Basic modes of shipment used in export business.

This article is about different modes of transportation used by wholesalers and suppliers for delivering goods to their customer. Let’s have a quick look on every method’s advantages and disadvantages.

Article Body:
In order to supply their products to the customers, wholesalers and trade suppliers have to choose among various shipment methods. They normally consider some factors before settling on the shipping mode. These factors are

i. Business Size
ii. Cost
iii. Safety
iv. Delivery Time
v. Goods to be delivered

A shipment method will be evaluated by following characteristics.

i. Speed
ii. Cost
iii. Safety
iv. Convenience

Different methods have different positives and negatives. Some are safer, some really fast and others have a plus point of being inexpensive. You can choose any of the methods discussed below which suits your requirements.

Air transport:
This method is by far the fastest and much safer, unless you are offering some electronic product or service online which can be downloaded in real time. Despite of being safe and fast, suppliers (specially the small ones) are often reluctant to use this mode, mainly because of high cost associated with it. This should be helpful when delivering some valuable goods or when a quick delivery is needed.

Water Transport:
Most probably the oldest method used in trade for overseas supplies. In ancient times traders traveled by means of water, carrying several goods and products to sell in foreign countries. Inexpensive but relatively slow, certainly not a good choice when quick delivery is needed. However, when the time is not an issue and shipment is quite large, maritime transportation becomes an automatic choice.

Road Transport:
This is the most widely used method, especially in domestic trade. Even when air or water transport is the prime source of shipment, road transportation is still needed to carry the goods from ports to buyer. Although limited to domestic trade, this method is both time saving and cost effective.

Additional Methods:
There are some other rarely used methods like rail cars, or a combination of two or more of these. Another form of shipment rising out of the internet growth is electronic shipment which takes place on internet in no time after the customer has made payment.

It is not always easy to choose a method over the others. You can start by considering the questions like these. What do you want to deliver? Do you need to fulfill an urgent order? Can you afford some expensive medium without sacrificing a big part of your profit? If you are delivering some food items, can they be preserved for longer period? The best selection entirely depends on careful evaluation.