitations. It must also be complemented in any case with ground transportation upon arrival at the destination.

General advice for international freight transport

– Gather and verify all documentation before starting the trip. It seems obvious, but each type of transport requires different documentation, and if the merchandise is not in order, the merchandise may be blocked at some point along the way, which implies delays in delivery and extra costs to solve the incident.

– Good international insurance never hurts. Understand well when it is most important that you secure the load based on the actors involved in the entire journey, what is your role in this diagram (company of origin, transport operator, recipient company), and what are your responsibilities at each moment. Find a good insurance company that will advise you well and offers you adapted and cost-efficient insurance.

– Verify the safety of the goods: especially in the case of transporting dangerous goods, which require the use of approved packaging. Otherwise, the risk of administrative penalties and accidents during the loading or unloading of the merchandise increases.

– Follow the news to design or modify the routes. Avoid areas in which a conflict may be developing, there are regular traffic jams, roads cut off by works, or affected by weather events, which are exacerbated with the arrival of winter and spring.

– Use a good fleet manager. Choosing a quality fleet management platform is key to achieving greater efficiency in international freight transport. The control of the fleets by means of GPS helps to anticipate possible incidents in the routes, calculate costs and develop the most efficient routes, as well as to detect bad practices at the wheel. In addition, it allows you to improve customer service, warning you in advance of possible unforeseen delays.

– Ensure that the storage of the goods is carried out correctly. The usual way of transporting goods is placed on pallets. A decree establishing recommendations in this regard has recently entered into force. It is important to know and respect it to reduce accidents in the transport of goods by road.

Therefore, if we want to guarantee the maximum safety of the transport of our goods to other international destinations, we must bear these tips in mind. We will save costs, avoid incidents and ensure that the journey is carried out in an agile and fluid way.

Harper Fox

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