One of the best things about dealing with a long-haul trucking company is the ability to request a transport and to see your freight arrive on time at its destination, with little to no intervention in between. Being able to delegate work in this way is one of the many reasons that a variety of industry professionals hire flatbed shipping services in Quebec—however, knowing what’s happening between departure and arrival still has its benefits.
Take a look at a basic timeline of flatbed shipping services and better acquaint yourself with the life of your cargo—even when it’s out of your hands and on the road:
Shipping itinerary: The obvious first step in any flatbed shipping services in Quebec is to speak with a transport company about your shipping needs. This includes what’s being shipped, the weight, distance and any other particulars concerning the cargo. Your shipping company will need to know everything about what you’re shipping before any transport arrangements can be made.
Establish a timeline: Once you’ve figured out what’s being shipped and where it’s going, a timeline needs to be established. This will generally depend on when you need the cargo to arrive, versus how long it takes to actually cover the ground from the departure to the final destination.
Establish a quote: When all the details of what’s being shipped have been worked out and paired with an appropriate timeline, it’s time to get to the money. You’ll get a quote from your shipping company that can be used to determine your costs—a quote that can either be accepted or paired against other bids, to determine affordability. When you finally accept a quote for service, you’re accepting a company’s offer to get your cargo shipped.
Organize pickup: When you’ve accepted a bid and everything is squared away, it comes time to actually undertake the freight transport—which means it needs to be picked up before it can go anywhere! Cargo will be loaded, secured, quality checked and documented before it hits the road on the back of a truck.
Track journey: If you require updates about the status of your cargo between its beginning and end points, you’re better off sticking with a company that can provide such updates. Using GPS, some companies can track the exact location of your cargo and communicate with drivers about any hindrances or headway they’re making. This can be a useful resource when it comes to determining shifting timelines or tracking precious cargo closely.
Cargo Arrival: After a couple of days on the road and a stretch of mileage in between the two destinations, your cargo should arrive safe and sound at its final resting place. Upon arrival, cargo will be unloaded, inspected and inventoried, to make sure that all is as it should be and that nothing has changed between departure and arrival.
This is simply a general outline of a freight transport timeline—depending on your cargo and what company you’re working with, you may find that your timeline is as simple as this one or far more complicated!