As lockdowns continue to affect supply chains worldwide, demand has skyrocketed in every industry. Supply chains that experienced disruptions during the global health crisis still face enormous challenges and struggle to bounce back. This situation has proven chaotic for manufacturers and distributors who cannot produce or supply the same quantities of goods as in their pre-pandemic state, including worker shortages and a lack of critical components and raw materials.
In an effort to relieve the stresses of lockdowns and supply chain disruptions, many shippers are looking to air freight as an accessible and practical solution. Follow along with this overview of the advantages of air freight and get 3 air freight tips you can use to overcome chemical supply chain woes.
Advantages of Air Freight Delivery Services
Air cargo transports more than $6 trillion worth of goods, accounting for approximately 35% of world trade by value. Traditionally, air freight costs about six times as much as ocean cargo, but this gap has closed significantly due to high ocean freight costs during the pandemic. Factors like increased port shipping times, lack of driver capacity, and increased costs across the board all contribute to the high costs of ocean shipping. While air cargo is still prohibitively expensive for some manufacturers and retailers, demand has surged regardless over the past year as port backlogs continue dragging on.
Air freight’s rapid turnover and flexibility help cover supply chain gaps and help ensure goods make it to their destinations on time. Using air freight, businesses no longer need to worry about ground-related travel disruptions like traffic, road construction, and auto accidents that could add hours to delivery or pickup. This quick turnaround helps air cargo operators and ground handlers expedite the shipping process, making them much more efficient with your cargo. Since inventory stays on the same plane for the duration of the journey, it’s handled less, leading to a lower chance of getting lost or damaged.
3 Air freight Tips for Overcoming Chemical Supply Chain Woes
- Rely on a Trusted Chemical Logistics Provider
Chemical transportation (especially by air) can be highly complicated with all the laws and regulations that shippers must follow. The best way to overcome chemical supply chain woes is by partnering with a trusted chemical logistics provider with a high level of industry experience. It’s critical to establish trust with your 4PL to ensure full transparency to your goods and maintain confidence that your provider will transport your goods, leveraging the most efficient and affordable solutions possible while adhering to all legal and customs processes and demands.
- Be Open-Minded About New Shipping Methods
With constant supply chain disruption, logistics providers rely on increasingly complex intermodal solutions that change daily and require consistent outside-the-box thinking to guarantee customer timetables. While air is generally faring better than ocean transport, processing times have extended as facilities and airports work to meet demand. Successful shippers incorporate all modes of transportation, including air, into their transportation management strategy to mitigate the risks of tight capacity, rate hikes, and on-time requirements. It’s also often possible to procure supplies and goods faster or cheaper through a country outside the US and utilize air freight to close supply chain gaps.
- Plan Ahead and Expect Shortages and Delays
As global supply chain networks are expected to see continued struggles, planning and preparing for the unknown is one of the most valuable things you can do to ensure supply chain continuity – whether a global pandemic breaks out, critical waterways shut down, a military conflict erupts, or any other major event.
A Transportation Management System (TMS) is key to forecasting global supply chain impact and implementing solutions before a problem occurs. CLX TMS is one such solution that offers a fully integrated carrier network and real-time visibility to your entire global and domestic supply chain. You get the absolute best planning and execution capabilities across your network, supported by CLX Logistics’ unmatched expertise, adaptability, and flexibility.
Getting Started with Air Freight
It’s clear that air freight is a powerful tool to help shippers transport chemical goods to customers worldwide on time. However, many still struggle to leverage this mode among others effectively and incorporate the flexibility a modern supply chain needs to succeed. That’s where CLX Logistics comes in. CLX TMS’s fully integrated carrier network and CLX Logistics’ unmatched expertise, adaptability, and flexibility integrate as a seamless extension of your operations to deliver the absolute best planning and execution capabilities across your network.
Contact us to talk about your chemical air freight and supply chain needs and learn how CLX TMS can help transform and streamline your entire process.