If you own a business, either directly or indirectly, you are dealing with the shipping industry. Which means that you are dealing with everything from keeping the shipping boxes fully stocked to knowing about freight logistics.  Due to the exponential increase in shipping demands, primarily because of the exponential increase in ecommerce companies, freight logistics has been experiencing a lot of its own changes.

As a result, a lot of companies have begun to outsource their logistics management.  There are a couple things to look at when considering whether or not you should outsource, or if you are capable of handling your freight logistics on your own:

• Logistics business is incredibly large and keeps growing. Being able to stay on top of the trends and changes is crucial to improving margins and customer satisfaction.  Therefore, someone who knows what to look for needs to be in charge of this component of your business.  (Hint: the person ordering your shipping boxes should not be the same person in charge of your logistics).
• Logistics is international, with hugely emerging markets in countries like China and India. Part of the changes and trends related to freight logistics have to do with international policies, procedures, and regulations, which are also always changing.
• A lot of economic problems and challenges have begun to effect freight logistics. Regulations and taxes have become especially stringent and problematic.  Physical space being available for moving everything (truck space, place space, etc.) is incredibly limited compared to the demand.  The number of drivers is at an all-time low.  Profits are low, which results in equipment growing old and and not being properly repaired.  Whomever is in charge of your company’s freight logistics needs to have a working knowledge of all of these components and know how to navigate through them in order to find the best possible carriers to work with.

In short, freight logistics is a lot more complicated than putting some shipping boxes on the back of a truck and getting them from point A to point B.  Are you savvy enough to handle all of the ins and outs and ups and downs of maximizing your company’s resources?  Especially for an e-commerce business, shipping is a crucial component of the customer’s experience.  It is a large representation of how your company conducts their business.  You just might need to consider outsourcing to a specialized logistics firm.