Here at Twill we pride ourselves on making the shipping process simple for our customers. A crucial part of doing that is putting your cargo in the right hands – which means we put a lot time into picking the right carrier.
But what sort of things do we consider when we do this? What makes a good carrier? We asked Dedi Junaedi in our Customer Care team for his insight – here’s what he had to say:
“There is a lot of trust involved in the shipping industry and a lot of different parties have to work together. Our customers trust us to put their cargo on a carrier that will ensure its safe passage – so our relationship with carriers has to be strong. There are some key factors we take into consideration when recommending carriers to customers.”
Is the carrier reliable? Do they have a good reputation?
“One of the first things we look at when choosing a carrier is whether they have a good reputation and whether they are reliable. Sometimes we will have worked with a carrier a number of times in the past and so we know whether they are capable of doing a good job or not. We also have a close relationship with Damco, who have a number of core carriers that they use and trust, so we can make use of their pre-selected carriers and know that reliability won’t be an issue.
“To help in this process, we will provide feedback once or twice a year to those carriers we think are reliable. This helps us in the future to build up a base of information about the carriers we use and those that we know we can count on to do a good job.”
Do they fit the customer’s needs?
“The next thing we will check is whether the carrier meets the needs of our customer. This usually refers specifically to their schedule and transit time
“We might have found a carrier with a great reputation that we know is reliable, but ultimately if they can’t deliver to the schedule that our customer requires then we aren’t able to take the process forward.”
How is their service? Do they keep us informed?
“While ultimately, for Twill, our customer is the buyer, we are effectively the customer of the carrier. So when we are picking the right carrier, we will be sure to check whether they provide a good service to us at Twill.
“This usually includes aspects such as whether or not they are pro-active in keeping us updated throughout a cargo’s journey – so that we can then update our customer. It might also be about whether the data of their carrier and containers is kept up to date and how quick they are in supplying documents like the Bill of Lading that is so crucial to a cargo’s journey.”
How old are their containers, and what condition are they in?
“It is so important that our customer’s cargo is safe and secure throughout its journey, so the age and condition of a carrier’s containers is something we always look at closely. Are they showing signs of wear, or damage? When cargo is so important to a company’s success it’s crucial we make sure it will reach its destination in the same condition it left its origin.”
-Dedi Junaedi, Twill Customer Care