International air freight is generally considered the most aligned, secure, fastest and reliable transportation mode. Both the practices of airlines and government rules and regulations streamline cargo operations, making it a preferred option for many operations managers.

Opting for international air freight can also be a better choice in terms of your customers’ priorities ensuring fast deliveries, secure carriage, real-time tracking and an ability to access most major global markets.

Keep reading and discover four ways in which international air freight is a better choice for your customers and can assist operations managers enhancing customer service.

1) Delivering on time

Delivering product within the designated time frame is a principal KPI for operations managers. They have the dual responsibility of delivering products to end customers when they are required, as well as ensuring stock on the shelves is replenished in a timely manner.

Failure to achieve these requirements can impact both immediate sales and also affect the brand image negatively. That’s when choosing air freight (the fastest transportation mode) that has the greatest global reach is a sound move.

2) Delivered as packed

Deformed, short or rugged boxes cannot only make a bad impression on your customers, they can also increase the risk of cargo detention. International air freight is one of the safest forms of carriage for ensuring your goods arrive in excellent condition.

Smart operations managers know that while air freight may add to costs, the rules and regulations that make it safe for passengers also ensure an unmatched level of security for your shipments.

Working with an experienced air freight forwarder can also add another layer of protection. The services they provide assist to ensure your goods reach the customer in the same condition they were consigned for carriage in.

3) Delivering critical items

Trends don’t wait for slow shipments to arrive, and neither do customers want to wait to get their hands on the latest and greatest thing. Fashion is not the only consumer category where time is a critical consideration – valuable goods or urgent just-in-time deliveries of parts, materials or equipment also need the kind of transport speed that international air freight can deliver.

Not being able to supply a necessary item or expecting customers to be content with outdated stock confronts your business with risks including losing customers to competitors, product rejection or expiry dates.
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For operations managers who want to prevent these risks, using international air freight with its timelines of between a few days to a week is a strategic choice.

4) Shipping smaller and denser

It is a known fact that air freight is far costlier than others modes such as sea freight and land-based transport solutions. However, this difference is reduced where shipment sizes are smaller and denser.

Airlines charge for cargo based on its weight, whereas sea freight is charged by volume. So if your consignment is both smaller and denser the economics change.

By engaging an experienced freight forwarder, you can gain added assistance with end to-end costs for air freight. You may also find there are savings to be gained due to reduced inventory carrying costs.

Reach for the sky and gain efficiencies

The initial calculations may make shipping via international air freight more costly for small consignments compared to sea freight. But the speed factor gives operations managers the edge in terms of ensuring customer satisfaction and high levels of operational efficiency.

By choosing the right air freight forwarder to partner with, you can ensure that whether you have customers that demand

    • rapid delivery timeframes,
    • are shipping high-value cargo or
    • need to get the very latest thing into the market quickly,
    • your transport mode choices assist in keeping everyone satisfied.

For more than a century, BCR has continued to help small, medium and large businesses achieve an optimum logistics solution with warehousing and transportation, including air freight and sea freight services to and from the major ports including BrisbaneSydneyMelbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle (Perth).

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